Mira at Kumbh

Yeh hey hey… we leave today

Why Kumbh?

You are crazy going into those masses and masses of people?

Sadhus – all fake, pranksters

WOW – I envy you… its going to be such a different experience!

Remember to try out the foods.

Some of the responses I have been getting when I tell friends that I’m off to Kumbh for a month or two.

Have been wanting to get out to a totally different space and people and here was rishikesh and Kumbh going on …. A gift… a chance to mingle with the largest spiritual marketplace there is, to experience and write about the amazing richness of polytheism, many paths, many gods, many understandings, all co existing, interrelating and all occurring chaotically, of itself, open to anyone who wanted to be there.

I have been once to a Kumbh in Nasik and the experience baffled, amazed, zonked me out. Since then had been studying and trying to practise advaita. The last two years have been difficult looking after my mother who was ailing and who took her last breath at 91 on Dec 28 2009. A sense of relief … and this opened up the possibility of going … with no worry about wether a phonecall would make me rushing back.

It was beautiful, for the first time the entire family was together for new years eve .
And finally today we leave… Ashis friend Rohit is coming with me and am so happy since it will be so much more fun together. Things have been falling into place so beautifully… over dinner mentioned that I was looking for a place to stay…and came the reply our family has a temple with a guest house with rooms overlooking the Ganga…and I was booked… I didn’t want to go alone … and Rohit is coming…a journalist and fiction writer…train tickets were still on waiting list… got tatkal… in between bought a video camera with the help of Deesh (I know, but that is what he calls himself)… and he spent hours putting up a video cutting software yesterday… Rollika sort of organizing the things…jay testing out all the equipment…. Its been a great group effort…..and all are promising to come to the mela….

So this is going to be a hopefully twice a week blog, where we give you our experience of the mela…. Along with short video footage…….we hope that it is interactive, and people who are here will add so we can go visit them…we plan interviews.. the whole Monty. We plan to cover many things, the different kinds of spiritual paths and gurus, the food, the shopping, the healers, the people who have come, the Sadhavis, the list goes on… our aim is to make it a its like I am there experience. And the final hope is to bring out a narrative book, with CD with video edits… and there are others who will be contributing…. Gita, A PHD in Hindi, Giti a researcher in feminine history and discussions with her have been very important in shaping a vision, there are many and they will be on this blog.
So do follow our adventures…..

Some background on Kumbh

INDIA must be the only country in the world where a solar eclipse is seen as a spiritual event, where millions will take a dip in the sacred rivers, where scientists and holy men meet….. only the sacred has been there for thousands of years.Here there are sadhus chanting mantras for Vishnu, for Shiva… and…A million of beliefs, thousands of gurus… the world of polytheism… a recognition to all the paths, beliefs,…. Because all eventually are based on the understanding that there is a higher consciousness, and we can be there because TAT TWAM ASI…(You are that)… SO HUM …

What is Panotheism? For this we enter the event called Kumbh. Starting the day before the eclipse and continuing till April 28, thousands of different schools, systems of thought, practice and ritual come together this year in the City of Haridwar.- A marvel of organization- how does a small town organize these many people- An event which comes only once every 12 years- An event which draws men and women from all over India and the world – diversity and unity- Kumbh Mela 2010.- The Kumbh mela is the largest gathering the world and this year it is expected that over 1,00,00,000 people will visit.Kumbh Mela : The Event

The Gathering:

Kumbh is one of the most interesting gatherings where all the sadhus who have renounced the world and are living in secluded forests and mountains come down and are available to the millions who are attending . It is attended by devotees from all over India and also many tourists.

The Legend:

Haridwar, the holy city lies at the foot of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. Legend goes that when lord Shiva sent the Ganga Sagar, where it meets the sea, Ganga to quench the thirst of the people, extricated herself from the matted locks of Lord Shiva and descended to the plains at Haridwar. From here, the Ganga proceeds eastwards and southwards towards Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna and Calcutta.

The Bathing Dates:

Kumbh is organized around the main bathing dates which are :
14 January 2010 – Makar Sankranti : According to Hindu mythology, on this day the sun enters the constellation of Capricorn and this is the first bathing date of Kumbh Mela 2010 Haridwar.
15 January 2010 – Mauni Amavasya and Surya Grahan : This phase of bathing could also be said as “ New Moon of the Saints”. For the holy men and women this is a main bathing day where they participated in gilded and naked procession.
20 January 2010 – Vasant Panchami : This is also called as the fifth day of the bright half of the lunar month and is the beginning of spring in North India. It’s the day when people prayed to God for a good bumper harvest.
30 January 2010 – Magh purnima : This is the full moon in the month of Magha ( January – February). Winters is a memory and the moon shines over the holy river,
12 to 13 February 2010 – Mahashivratri – Pratham Shahi Snan : It is the great night of Lord Shiva and the Naked one, from whose dreadlocks the Ganges flows. He married Parvati, daughter of t the Himalayas on this day.
15 March 2010 – Somvati Amavasya: The no moon day on a Monday is such an auspicious event that the river Ganga, the Divine Cosmos, along with all the revered pilgrimages on this earth, shower exceptional spiritual benediction on anyone who performs worship, or meditation on this auspicious day. The significance of this day is equivalent to the auspiciousness of a Solar Eclipse.
24 March 2010 – Ram Navami : A famous Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of their Lord Ram who was the significance of Lord Vishnu (Hari) in earth. It is auspicious to undertake a fast on this day in the name of Ram.
30 March 2010 – Chaitra Purnima Snan : The full moon night of Chaitra month is particularly sacred to the Chitra Guptas ( the recording angels of the Hindu pantheon). A special worship is offered to these celestial representatives of the god of death, and an offering of spiced rice is prepared and later distributed as Prasad.
14 April 2010 – Amavasya or Krishna Paksha : The no moon night in the month of Vaisakh ( termed as first month of year according to Hindu Calendar year) is the festival of Vata Savitri Vratam. It is a fast day observed by all Hindu married women for their husbands’ good health and longevity.
28 April 2010 – Vaishakha Purnima : The full moon night, last auspicious bathing date of the Kumbh Mela festival at Haridwar marks the three major event of Lord Buddha’s life: His birth, enlightenment and death

The Place :
During 2004 Kumbh at Haridwar, more than 10 millions devoteed gathered at the site. Saints, priests, and yogis from all corners of India, gathered to participate in Kumbh. Haridwar is considered very holy, due to the fact that Ganga enters the plains from the mountains from here.

The Sadhu’s :
The festival is visited by the most amazing saints from all across India.

The Naga Sadhus are one such, who never wear any cloth and are smeared in ash. They have long matted hairs and are not at all affected by the extremes of heat and cold.
Then there are the Urdhwavahurs, who believe in putting the body through severe austerities.There are the Parivajakas, who have taken a vow of silence and go about tinkling little bells to get people out of their way.The Shirshasins stand all 24 hours and meditate for hours standing on their heads.The many akhadas….Spending the entire month of Kumbh on the banks of Ganga, meditating, performing rituals and bathing thrice a day, are the Kalpvasis.

