Download - Mandhata Global

than Jayant and they pursued him relentlessly. Indra
sought aid from Jupiter (Guru), Surya (the sun), the moon
and Saturn to protect his son and preserve the Kumbha.
The long chase lasted twelve days, which was the equivalent
of 12 years on Earth. During this chase – which traversed
the realms of the Earth, the heavens and the moons —
Jayant rested only four times. While he rested, he placed
the Kumbha on the ground and a few drops of holy nectar
spilled onto the Earth in each place. These four places
have now become the four centers of pilgrimage for the
Kumbha Mela.
places at the time of Kumbha Mela. Mahatma Gandhi, in
his autobiography, writes, “and then Kumbha Mela arrived.
It was a great moment for me. I have never tried to seek
holiness or divinity as a pilgrim, but seventeen lakhs [17
lakhs equals 1,700,000] of people cannot be hypocrites.”
Even today, Kumbha Mela requires no advertising. Indian
calendars simply note the time and place of the next
Kumbha Mela and millions of people flock there with
unshakable faith and devotion. It is as if they are
responding to a cordial, personal and urgent invitation to
attend this function. It is a true miracle of God! One cannot
even begin to imagine the challenge of organizing such a
function and yet it just happens by the grace of the words
“Kumbha Mela.”
Why and how Kumbha Mela became
a National Event
In order to unite the entire nation of India, a festival must
appeal to two distinct strata of society: the intellectual,
Kumbha Mela in a New Light:
educated class and the average, less educated and more
The Message for Today
superstitious class. Religious faith is the basis of unity in
Every nation has its own personality, unique unto itself.
spiritually inclined people. Spiritual people seek those
Bharat Mata is inherently spiritual by Her nature, and the
things which will help them progress further toward the
entire world has long since turned to India for spiritual
Ultimate goal. Our sages understood this, and thus the
guidance. However, India has even more to offer the world.
mythological stories appeal to the hearts of the masses,
Our culture is not only spiritually advanced, but our
and the philosophical message and scientific basis appeal
scriptures have long since taught the messages that are
to the educated mind.
urgent for today’s world. For example, India is the only
land where rivers, mountains, trees and animals are not
Rishis and sages have always shouldered the responsibility
of the social, moral and spiritual upliftment of the country;
only respected, but also worshipped.
they dealt with problems of invasions, corruption, lethargy
In today’s age of environmental awareness and ecological
and selfishness. The nectar – which manifests in the form
conservation, everyone knows that mountains, rivers, and
of satsang, knowledge, love and grace — is distributed to
trees are great natural resources which must be preserved,
all, without any discrimination. The great assemblages of
conserved and used wisely. We have seen the devastating
sanyasins, yogis, sages and saints reassure and uplift the
consequences of deforestation, over-industrialization and
nation; hence great masses of people rush to the sacred
the pollution of our water sources. No one can be blamed
DROPS DROPS OF OF OF NECTAR NECTAR NECTAR . 122 DROPS DROPS OF OF NECTAR NECTAR . 123