I did not visit the first kumbh of my life as a kid. My thinking was that it is a waste of time and money; the death of hundreds of pilgrims in 1954 kumbh led to many movies taking it as a plot to separate family members in their storyline. However destiny had other plans. I was posted at Jabalpur and Swami Shyamdevacharya ji of Narsingh Peeth introduced me to kumbh taking place at Prayag Raj in 1989. The enormity of the event, the devotion of the pilgrims and the humility of the saints drowned all my arguments of criticism in Triveni of the Name, beauty and the efficacy of the Divine power (Nam, Roop and Prabhav). Then onwards I attended most of the Magh Mela, Ardha Kumbh and Puran Kumbh. It is the power of this event that I am writing this article while sitting in a tent as a devotee. I always wondered why independent India has failed to use this event to develop civic awareness among citizens and promote the good work of the government? I am amazed to see that our forefathers used it to promote knowledge, culture and harmony.
Apathy, indifference and suffering
With such a great background Kumbh should have been promoted better than the Olympics in independent India . To the contrary the event was getting neglected and pilgrims were suffering. Even though these sufferings were no match to the one inflicted by Aurangzeb or the restriction imposed by the British rulers. Yet the struggles survived by the Kumbh mela are much more and longer than that of the country. Freedom of India in 1947 did not reflect as a relief or support to Kumbh mela. It was the sheer willpower and never say die spirit of Hindus which kept it going. Great people from all walks of life have taken the benefit of mass gathering taking place at Kumbh and created this never say die spirit. Rulers like Harshvardhan saints like Adi Shankaracharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Tulasi Das, Daya Nand and politicians like Lokmanya Tilak, Madan Mohan Malviya could use the event to promote the cause of gaining freedom. It is folklore that the first freedom fight of 1857 was conceived in the preceding Kumbh.
Key Aspects of the Prayag Kumbh in the past:
1. Mass Mobilization: these great Leaders have recognized the Kumbh Mela's ability to bring together millions of people from diverse backgrounds. They distributed pamphlets, made speeches, and held discussions to educate attendees about the independence struggle.
2. Public Awareness: The gathering served as a medium to highlight issues affecting the public, for example oppressive British policies, including the partition of Bengal (1905–1911), which had deeply angered Indians. Nationalist literature was widely disseminated during kumbh held in 1911.
3. Unity Among Diverse Communities: The Kumbh's inclusive nature provided a platform to unite Indians from different castes, regions, and languages, emphasizing the idea of one nation under foreign rule.
Legacy
Kumbh does not bring a single-day event but is part of a broader strategy to engage with the Indian masses. While specific major political declarations may not be possible, the event can be instrumental in embedding nationalist ideas into the consciousness of ordinary Indians, especially in rural areas.The present Maha Kumbh Mela provides an opportunity to influence, the largest and most significant religious gathering in the world.
A Spiritual and Cultural Event which can awaken the nation.
As discussed above Mahakumbh serves as a platform for spirituality, social gatherings, and cultural exchange. Pilgrims, saints, religious leaders, and philosophers come together to discuss spirituality and human existence, creating a cultural tapestry that includes devotional music, classical performances, discourses, and other religious activities. As mentioned above, great leaders in the past have used this platform to uplift the social and national cause. Till 2014 governments were managing the event as a ritual and did little to educate people about important social, national issues using this platform. As per projections being made 40 crore people may attend the Maha Kumbh 2025. Let’s examine what has been done and what is to be done henceforth.
Marketing of the event.
The present government at centre and at U.P have taken a big leap of faith in transforming Kumbh into an event which reflects the spirit of Bharat, to exploit the opportunity at the bottom of the pyramid. The great management guru C.K Prahalad might not have thought that his idea can be so gigantic that it can change the future of a BIMARU state called U.P. The past Ardh kumbh, Magh melas and present Kumbh have created new business themes like spiritual tourism by engaging industry and knowledge institutions to innovate and invent profitable solutions for providing medical care, food, water, shelter, and other services like sanitation and waste management, and making money as well. The developed metroes can learn a few lessons in providing clean water through R.O water stations and free public toilets. Despite providing huge infrastructure support and other facilities, the state has earned huge revenues from these events by engaging the public, private and public sector( PPP). I was present at the Shahi Snan event and despite 40 million pilgrims being there I was not able to feel the chaos, Panic and helplessness associated with past memories of such events. Wide roads and safe bathing places with measured depth of the river may delight the pilgrims but it has taken a great persuasion to shift Akhadas, sadhu and kalp vasi staying arrangements away from the river to create space for pilgrims.My friends from the U.S Europe and other countries are trying hard to get an air ticket, or reservation in the world class facilities created. The ones who have attended are feeling blessed. Can one believe it that scientists, CEOs, and top businessmen are rescheduling their time tables to experience it firsthand. Wife of Apple founder late Steve Job could make the headlines but many opted to remain anonymous.