On the way to Rishikesh

6.feb 2010
Reach Delhi 11 am, get fleeced by auto to go to my aunts place, where shower lunch we go meet Kartik, Vivek in Haus Khaus, then Giti. Giti is a friend and colleague and she has been writing photographing understanding interpreting our past with the focus on feminist traditions. Her book Moebis was published by Penguin and is a personal journey of 30 years driving and visiting places, museums, all over India.She talks to us about the significance of Kumbh. “The places are all related to cosmic geography” she says, “Where the mountains meet the plains, where the rives from the mountains ebters the plains. These are places of energy and our traditions have always brought us to places where the enrgy levels are high.”“Yes, many traditions come to Kumbh, but there are many which have also died out. Our earlier scriptures talks about padukinis (Check) which means women who walk around as wanderers. Today we see little reference to this tradition.”Then to VInayAditya, an astrologer friend. Who tells us that the Kumbh being when Jupiter is in Aries, is because Aries in Indian astrology is Kukbh, the vessel, the womb…. And Jupiter is Guru, so when Jupiter enters Aries… you have a constellation which is powerful.The bus enters Haridwar, and there are no crowds…. The bus station is relatively quiet; we wait for a few minutes and leave for Rishikesh.

The first thing that hit me was that all the hoardings had to do with some sant, some guru , some message or the other. AS few about mobile connections, theres a company offering 25 paise per minute for local calls, ….. but nothing else… no toothpaste, washing powder, no lakme, no skin whitener.

There are tents all over, hundreds and hundreds of them, some pilgrims walking around… where are all the crowds that they talk about.

Find out later that they have created a new way so that we byepass all the crowds…….
Rishikesh is much quiter and we are on the other side of laksman Jhula, where autos are thankfully not allowed to come… so it is a quiet street….. the ashram overlooks the flowing ganga, so clean and green/. It is cold… weaing all our warm clothes we go out for dinner a small restaurant overlooking the ganga.

First meal, hot steaming khadi with pakora, dal (mixture, lots of garlic) , mutter aloo (peas and potatoes) in a thick tomato based sauce, hot tandori roti, and rice pickle…. Rs. 40/-. Followed by hot ginger lemon tea. Hotmilk in kullars (clay cups)

Tired, sleep at 9:30, and now its 8 in the morning. There is a breeze out, wicked, so am being good, sitting in my room, watching the birds and the water, with socks, headgear and sweater on…not braving the winds and cold till get a little used to it.

Am having problems with loading up pix…plan to spend the day tommorow learning…. What a drag

Holy Haridwar! – rohit bhatia

Holy Haridwar!
Rohit Bhatia
“A tremendous display of faith”, said one of Mira’s friends in Delhi, as he added to my confused perspective of Kumbh Mela. You see, I had never been to Kumbh, which is the largest gathering of people anywhere in the world. Of course, I had heard about it but that’s it: only heard, never felt. When Mira and I left from Rishikesh – which is where we are staying – my head was full of expectations, apprehensions and occupied with the immediate issue of getting used to the bike having gears on the left side. My right leg is used to the shifting gears as the Enfield Bullet I own and ride in Bombay has gears on the right and brakes on the left. I was just about managing this demanding change in my riding reflexes.

For a rented bike, The Thunderbird we got is in good condition, except that it starts with a key that has Hero Honda written on it.

Mira has many plans. Too many. She kept me busy by thinking aloud all that she wanted to do on the first day. “First let’s get there. Then I want to do this. After that we will do that and then….”

By the time we got to Haridwar, the sun was up and it was warm. This made all the heavy woolens we carried redundant. Walking around with four bags of equipment at the banks of the Ganges while thousands of pilgrims walked around bathing, distributing alms, buying things and filling the holy water of the Ganges in small plastic containers was making my urbanized head spin.

Mira said, “Let’s get a press pass then I want to do this, then we will go there and after that….”
The saffron attire of sadhus with the bright green of the Ganges gave the visual hit that went along with the rest of the experience.

We spoke to sadhus and officials. We ate Paranthas. We argued.

We headed back to Rishikesh in the evening and I felt much better. The Ganges is tranquil in Rishikesh as compared to Haridwar, where it is harnessed towards ghats and such. I thought about the day’s experiences and have decided that I am going to take small doses of Kumbh.
As for Rishikesh and the Ganges, they are healing in more ways than one. The peaceful vibe here is a balm for the soul. I’m soaking it in.

In Haridwar at kumbh

secretary of jhuna akhada

rohit and me on the way

from the ananda akhadha

har ki podi….

We drove into hardwar yesterday on a rented Enfield bike, which had gears on the other side which Rohit was used to. Plus as he said he had a senior citizen behind him…. All resulting in him feeling sick, which thankfully got alright once he reached me to the room and he could get off the tension and relax. Also Hardwar and Kumbh was confusing and chaotic, plus we kept having problems with the camera…. Not problems, just getting used to it.

Riishikesh is 26 km from Hardwar, and after a mulli paratha dahi pickle lunch (the food is amazingly good everywhere) we went to the main Ghat.(har ki podi) There are policemen all around, and there are searches as you enter. Those metal detectors on all bags and also oneself. The cops are extremely friendly and talk well, especially when you compare them to the cops in Mumbai. You can ask for directions and park you or bike under their gaze and tell them that you are just coming , and they nod their heads and don’t bark at you.

The ghat which is massive is full, full full of people, in various stages of dipping into the water and dressing colourful saris drying in the breeze. The water is flowing down so fast, it’s a pale green, and people literally go in fust for a sec , dip dip and out. We went and washed our face our first touch with ganga waters, not yet ready for a dip. What with my dear friends wife and another friends friend dying of pneumonia just want to be super careful. Mornings are really cold still with a wicked breeze blowing down from the mountains, and early evenings its chilly again. So its 9 am and am sitting here in jacket, woolen cap and socks, still feeling chilled but nice chill. Have a thermos of hot water .

We tell the cops that we are journalists, and he immediately tells us that no photography is allowed and we have to register at the contact center. This is the central organization of the mela, a big building of the cops. We enter and are sent to the top top guy, DIG I think. As we sit there the secretary of the Juna Akhada walks in, a big imposing man who walks with full power, and 2 minutes later DIG walks out with him. We are told to go to the CEO, whose secretary says not here, the media centre.

We drive there, and impressive with red durries all over. We are told we need a letter from the editor that we are assigned this story and since we have none, we say we will return. But we get a zerox copy of a tourist pamphlet which gives the akhadas names and phone numbers.

There is strict scrutiny here…there are he says 1000 Indian journalists and out of the 30 foreign journalists who gave in applications only 7 were given press cards. Which allows you to shoot pictures on the main Ghat……… this is the centre of the activity and one thought to be a possible target for any terrorist activity. The press centre estimates that there are 50,000 security police around, and you cannot enter from any side without a scanner body and bag search. When I took a picture of this the police woman came straight at me and pointed to a sign behind saying NO photography.
Tired now, we drive and on the way ROhit spots a baba, and we stop and have a vague interview. He joined when he was a kid, and that’s the only life he knows. There is a serene calmness in his eyes and he seems to be smiling all the time. (baba pic
I meet also with these people who have come from near nainital to take back ganga water to their villages. They will walk the 220 km back and it will take them 3 days. There are scores of people like that and they are decorating their shoulder born carriers with silver paper and ribbons shouting jai bholenath as the begin their trips.

