Kumbh Mela, India

June 26, 2016 India, Spirituality No comments

The entire May we spent in India. It was not a luxury touristy trip; we attended the largest religious gathering in the world, Kumbh Mela in Ujjain. It was estimated, that over 50 million people attended Kumbh Mela in Ujjain 2016, and we were one of them.

The story is very popular in many countries in Asia. Above you can see the Thai version of the legend (photo is taken at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport).

Nithyananda Temple

The visitors in the temple are happy to be photographed

If you are not familiar with Kumbh Mela, please find information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjain_Simhastha

According to the ancient Vedic scriptures, the demigods and demons extracted the elixir of eternal life (Amrita) by churning the Milky Ocean. However, a few drops of it had fallen on to four places that are today known as Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. These drops of amrita gave the mystical powers to these places.

Photo credit to Nithyananda.org

Photo credit to Nithyananda.org

Kumbh Mela is the greatest pilgrimage festival in the Hindu religion. “The event is a religious and cultural spectacle which occurs once in 12 years attracting over 50 millions of participants from around the globe to take a dip (snan) in the holy waters of river Godavari in Nasik, river Kshipra in Ujjain, river Ganges in Haridwar, and at the Sangam of Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati in Allahabad, where the drops of nectar (Amrita) have fallen.”

Photo credit to Nithyananda.org

Photo credit to Nino Nino

Why did we go there?

Our Guru invited all his devotees to spend three weeks around Him at the meditation camp at Kumbh Mela to raise the human consciousness to next level. He provided basic accommodation, satvic food, A/C meditation hall (it was very useful – the average weather was 115F or 45C), and meditation workshops. ALL FREE! It was a life changing experience, no doubt!