Every religion has its own customs to pursue. Each religion has numerous disciples who in order to acknowledge the path of devotion and salvation, they have to leave their passions behind them, to learn about the secret of life and the values. And when a human learns the secret of life and lives accordingly, he becomes divine, the warmth of whose radiance makes the angry calm and soothes down every part of the body from the mind to the soul.
The Mahakumbhs, a joyous and passionate celebration, is a large ‘mela’ organized once every twelve years on the bank of the Triveni’, i.e. in kumbh- nagar in Allahabad where the three rivers ganga, yamuna and the mythical underground saraswati merge with each other, to form a unique ‘sangam’ of the three holy water bodies to host the largest congregation of human beings in the world.
While millions and millions of restless souls converge every dozen years at the sangam to take a dip in the holy confluence of the three rivers, so that they can attain ‘moksha’ or freedom from the earthly relations and possession and hence can die in peace, the mahakumbh is one of those rare occasions when one gets to see the vivid colours of life, feel what life is really about, feel the passion of life and can learn to live life the way it is.
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The vivid colours of this fiesta can be seen from the ‘Triveni’ itself. The Ganga, which is transparent, the Yamuna is sort of purple and the saraswati which is supposed to be dusky yellow, converge at this point to assume a colour which is a strange sort of violet. Even though the kumbh is always in the danger of militant attacks and mishaps such as drowning, stampeds etc. the local authorities are tested on this occasion and have to be constantly on the alert.
Despite the chances of catastrophe many people brave these dangers; because the dip in the holy waters is not just a bath, it is something more. The dip in the Triveni is oddly satisfying and comforting, even though the water is freezing cold. It makes one feel strangely free from earthly possessions, after the dip.
The Mahakumbh is really a festival connected to the Hindu religions. But this does not stop followers of other religions from taking pleasure of this great holy festivity. Even though several religious parties do not recommend it; several Muslims, Sikhs and Christians break this religious barrier and take a dip in the holy water. Hence, Mahakumbh is also a symbol social equality and benefits the unity and integrity of the nation, because no religion teaches animosity among Followers of Religions—we are all Indians and India is our country.