Off to lunch at a family run place, where the owner tells us that the kumbh has changed dramatically… he remembers when there were 500 elephants and camels…only one has come for this kumbh…”swamis come in their ac cars now”. Mira pix
We go to one of the akhadas, there are cops at the entrance and they tell us we cant go in. SO we catch a baba walking out and he isthrilled to be photographed. He is from Ranchi… but he can tell us little about the akhada…when we ask him what he does, he says tell people to do good deeds, and he teaches yoga. He joined when his parents died and he had nowhere to go, and decided to join to do seva to society and god.
There are preperations going on for another baba who will come and give talks….. but we are now exhausted….

There is a place 15km from hardwar, called simply that 15km and there you can buy alcohol and have non veg food. On both sides are areas which are dry and no meat. It does make a difference…. You see nobody drunk on the streets and there are no smells of meat cooking….. but people do drink in their rooms, I guess…. Shakti, the manager at the guest house says that the locals go on doing what they have done for ages, they eat meat drink smoke, no one stops them….
Go to have tea and a place called Ganga View and it is full of foreigners and also many many posters advertising yoga, osho, Andrew cohen, Enlighten Next, Reiki…. the New Age blooming……. A contrast to Hardwar, with Sadhus, and millions of people going for a dip…..

Hardwar has been exhausting…. Trying to find out anything is like a maze, and I find that I do not have the enthusiasm or interest or curiosity to find out the whys whats and wherefores of these crowds that have come in…. There are still many talks going on all over, even in RIshikesh, cause the mela extends down till here, everyone comes to visit ram jhula nd lakshman jhula………… the two bridges connecting both sides of the river.

Riding around Neelkanth and meeting Umedh- Bhatia

Rohit Bhatia
Sunday, Feb 7, 2010I left as soon as the sun peeped out from the hills behind the ashram. The Red Thunderbird took some time to start but soon enough I was on my way. The road from Laxman Jhula to Neelkanth Temple goes through thick forests. It was nice and cool riding the big bike over steep slopes and sharp bends. I was well prepared to take on the cold with my red jacket and woolen cap.
The Ganges flows to my left as I try to keep my eyes on the road. I stop to take some photos every now and then as I ride with an intention of getting nowhere.
I passed a forest check post and some dhabas. A sign reads, ‘State Road 9’. After riding 10 kilometers towards Neelkanth, I noticed that there are very few signs of human presence. The valley is lush green. Occasionally, a vehicle passes by. It’s all very peaceful.
I see more monkeys than humans. They run along the road playing and doing other things monkeys do. Unlike their poor cousins in cities, these guys are active and fit. Their coats shine bright as the sun rises.
Riding back, I stop for tea. The tea owner asks me which direction I’m headed to and I answer, ‘Rishikesh’. He asks me to give his son a ride to the town. A smiling boy appears. He looks happy and is wearing clean clothes. He answers that his name is Umedh. He gets on the pillion seat and we set off. Umedh and I are chatting as we go.
‘What are you going to Rishikesh for?’ I ask.

Umedh says, “To get speakers for my I-pod.’

‘You have an I-pod? What music do you listen to?’

‘It’s my friend’s. I borrowed it. I listen to Bhajans on it.’

‘Ok Umedh…What do you want to do when you grow up?

‘I will do a job and serve my parents.’

‘How old are you?’

‘I am 12 years old.’

‘You go to school?’

‘Yes. I am in ninth standard.’

I took some more photos. Umedh informed that Elephant herds frequent this area and advised, ‘If you ever see Elephants, turn off the lights and be quiet till they pass by.’
We ride. We learn.

Chilling in Rishikesh

I go to RamJhula, big crowds, and walk to the Parmath….. ashram, where there is an arati in the evening. The manager has said go there, it is not like the haridwar one where they play the same Lata Mangeshwar cassette every day. There is live arati. I go. About 300 people many foreigners sitting nicely on the floor, whilst there is live singing … okay, with lots of kids who are all dressed in saffron. The Ashram is huge.. and seems like a place for middle class urbanites to come to, to send their children to….

There are so many ashrams just this side of the jhula, and hundred more on the other side, and many many hundreds in Haridwar. Some small, some amazingly large. The Sivananad Yoga ashram is 7 stories high, this one also seems to have thousands of rooms. I had lunch in one Seva ashram, overlooking the Ganga, which has a Baba massage centre, every kind of course you can think of, 100 rooms, at Rs. 300. Have lovely lovely Greek dish Mousakka. Surprised, they also serve eggs, which are actually not allowed… (though the manager has told us that locals can eat anything……….. at the Vaishnovate place Im staying, there is a Satyanarayan temple, so no onions and garlic.

There are clouds … the river flows much faster in the night and early morning and then calms down as the day progresses…. Have an ayurvedic massage in the morning, and the electricity goes off and the water is not too hot. Every person becomes a yoga teacher here…and photograph from across the river, some teaching of yoga by some foreigner to another. Seems quite wrong according to what I’ve learnt, but there are hundreds of teachers all teaching different things…. Who knows. The video camera with this zoom is actually quite a intrusive instrument… it can zoom into someone far away and photograph every move… I put up the tripod and photograph this sadhu who has come for a bath… I feel weird capturing it from across, him having no idea that someone is watching every move.

Rohit has gone riding somewhere, I take a walk along the laxshman jula side of rishikesh towards ram jhula.

Shopping galore, clothes, gems, bronze statues, food of all kinds, Mexican,Russian,Italian, Israeli…..Cd shops blaring out bhajans, east west renderings, videos of songs popular about ganga ma, in every centre I have been to there are these local shootings and songs which are fun to watch, in one Shiva is drinking bhang and swaying dangerously around. Lots of clothes, not too highly priced, ypgs, ptsnsysm, mantra chanting classes every three steps.

When I had been to rishikesh earlier there was this lovely road on a sort of sandy beach with swami little kuiyas around (this was over 10 years ago)… now the main street is very crowded, with jeeps and scooters rushing back and honking madly. I sit watching some dogs playing, the dogs are amazingly beautiful, thick fur and playful, when I see a group of foreigners led by some guru like person in white leading them into a small gate…. I follow them and guess what, it is the path I was seeking. Except now the kutiyas have become bigger, pucca. I remember having tea sitting under a tree and the guy is still there…. Yes he said, I have had this stall for 15 years…. Have a big cup of tea.
A young guy, asks for a cup of tea, and says that he cant pay. The owner asks where he has come from, Jabalupur. No money. He shakes his head. At that time a sadhu is passing, who is possibly attached to some ashram. He talks to them, and tells the boy to follow him…. Tells him, things are under tight security now. Police are picking up anyone who is hanging around on the streets. So go with him.

Security. Everyone talks about it, recognizing that it is very important, but also about how it is changing the nature of sannyas, of the culture of sadhus. An old sadhu tells us, earlier we could sit anywhere, no one said anything. Now we are confined in out ashrams, and cops look at us suspiciously….. our wandering has become less.

Meeting sadhus and sadhavis

feeding the monkeys

the 130 year old maharaj

sooo cute….

As time goes by and I don’t write, usually cause its so cold in the evening, I go into my razai and blanket with hands safely below….

I spoke to Raghiv who is astrologer Vinays friend, who brings groups of foreigners to Kumbh and organises spiritual yatras…so figure he must know something. He tells me that Akhadas are the recruiting grounds for the akhada…. Which are divisions which apparently had been set up thousands of years ago to defend the faith…. This has no relationship he say to shankaracharyas, so my attempt to make some sense of what happens at kumbh is still blank. He takes me to meet a 130 year old Maharaj, who he warns me, may or may not meet, may or may not talk…. He does, many stories of the Ramayan, with all nodding… then after an hour I say I want to ask a question,,,
Vedas say the whole world, everything we see is Brahma.. then is a dead body, when the atma has left also Brahma???

