"Kumbh" whenever this word is heard or spoken suddenly reminds of a vast congregation of millions of devotees assembling at a location nearby a sacred river of great religious & historic relevance.
Year 2016 is witnessing this once in a 12year affair @ Ujjain as Simhastha Kumbh on the Banks of River Shipra in the city of Shri Mahakaleshwar Lord Shiva.
Simhastha refers to the time of year when Sun enters into the Singh rashi or Leo Zodiac sign and hence the name SIMH+ STHA= Situated in Simh zodiac sign. This is one of the most auspicious times when it is said that Nector of Immortality drops from skies and anyone & every one taking a dip in the holy river gets unlimited blessings from GODs.
I had a chance to visit Ujjain during the Kumbh Mela on two occassions, & I was just zapped to see the devotion and leap of faith which people of our country still take during such events.
The summer heat is getting crazier by the day, and in this Apr-May season, the likelihood of people getting out of their comfortable homes is less. But the day I visited first was when PanchKroshi Parikrama ( Circum-ambulation) of entire Ujjain & nearby areas had started which spans around 180Kms of the entire religious zones/towns in & around Ujjain. For a Normal human being, it gets difficult to walk alone in such scorching heat, but there were thousands of people one after the other who were walking down the lanes with their small kids & bags & belongings alongside. I could just see them and thought that how determined these people are, who with their unflinching faith in the scriptures & lordships, are foregoing their bodily comforts, workplaces and bearing so much pain & stress.
The more educated ones like me (with Modern Education mounting high & less of Emotional & value based Education) would certainly term the above as IGNORANCE or Blind Faith
But, whose IGNORANCE is it, ours or theirs. I would like to believe earlier, because in our race to achieve more & more we are just missing out on the subtle nuances of life which give us strength , build up our character, firm up our resolve to achieve more in life either Spiritually or materially, because it helps build our personality which is far more important than our mundane goals.
Huge confluence of people from all sects, sub-cultures, different geographies, economic strata or whatsoever societal affiliation, taking a dip together in the holy waters, indicates the ONENESS of our culture, the common thread which binds the society together. This may be overlooked by some, but all people coming together dropping their Tags, and just acting as One Common force which potentially can transform the state of affairs is more than awesome. The challenge here is to channelize this Infinite energy of millions of people who converge for much higher cause to achieve.
I myself walked for 2hours (to & fro) after having parked our car at distant parking lot & passed through various Pandals of various sampradayas of Sanatan Dharm, with Vedic Hymns being recited continously. On one side, there were people hogged around some local Vaidya(Doctor) who was giving away medicines for various ailments, while on another there were people driving in their SUVs/Luxury cars driving down the lanes.Despite such disparities, the common thread which ties all of us together is the connection to our roots is our value system, which is the source of strength for all of us whether we accept it or not.
Concerted efforts must be made by the Saints & their respective akahdas, sampradayas, Local Authorities to come together & rather than making separate arrangements for their respective clans must direct & channelize their energies in one place, which would give a far more energy dissemination to this ONE HUMAN FORCE.
Year 2016 is witnessing this once in a 12year affair @ Ujjain as Simhastha Kumbh on the Banks of River Shipra in the city of Shri Mahakaleshwar Lord Shiva.
Simhastha refers to the time of year when Sun enters into the Singh rashi or Leo Zodiac sign and hence the name SIMH+ STHA= Situated in Simh zodiac sign. This is one of the most auspicious times when it is said that Nector of Immortality drops from skies and anyone & every one taking a dip in the holy river gets unlimited blessings from GODs.
I had a chance to visit Ujjain during the Kumbh Mela on two occassions, & I was just zapped to see the devotion and leap of faith which people of our country still take during such events.
The summer heat is getting crazier by the day, and in this Apr-May season, the likelihood of people getting out of their comfortable homes is less. But the day I visited first was when PanchKroshi Parikrama ( Circum-ambulation) of entire Ujjain & nearby areas had started which spans around 180Kms of the entire religious zones/towns in & around Ujjain. For a Normal human being, it gets difficult to walk alone in such scorching heat, but there were thousands of people one after the other who were walking down the lanes with their small kids & bags & belongings alongside. I could just see them and thought that how determined these people are, who with their unflinching faith in the scriptures & lordships, are foregoing their bodily comforts, workplaces and bearing so much pain & stress.
But, whose IGNORANCE is it, ours or theirs. I would like to believe earlier, because in our race to achieve more & more we are just missing out on the subtle nuances of life which give us strength , build up our character, firm up our resolve to achieve more in life either Spiritually or materially, because it helps build our personality which is far more important than our mundane goals.
Huge confluence of people from all sects, sub-cultures, different geographies, economic strata or whatsoever societal affiliation, taking a dip together in the holy waters, indicates the ONENESS of our culture, the common thread which binds the society together. This may be overlooked by some, but all people coming together dropping their Tags, and just acting as One Common force which potentially can transform the state of affairs is more than awesome. The challenge here is to channelize this Infinite energy of millions of people who converge for much higher cause to achieve.
I myself walked for 2hours (to & fro) after having parked our car at distant parking lot & passed through various Pandals of various sampradayas of Sanatan Dharm, with Vedic Hymns being recited continously. On one side, there were people hogged around some local Vaidya(Doctor) who was giving away medicines for various ailments, while on another there were people driving in their SUVs/Luxury cars driving down the lanes.Despite such disparities, the common thread which ties all of us together is the connection to our roots is our value system, which is the source of strength for all of us whether we accept it or not.
Concerted efforts must be made by the Saints & their respective akahdas, sampradayas, Local Authorities to come together & rather than making separate arrangements for their respective clans must direct & channelize their energies in one place, which would give a far more energy dissemination to this ONE HUMAN FORCE.
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