Time to recreate the harmony between sukh, dharma, artha, rajya and indriya Vijay ( delight, economics, state power and developing strong character by mastering self control).
The success in managing Kumbh with financial surplus is just a beginning. We have become the fifth largest economy and will be third in a few decades.
● The real challenge is to distribute this wealth to the last man and that too,not by offering freebies but by empowering him to earn it.
● Eliminating divisive forces ready to exploit caste, language, religion or regionalism.
● Building capacities to protect this wealth from invaders and anti-social elements.
● Eliminating corruption and other social evils like dowry, halala etc.
The arthashastra written by Chankya has defined that peace and happiness comes from practising dharma ( performing duties diligently), dharma can be performed if one is financially independent and one can be financially independent if the good governance is available to him and that is only possible if the people governing has developed self control. Developing a nation which has citizens empowered with self control is the mission to be pursued. This is where we have to focus. 400 million people visiting Maha kumbh are the resources to share the vision of empowered india.
Task ahead.
● Engaging youth: The whole management of Kumbh is with police and government employees. Time to think about whether youth enrolled with NSS, NCC and other similar institutions can be engaged to manage less sensitive services. It will reduce the workload on government services and train the Gen Next. A structured programme is to be developed as done for the Republic Day parade every year.
● Preparing pilgrims to be part of the solution: The government has created QR codes and apps to provide information and awareness about the facilities and help available. To take it to the next level one has to provide detailed information about Dos and don’ts before a pilgrim leaves his home. Not bringing single-use plastic material, not throwing garbage, avoiding paper/plastic cups, glasses,plates, spoons etc can reduce waste to a great extent. Incentivising taking back plastic material as being done by agencies managing national forests will help.
● Fly by night operators have mushroomed. I have seen people not getting assured facilities despite paying online. High time to regulate service providers in private domain by educating pilgrims much ahead of the event. These vendors can be forced to register with the government and ratings can be assigned as per the standard of facilities being provided. The hospitality and travel agencies have a lot to improve.
Can we take a leaf from the origin of Kumbhmela?
The Kumbh has its origin in sagar Manthan and emerging of Nectar from the churning. There was a big war to have control over it.
As per the shloka this big war continued for 12 long years. Is there some correlation to the present state, our nation is going through? The next shloka reveals more information.
As per the above shloka, the ferocious War was to grab the nectar at any price and getting it was the greatest celebration. India has taken a big leap of faith in becoming the number one economy on account of growth rate. Deep states in different countries are not happy with it ( can we call these as asura) and are trying very hard to derail it. Canada, Britain and the outgoing government in the United States did not hide their intentions. There have been utterances to remove the democratically elected government in India. If we take the anti NDA government drive of these forces then the fight is in 11 th year now. The government has done reasonably well in thwarting the threat despite the stage managed revolt in Bangladesh which led to ouster of the elected government. Our forefather fought the war for survival with asura. Lord Vishnu skillfully executed Mohini roop and distributed the nectar to his praja (citizen). The learning there is, it was a joint mission where young and old, strong and weak everybody participated. The mighty Garuda, the weak Jayant and all gods played their part.
Today infiltrators, misguided jihadis, people under the influence of the deep state have created a situation where every pragmatic move is being opposed in courts, parliament and on the roads. Despite being isolated in numbers these forces are able to put spanner in the fast moving wheel of growth. Major infrastructure projects, laws and initiatives are challenged in the courts. A great public movement is needed to defeat these forces, which may cost heavens to create but Kumbh provides this opportunity at a very low cost.
One viceroy asked Madan Mohan Malviya that calling such a big crowd might involve huge expenses. The reply given by Malviya stunned him, “ it cost a panchang worth 2 Paisa which tells the proposed dates of The Kumbh and whole India knows when to reach Prayag Raj. Can a nation blessed with such opportunity remain idle?
If the Chief Minister at the state and Prime minister at centre can engage people to play their active role in this war to protect India’s right to grow, prosper and preserve its gain as done in the war between gods and asura. Then only the purpose of celebrating Maha Kumbh will lead to ultimate victory.
By Rakesh Kumar
(The content of this article reflects the views of writers and contributors, not necessarily those of the publisher and editor. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only)
Leave Your Comment