He coughs, and says he will answer the question tomorrow….. and also tells a story of how a king asked a sadhu a question and was asked to come tomorrow… but tomorrow never came…. Well I didn’t go back the next day cause it was raining and cold,and then there was kumbh to organise for but am planning to go on Monday. Good fun.

Next day talk to the manager at the guest house, SHakti who is a marvel at PR and knows just about everyone. I tell him I want to meet sadhavis, women sadhus, having seen a pix in a paper of female sadhus from Jhuna akhada smoking a chillum. He picks up the phone and dials Kusum, name is Bhagavati, who tells me she is going to be the security guard for her guru who is in the jhuna akhada and I can come with her…. And also I should meet her friend radha who is a sadhavi in laksman jhula, rishi kesh. I go over , and spend a few hours talking about akhadas, sadhus… she tells me that sannyas is only when you have spent 12 years training in bhramachari, and then when you have no more karma, no more mental agitations…then you are eligible for sanyaas and a special havan to make you one….

I tell her I will take a taxi to hardwar, and she says she will come… She has a pass for the Avahan akhada, which lets her into the security…so am thrilled that there will be someones hand to catch…in the rush its absolutely necessary…

Have spent 4 hours trying to figure out how to cut the videos am shooting but no luck so far… still hoping to learn… but good footage, and am sure that will be able to do something when back in Mumbai…..

Brazilan master

arati at ganga

radhaji – a sadhavi

10/11 feb

My table is a mess with wires all around… phone charger, camera charger, comp chareger… and various wires all around… cannot think of putting it up again in rishikesh…

Been having ayurvedic massage … will be the third time today… am going to have it daily for next ten days and lets see if varicose veins decrease.

Am still trying to catch up with the past updates, so can come to the kumbh procession…. The videos are good fun…. But cant use movie maker, and anyway the cyber café does not allow uploads or downloads… so guess will have to wait till Mumbai. One day I went into Premhis satsang… it landed up being a Brazilian master who spokje in brazillian…. There was nice singing of kirtans with live guitar and the participation of the people was quit amazing… after that he had a question answer session… with his Brazilian being transalated into English. Mainly questions about dealing with life, and ofcourse sexuality.
Then there was Radhaji, who spoke on a whole range of topics…. I will need to transcribe these … am sad I cant put it up, but that’s life.

There is an arati done on the ghat near the room by the Somani temple people… small and personal and I go in the evening and do a personal not group arati .. rohit has been doing it too… its nice, being part of a small group which is not related to tourists…
Am planning programme… yesterday was Lalitas one month … amazinghow time flies. Swami has got his transfer to Pune… amazingly fast… plan to leave for delhi around 26th, then go to Bhopla. Plan ato be back in Mumbai around first week of march…. Plan made to be able to meet rima but now it seems she may leave earlier for Athena….
Am writing this 14th… rohit left on 12th morning, and called to say his ticket is confirmed…. So he will be back on 14th to Mumbai.

The brazilian master premji

Shivratri kumbh and the nagaa sadhus

I have finally mastered how to do the blog with pix….. yeh….
we left laxman jhula at 7 first doing arati at the big shiv temple on the other side of the river. Bhagawati has left by bus cause she had a call saying she had to be there at 730 since the shahi snan had be moved to 830.

We drive through the Rajaji National PArk, I see only a peacock and 2 tied up elephants. In Hardwar, there are crowds crowds crowds everywhere. We manage to get to the last parking lot, whilst all the way people are bending to fold their hands to Radhaji, who is folding her hands to everyone. We have been alowed in because Radhaji has said that she is fomAvahan Akhada, has a pass, so they let us threw one barrier after the other..no vehicles allowed.

We pass many many people getting ready for the procession… this one is of SOham Baba or is Pilot Baba… they are carrying signs against global warming and carrying trees and telling people to plant and look after trees. MAny foreigners… Swamis pix in the background

We walk into a camp for the Avahan akhad and we walk into the enclave of the Naga Sadhus of Juna Akhada. There are fires lit everywhere, it is cold, and naga sadhus smeared with ash are everywhere. There is tent after tent affter tent, and groups of naga sadhus just hanging around. It is not uncomfortable, and there is a relaxation and comfort all around……

We go to this tent, where Radha is known, he calls her in, he is sitting on a bed, surrounded by about ten naga sadhus…. who have just handed him the chillum. He smokes, passes it on, and then I too take a puff, getting stoned immediatly…

hey all wear flowers, and the ash on their face adds to their annonymity…

This guy was dancing away….

some more…..

This is a place where noone is allowed in… but we saw quite a few strolling around, taking pictures. But the procession is to start and there is movement and find our way out….

So much happened that day that am splitting the blog … I have to go to each video and there are heaps more….and find a pix then go onto movie maker, make a snap and save it in a file i have to find…then upload it…. enough work for a day … so the procession…. of sadhus….. beats the republic day for sure….

Before the kumbh procession –

This is what the street looked like before the procession was due to begin… there are there must be over 100000000 people here watching this event, on both sides of the long road, on every floor and terrace of thehouses lining the road….. and there is perpetual shouts of bhom bhom bolay bhol, jai bhole nath music cymbals, insence, and the cops…. the road is absolutely clear, with cops all around

One team of photographers walking down the street… and there are many of them…all with ptofessional digicams… is that a tripod in his hand….

A sadhu from an akhad to join after the jhuna akhada..who always lead the procession organising the group… there are lots of bands around,,, each group has this wedding band…. strange…. frankly i dont remember what music they played …hope fully captured in the video…all these are images from videa and the effect of the sound going on and the movement really brings it to life…

A man dancing away going round and round with this kumbh on his head and beating the what do you call it, cymbals??? all throughout… i like his smile which is always there….

before the procession 4 cops on 4 horses come down the road…big horses…and they walk next to the rope tying people in…. so people outside the rope duck in…the horses are big

the line of cops which follow the horses…. this mix of sadhus and security…… its like no other kumbh i would imagine,,,

Cops tying the crowds on the side in with ropes….the lady in front was laughing away and everyone was helping the cops….

and the first glimpse of what is to come, the begining of the procession witht he juna akhada naga sadhus smeared in ash covered with flowers, holding trishuls, and sticks…

the highlights of the naga procession in next blog…..

THE NAGA SADHUS PROCESSION

Oh well I did it wrong…. the beginning of the procession has come as the lst pix… and this going into the procession after the naga sadhus have done their dance etc… the naga sadhus are the highlight and the beginning of the procession….

I am writing this ont he 17th and am writing about the 12th…. must bring this up to date… am taking many videoas, so before i can upload anything, i have to make photos from the video… and that takes so much time… plus its cold, and up unde rthe razai rather than be on the comp…

Morings there is such a strong cold breeze outside that you can barely go out till 10.00 or so when it stops… we are on the other side of the mountain so the sun does not come till around 1030… am sitting with jacket, head wool scarf, and socks… oh well

These are sants from the various akhadas… from what I understand there are 8 akhadas which were set up by shankaracharyas, and the naga sadhus are basically the warriers who have no fear of anything… they each carry some weapon, and can belong to any akhada but the maximum are witht he Juna Akhada. Each akhada has its own gurus those who speak and who are the ones who do sadhana and supposedly get enlightened or at least their senses under control. There are no elephants at all in this kumbh… only trucks with the sadhus sitting on top….i guess elephants would be impossiblei nt he rush that is there…

THe crowds at kumbh are increasing each time… and it is a big crush especially witht he ropes keeping us in…and people are squeezing in behind wanting to move… or leave or go to sahi snan place… the place of the bathing has been totally cleared when the sadhus come in for their snan…. we were at the begining of the procession and did not go to the place where the snan was …the crowds were too much…

various sants….pretty sombre guys they look like…

this is how the procession looked like …devotees in front with flags you can see the “Chariot” at the back behind the poster,,,, all of them have marriage bands…mentioned earlier… funny to have there trumpets etc with jai bholenath being continuously shouted ….

each group is announced with a banner like this.. this is of Swami Somnath Giriji Maharaj of Juna Akhada…i guess one of the sants above is him…

The next pictures are of the procession of Nana sadhus of the jhuna akhada… this goes on for quite some time there must be thousands of them…one group danced and played with heir weapons in a wile d fury of shouting and screaming and the effect of them moving so fast, with their sticks moving all around (reminding me of fire dancing at the techno parties except these sadhus were much much better at it)….

wish i could load up the videos…but you can get a feel of the dancing i hope in these pix….

more on the procession in the next blog….

gosh it says saving and publishing may fail…. have to keep this shorter so don’t get cut off connectivity…

Those following in the procession

Is anyone other than Sasha reading this blog? If so do write in a comment….
These are some more random images of the procession… the longest and biggest is of the Juna akhada………. here is a naga baba on a donkey or something like that… I dont know if i have mentioned it before but there is something special about the naga babas, and they are the ones who have totaly turned their back onto social convention and norms so that there is a fire in their eyes … i did not talk to anyone, find that i am generally quite shy in these circumstances and not going and talking to anyone … mainly what do i ask them? or anyone for that matter? One knows that they are going through sadhana of different kinds…. chanting, yoga, meditation, doing some act or the other for centuries (like the guy who has been holding up his hand for 10 years… cant at all figure out things like this at all…but they are there…standing for 10 years or whatever… i guess it removes all other aims from your mind…. i am keeping my hand up for ten years… yeh…. i shalla cheive godhood or pece or something doing this… well i dont wanto even think about it or try… but tomorrow (ie. 19th) shall be going to hardwar with a 25 year old Phd student from BHU, a devotee of Radha and shall hopefully use him to interview)…..they came on top of vans, tractors, bullock carts…. i think this is avdeshanand mahamandaleshwar juna akhada… two women have been appointed in senior positions here creating news … saw them in the procession…

this is shoham baba… indian but i believe settled in Holland… the more traditional see him as fake baba, cause he has a massive foreign following plus he talk about global warming and planting trees…. however for me something clicked… especially after meeting all these babas and sadhavis who are shutting themselves in rooms and only doing sadhana … and who are obsessed with cant eat from outside, cant give hug, energy diminishes etc…Something clicked. Finally.

I was happy to see the Naga baba, to see Sohams group and Pilot baba. They are infusing a much needed element into spirituality, and one based in our traditions,
Vedanta was always one with nature, and Sohams devotees handing out a tree sapling was very much in our tradition, where one of the deeds which are mentioned that must be done is plant trees. And look after waters…. What have we done with looking after our rivers…and this is being done in a country which is filled with Hindus…… how stong is their belief that they believe the ganga is pure when even at hardwar the pollution levels are not tolerable.

These are matters that our spiritual leaders should be telling the masses about. Ramdeo is taking yoga to the villages, Swami Vasudev has had his followers plant and look after over a million trees. He also has started rural Olympics and has sports at the village training for the competition.

Also athe arts and crafts. The integration of spirituality and art….. the magnificent temples and paintings, the dance and singing that occurred…… there were temple dances gone ffrom the temple and to a performance stage……

people carrying posters of pilot baba and soham ;both from juna akhada…. traditionalists dont like pilot baba also… again cause he has a lovely setup here , foreign architects having constructed a dome, and integrates music, and art… will be going to see thm hopefully tomorrow

one more baba

lion and dancers of soham baba

the marriage bands playing before each baba… the bands carry their names sometimes bigger than the babas names and its trumpets etc…. cant understand why marriage bands….

this very active girl woman was telling everyone to shout bholenath… bol bol hiv om… she reminded me of cousin mala….

dancers of Soham processsion

vivekanand[uri juna akhad… again all these names may be wrong…. but me thinks that thisi s enough on the procession theough there is many more sants coming behind…

however except for the naga babas and the juna akhada and a little of avahan akhada, there is not much activity and there is like just people walking… someone said that they actually got peole to walk with them since there were no devotees… then came empty chairs on top of some vehicle or the other….. babs who did not come ?

Various sants are there…. like ramdeo, asaram baba, i think also sri sri but they arenot part of the procession…. maybe this is only for akhada and gurus from those akhadas?????

From the 12th onwards till 21st- pitra puja, hardwar, sadhaviss etc

Decided to do the pitra puja which is a prayer and offering for all dead ancestors…almost like we still remember you and giving you offerings for your existence wherever it is… the day being amavasya was an auspicious day as told to us by an astrolger so radhaji, a sadhavi did it…these are the sari towles fruit grain offerings

Nanis pix in the pind thali

pind is made of wheat and milk, and dipped into black til and whole wheat grain.. apuja is done with offerings to ancestors and gods and then the pinds offered to the Ganga and the sari etc given away

Me walking in the mountains… before sasha says mom some pix of you

these are 2 naga sadhus who were initiated the day before… theone on the left is japanese, and he has been in Tibet and India for 3 years doing seva in the ashrams cutting veggies and washing…. now he is getting into the juna akhada… we saw his teacher driving a jeep… a thin fiery man with energy,,,… wow

this is a lativian couple… at theor reception at the old gurus… they are dressed as radha and krishna and go through various poses of the two … they got married indian style on shivratri night,,, have their story in video… the sweetest couple

their guru, the 118 year old saint from nilaki (or something like that) akhada… he is answering a question i asked about bhrama and atman…long shpeel on tape… i think i understood 10 percent……

this is bhagawati.. a sadhavi of juna akhada… she is Australian and was with Osho for 7 years… now is part of a tradition,

“time and tested” way of doing sadhana, and not experimental… as Osho is…got a interview on tape too

Shakti the manager at the guest house has been taking me for rides on his motorcycle…. this place is amazing cause there are literally hundreds of places which you can drive too and each has a story and are usually high in the mountain where you have to trek up… went to a shakti peeth (where peices of satis body fell on earth );;up on a hill had to walk 350 steps..

was in hardwar ..and we went to pilot baba camp… he is into having lot of art around .. an ex pilot thats why hes called pilot baba

the entrance of pilot babas camp.. he has an enlightened japanese woman giving darshan also

this is 24 hours havaon at soham babas place which will go on alll through the 4 konths of kumbh… amazing fragrance of herbs, and chanting going on

Soham baba giving darshan…. cant be photographer and interviewer at same time, was so into photography that i forgot that i could have asked him for an interview… anyway…. hes quite approachable asked me where i had come from, and is generally smiling away… Indian but settled in Holland.

WHoo… another hour passed…. am leaving on Tuesday to Delhi and to Mumbai on Wednesday…want to edit the videos and to make a short quick cut, which lets see if we can get cash to do a documentary…also want to meet sis Rima before she goes tot he states for 3 months..so Thursday will be in Mumbai, if ashi books my tatkal ticket tom.

Naga babas dancing in procesion

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

this is in the procession … the naga babas were the most interesting, the most vibrant…as you can see i this short video… have moe and will put it together in a video…

have been listening tot he videos i have shot of the babs and sadhavis… one point which i have been reflecting on, is when the 118 year old baba asks me, you have asked a deeply spiritual question… but what is your spiritual practice? What are you Pravin ( aterm meaning someone who has mastered who has mastered yoga, pranayam, etc….. and what will you do with an answer to the question…..

also listening to the tapes of the sadhavis… thee is something very touching in the talks, and there is a simiplicity in the life which is very apealing…so have been in a cleaning up spree… we gather so much baggage and dust which we just keep piling onto our lives….

Inspired by Wanderer explorers comment…. any other suggestions… and if you know people who could be of help in identifying, and knowing something please do let me know….

On returning to Rishikesh

So am back in Rishikesh… reached last nite after an overnite train to delhi and then a train to haridwar…entire journey 24 hours… and it wasn’t bad at all….all ac sleeper so slept quite a bit… on reaching haridwar and getting out on the main street, you could feel the energy all around.

The inner street near haridwar station are parts of old haridwar with narrow lanes, and old carved houses. Sandhus and Sants everywhere. The railway booking counter has a special line for sants and sadhus…. We pass through har ki podi… have not seen it at evening and the whole area is full of lights…

The drive to Rishikesh takes 30-45 min in the tum tum (shared auto rick) and it passes through the rajaji national park (which touches Corbett) .. so its green and forested. The guest house is near the main market and is walkng distance from the main road…. Its got 26 rooms, I have room number 111, and it has hot water and a TV. Smoking and drinking strictly prohibited…. And am sure they mean it.

The guest house has a garden overlooking maganga, and that’s where I am sitting now with the comp…. watching the river pass by and surrounded by flowers. Yesterday evening , when in the garden did, this touching of all the petals in the amazingly different flowers that are around…. Then closed my eyes and touched and felt the entire flower, then each petal and then the leaves… it was amazing how it felt, when touched with no vision… the touching became much slower… fingers curved around the flower, so one got a feeling of how big it is, then it went down to touching and finding out how many petals there are, and then to each petal… the colours seemed to have different feel. Then to the leaves and how they are placed…..

Each flower was different, the petals shape, thickness and general feel….. recommend this as a nice meditative experience….. we are overly dependent on vision and the beauty and variety in the touch and feel of things seems less when we use our eyes…………without vision other senses get more heightened.

The food here is amazing. last nite at dinner there was roti, bajra roti, dal, kadhi, chole, 2 sabjis, rice, papad and gulam jamun. Today breakfast, it was aloo ka paratha, aloo sabji (the kind we make with puri) dahi and jalebi………… its really nice not to go to a restaurant and to have everything absolutely piping hot.

I think am just going to chill and have good food….served on time……… sit in the garden…. Am going now to find out about yoga and chanting classes…. Will go to haridwar tomorrow ….

Last nite when in the garden there was different chants coming from across the river… with drums, cymbals and it was so lovely… did stretching exercises and was barefoot on the grass….

So much happening

dogy next door, at durgama mandir… go and play with him everyday

lights at haripodi haridwar

swami premanandji….

So much happening….. it is so hot in the afternoon, that in the evening am exhausted.
First day went to puja at radhas house. There were 8 lativians there, and it was chanting and was alright. But walking in the sun got me so exhausted that came back at 6, and was asleep by 830 till the next morning.

The next morning left the guest house at 700 to reach haridwar at 800 and went to Bhagwati… she is staying in a tent with her guruji…. Whom I met and he spoke English… so had long talks with him about the akhadas, himself, myself…… lunch swim in ma ganga with bhagwati. Talking about akhadas with kumarji, I realize that there is total freedom in what to do.. the akhada has certain niyams, rules that need to be followed.. initiation, and then the prayers you do, like at food, and the colours of clothes you wear… you choose your own gurus and these can almost be from anywhere, but are usually from the same akhada. You are free to worship any gods, free to choose how you worship, and also choose your own sadhana……. Its not one dictatorial thing……… its like we belong to the same family and are on the same path…… but the path differs for each and ech find there own callings and teachers.

Its navratri time and haidwar and rishikesh is full of pujas, chanting all in the air…… very lovely
Went to laxshman jhula the next day, german bakery and veg burger and the book shop. In the evening, went with Anil, who is VP at Somanys glass factory here. To har ki podi…aarti was over but we walked around, I put flowers and diya in ganga………..
Then yesterday to Haridwar and bhagwatis where there was devi havan going on… lunch, then talks with Kumarji (gurus name) ….. he was extrmemly blunt, and once when I asked a question he said, how long will you go on with this gathering of information… what can it do for you… does it help at all in knowing yourself…. He then went on to ask if there were multiple I’s…. of course… and he asked which is dominant……… he said instead of asking spend time in contemplation about yourself (my self)…… several times he indicated to me how my questioning was like a mask and a façade….. and he asked me to look and to find out what this questioning is about…………
He was not against questioning, but his interventions made me think…….. that yes, I ask questions, but after that what??? He told me to write about who is Mira…… oops, what to write?????

Whilst we were sitting there a group of singers came and chanted the entire lineage of the Juna akhada… this was their calling and sadhana……. To go around and chant the lineage… quite wonderful……. No book knowledge…. And this was their sadhana……..

Hmmmmm,,,,some of the experimentations been doing

Kumarji, who is bhagwatis guru, from the mahandaleshwar juna akhada… .. was saying that there are perhaps only 20 people today who have a deep understanding of tantra, and shakta. And also that there are few who have the patience and capacity of learning the deeper meanings of Shakta (ie Devi) worship. When I said that was sad, since this would lead to a death of a tradition, he turned and spoke with vehemence.

Who are we to know what are the ways of the Divine Mother. This knowledge never vanishes, it is always existent. Truth is always existent and manifests itself when the times are right. If the times are not right then it will not manifest.

We who cannot understand who am I, cannot begin the internal journey and are contemplating about changing the world.

I realized that all my questions came from a space which was directed towards the external. Not that directing energy to the external was incorrect, but first we needed to be centred, and know oneself. ….

The next day, ie today morning I did what guruji said to do… chill, have a joint, and write who is mira. Went to the durga mandir played with the dog, smoked and came to the room, what joy to sit under the fan and not be out in the sun.
Hmm….. who is mira. …

Thought that and immediately began thinking of should I go to radhas, promised her a devi sari which she has not forgotten and which she mentioned when I called.
See, trying to escape from contemplating what is mira , so you will have something to write.

This went on for a while, with me catching myself wondering and said hey come back…… who is mira.

Hmm… stumped. So said to myself, what was I like when I was a child, growing up…. Could hardly feel anything and was getting pretty annoyed with myself …. Could recall I think running around, but nothing really which I could identify. Was I repressing? Is my memory bad?

Don’t be judgemental, he had said……… who is mira?

Okay, I told myself, (?) whatever, if you remember don’t remember go on…
It wasn’t a flash, I was lying down, and I went through being in school, being so active in sports, doing well in ICSE, going to the states, dropping out of college and driving with suzie, returning to reed, david, and coming to india, working with junior statesman, marriage to david, back to the states, working in the school for challenged children, university of Oregon, abortion, split up, injecting rats to watch them die, returning to india, FREA, david coming, the split, his breakdown on the plane, me remaining in india, FREA years, Javed, marriage, ISRE, feminism, activism, oh yes, the left…. kids, PhD…………….divorce….. oh gosh I said 60 years lets make ti 60d days. And make each day a year….everytime I thought more things came to memory…. so much happened. And then the thought so what….
But these are just events………… who is mira.
Gosh……. I thought, what a lot an individual lives through…. It just happens……… but there must have been something , some attitudes some beliefs that were taking me in certain directions…. The universe was giving so many opportunities, who and what was I at his time.

Looking back, did I have any goal ? I feel I just drifted…….. the only times I was sure was when I did not return to go back to US with david…….so…. Im a drifter in the universe…. Nowhere to go, nothing to be……ooooooops ………
Don’t be so serious also he said……… whats gone is gone, the past is over………..
Yes, I did have very strong beliefs at one time, and could argue over and on anything. But somehow I don’t do that anymore and I get bored with positions and points of view on anything. So it’s a changing Mira actually, there has been no constant entity there. More like a plant , bending to the wind and towards the sun.
Generally, going out to new experiences, not being able to stick to one thing for long, being interested and excited for a while, and then when it becomes routine, wanting to get onto something else, something new.

Take decisions of small things far too seriously……….

Actually the way I portrayed myself was actually more confused than I am…. Sure I go through periods of doubt .. but there are also periods of self reflection….. when I read my writings over the years, I see these attempts to understand.,…..but now slef reflection also seems too much effort………

But it doesn’t reach anywhere. Now, again being tough on yourself. You have brought up two delightful children, alone, without being sullen and angry……..
Making priorites…….. like today decided I will do what guruji said……….. will write down…… because by writing comes internalizations………
So many questions asked…….. but have I internalized the answers……… thought about them seriously? Have they affected your life? And the way you live?
Ok .time for bath in ganga………

Interview with swami kumaranandji

M : Mandaleshwar, means what

S: Mandal….mandal means an area , a region. I think they have divided India into 54 mandals, if I am not mistaken, or maybe just north India. So they get charge of a region. For example, my gurubhai, is in charge of HImgiri mandal… this covers Rishikesh, Hardwar, Gangotri, Kedarnath all these fall under Himgiri Mandal. They go by the old geographical nomenclature, you know when the kings were there,they all had their territory. Mandaleshwar is, you can say 21st century kings. To some extent, they serve the same function. In those days, the kings were the ones who funded the activities of the akhada.

M: The maha mandelshwar is for all akhadas or only for Juna Akhada.

S: He may be from Juna Akhada, but his services are provided for all sadhus belonging to the Akhada Parishad.

M : This would include Agni…..

S: Yes, all the akhadas, Avahan…any sadhus can come here, have food, stay here. So we have no such separation. The separation is only because of tradition and parampara. As far as practical day to day living is concerned there is no division/ separateness…. A sadhu is a sadhu. Just as to some extent you belong to a particular parampara, cause you have a guru lineage and you follow that particular path… that’s about it. We allow to follow any particular path in the akhada. We also have Kabir Path…

M: In the Jhuna Akhada

S: In the Akhada Parishad… we even have a mathi… out of the 52 Mathis we also have a mathi for the Buddhists. This is not new. It is called the Lama mathi. It was formed somewhere In the 9th century. Then we have Kabir Panth, which is mainly sufis. And we have a chota udasi akhada, which is for the Sikhs. It is not only for Hindus. Sanatan Dharma is pure Hindu. See there is no such word as Hinduism….ours is not a religion. The word religion came later..

M: Mmmmm… the british

S: The British, they had a religion. They had a religion, and they wanted to compare notes at the same level…..so they made this into a religion.thats about it. British always did that.

M: So the mathis are here also..they come to the Kumbh

S: We are all part of the Mathi…It is all in the book….mathi means like council. Every akhada has 52 mathis….same 52 mathis are penetrated into the akhada… it is very complicated system.for example we belong to the tera mathi of jhuna akhada… there is chauda mathi of jhuna akhada, there shola mathi of jhuna akhada, and there is chaar mathi (manhi???) of jhuna akhad………now char manhi means 4 manis…. 13 manis make one group, 16 manis make one group…
These 16 mathis will also be there in Niranjani akhada.will also be present in agni akhada. Each of these 13 mathis each of them have a name….a particular name. like ours is called ritinathi and the family tradition of the ritinati started …somewhere in Punjab….this lady here, her guru is the head of the riti nati, Karma Giri, like that there are 13 mathis grouped together, each having their own individual council. Then you have a riti nathi mathi in Niranjan akhada. Like that. SO in a way they are interconnected. Cannot say that they are separate. See. Like that.
What we know as Naga sadhus today were around at the time when Alexander the Great came to India. There is a writing called the…hmmm… the oriental indica…mmmm written by a writer who was present at that time with Alexander. A greek writer. He wrote about a fierce group of warriors that they had to encounter when they entered Gujerat. He called them the Sambhu warriers. Ash clad naked very fierce sum, full of unique powers. They were almost invisible, he writes. They could not defeat them. In fact Alexander the Great stopped his conquest when they met these group of sadhus. And he became more interested in their tradition…than to fight them….and he took 10 of them back with him to Greece. Aha. These were the Naga sadhus, what we call them today. They called them the Shambu warriers. So the records of the tradition were existing even then. So it must have existed before that. For sure.
We do not know exact dates because Indian History is lost in the wilderness, and got destroyed in the process of conquest, you know, by foreigners. However, we have what is known as the Shangam. These are a group of boys or young older men, they come and sing traditional poems. Actually they relate the story, something they carry around in their memory. Actually they have written books but they keep these for their own family. They come from tent to tent and they sing songs of the great glories of the Sambhu warriors and naga warriors. This battle how they fought, that battle how they fought. Like this sort of stories they have. From them , word of mouth, also we get history and facts of how the akhada sadhus were, say one thousand years ago. Then we have historians like the Chinese traveler who writes about his presence in the Kumbh mela. Mark Twain has written about the Kumbh.

M: I was told that the akhadas were set up by Shankaracharya. Is that correct?

S: Shankaracharya formalized it, he did not set up the whole thing, it evolved over the years, He his disciples, his predecessors. He formalized it, meaning the akhadas existed before him . It may not have had the formation that it has today> Even the formation that it has today evolved over time, as result of necessity. Because if you notice, it is a war formation. The mathis, they are all war formation, divided through areas. So they have an area which they cover. And they guard that area. Specifically they are trained to guard that specific area. This is how the mathis started.
So they ask you, which mathi , which pariwar. And you have to say which mathi which pariwar. From that we know what quality of naga you are. This is ancient time. Today, its all got mixed up. Today 21st century. In 200 years everything gets mixed up. But this is how it started. To some extent they maintained at least the name and to some extent the tradition also. You can ask, why? What economic purpose is there. Or what advantage is there for society.Now in the absence of the so called symbols of tradition, what else is there. That is what kumbh mela is all about. To show to the public, what the ancient traditions in this country is all about. And to tell them, that you can live simple lives… no need to be sophisticated… for what. If it’s possible to live one month in a tent, you can live for a year in a tent… you can live your whole life in a tent… why..You need big land, big house…for what? Also to tell them t o simplify. So it’s a message to the people….. this is just one of many messages…about the tradition,.. and very resourcefully they have created these camps… a common process of working together is established….different sadhus come together..live under the same story. The kumbh mela is also about solving our differences…coming together under a common umbrella…everybody having a bath together..do pujas together to decide about greater issues… there are 52 mathis and 13 akhadas I think… it’s a huge family..there are lots of issues to cover, and these issues are covered during the mela, there are meetings, discussions…almost everyday they are having discussions..

M: These are like closed meetings????

S: Some are. Amongst the sadhus…but not public… relating to the running of the akhada

M: Would akhadas be a very spiritual tradition?

S: Spiritual? It depends on what you understand by the word spiritual.. The word spiritual, spirituality in the modern sense has taken a new meaning. In the olden times, what was meant by spiritual was what you get from the scriptures..the essence of the scriptures. Definitely that was the basis of the living, according to the scriptures…the essence of the scriptures…they were not just theories, talking about the scriptures. They lived a life according to the scriptures. Example, in the shaiva tradition, all the niyams are those that are in the Shiva Purana, the Vaishnovaites, according to the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagvatam. You need some guidelines and in those days, those were the guidelines. They are still applicable to some extent..some modifications were required…—————–
Tape 2S: JUna Akhada main diety is Dattatriya..dattatriya is a combination of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. – the adhi Guru. We come from that lineage…we do not consider ourselves to be Shaivites or vaishnovaits…however, from the general sense, we would be categorized as Shaivites by the Vaishnovaites…because we worship Shiva…hmm..but we also worship Vishnu..you see… but because we predominantly have the trimudra (gesture with three fingers across the forehead), and because of the rudrakshas our dress (orange lungi) we would be categorized as Shaivites.But I think the time has come for us to play down these differences, and to forge alliances… and right now that attempt is being made to achieve that state…right now as we speak …..Viashnovites and Shaivites they all will come together to form a Mahasangh

M: What about the old Devi tradition in all this

S: It still exists This particular tent is all Shaktas only…we don’t see those differences…the differences are there…as a means of choice for the devotee…not to create factions…no…that was not the purpose of these differences…the difference was to give you a choice…if your inclination is towards Shakti, you follow shakti. Even if you go some of Vaishnovite tents, they will be doing Naratri Puja…they may worship the Divine Mother in the form of Laksmi…but it’s still navratri puja….so there is room for all that mixture, there is a mixture…a very diversified and versatile approach..

M: Dynamic

S: Yes. Extremely dynamic

M: This for me was the interest in coming to Kumbh…because I do think there is any other event like it in the history of man

S: there is not…and they cannot its impossible

M: And it is not even created…. It is almost as if it is spontaneous

S: If you ask anybody any sadhu as to next week what is going to happen…he will not know…because there is no schedule…except for the baths… between the bath dates what is going to happen nobody knows…. Even the bathing days, the routes that the sadhus will take nobody knows………also of course for security reasons…to keep the crowds in suspense.they don’t want them to flock into the space and crowd up the road…..and also to keep the….. sanctity of the event… so the route is announced the night before the baths……so the correct word is spontaneous.kumb mela is spontaneous

M: Are the naga babas naga all the time, or only when they come here

S::They are naga babas all the time it depends on what you understand by the word, the term naga babas…do you mean that do they hang around naked all the time or do they follow tradition…. Tradition they always follow. Once you are a naga baba, you are always a naga baba…whether you choose to wear clothes or choose not to wear clothes…….that is a separate issue..Sometimes you don’t wear clothes because because you are alone. Sometimes you may wear clothes because you come into interaction with people. Because not everybody understands the path of a nagababa. Normally he doesn’t go for such situations. When he does, tradition has it that they are given a separate place… But those who do not know about this tradition, can’t give them this secluded place, then they have to mingle with the people. Then it is a bit uncomfortable for them (pointing away from himself) and also for himself because he has to eat in a separate place. He cannot eat in the same place as they do… because he has stripped himself from all those needs… he must sit on the floor, he cannot sit on the chair…sometimes they just carry a shell. And a lot of other niyams, which only people who are familiar with the tradition can do that…so most of the time they avoid such situations, in the public. This is the only time that you will see them in public. Otherwise they live away in their secluded spots, and not really in the village. People in the village know them only as naga babas. They never really take the trouble to find out what it is all about.

M: And the naga babas they don’t do rituals…

S: Not too much, they have renounced that…karma kanda has been renounced…we don’t say that it is wrong, and are against it. You come to a stage where you don’t need it anymore. Pujas are recommended for people who have some worldly issues, to solve them. Through their worldly issues, they come into unison with God. And once you achieve that state, then you realize that these worldly things are not necessary, and you go beyond….crossed it. You still respect it, you recognize the importance of it, but you don’t partake of it. If you do, you do it for others, not for yourself. Cause naga is someone who has renounced everything, his clothes, his status. He does not need anything., He does not exist

M: So would a naga baba be considered to have reached nirvana or….

S: I would say not all of them have reached nirvana . But all of them are on their way there.. a few may have reached, you don’t know who they are, they themselves may not know, because there is no proper definition of this word nirvana, they only talk about it, unless you have experienced it you do not… you don’t know what is nirvana….it’s just book knowledge. And for him, he does not care what the word means… he has reached the state where he does not need anything else anymore. If that is nirvana so be it…(smiles) yah (laughs)… otherwise it’s just a word.

Experience, each of them has a unique experience. If two guys are in nirvana, each of them will have their unique experience. Because as much as they are in nirvana, they are also very much in prakriti. They are involved in prakriti. So the detachment is from within. SO someone externally looking at them, cannot make out….because they see them as very much being in the world, eating and talking and joking and…you know…but internally very much detached. Unless you live with that person for months, for months on end, only then would you realize…aha, yes, this person is completely detached in one sitting it is impossible to know. If someone comes and says, oh I went there, I met that saint, I don’t think he is realized, that guy is talking rubbish. You can t know about a realized being in one sitting. If you can know that a realized soul in one sitting then you don’t need to sit there

M: you would be realized

S : yeh…you don’t have to wander from place to place…and why do you need to know if a person is realized or not… you feel good in his company, that’s all you need. Or if you meet someone who is realized you become realized immediately…no/// it takes time…everybody has their destiny, their path, their destiny, which they have to reach. So, I think this 21st century approach to spirituality, I won’t say, that it is the safest and surest approach. They are trying new techniques. These techniques, even Buddhism, the path, is considered relatively new. It’s not time tested. Most of them they reached the stage of Arahat. Till today, Buddhism has not produced another Buddha. I don’t see any other Buddha other than the first one. Why have they not succeeded… (Shrugs)…so from that we see that it is not really a proved path. It’s a path, but if you want to guarantee nirvana, you don’t know, whether it gets there. Because nobody else got there except the first Siddhartha, other than him, no one else has reached that stage. So is this path really time tested…we don’t know…question mark. But if you look at some of the ancient traditions, it is time tested, time and again, they have produced gyanis , time and again, they have produced gyanis…. it’s a proven path. Of course it’s got its positive and negatives… and that’s because people, modify change it, create some distortions in the practice and the teachings. It’s got nothing to do with the quality of truth itself. What the books speak of, that has not changed. It is the way tha