As a rare yoga practitioner and monotheistic religious person, I approached the journey to the Kumbha Mela less as spiritual necessity and more as bucket list adventure—it’s not too often you get to be part of a pilgrimage involving millions of people, some of whom are holy men who rarely come out of their caves. And bathing in the river—The incredibly sacred and notoriously polluted Ganges—on auspicious dates which is believed that it supposedly helps clear sins is always an add on and a plus.
The massive event takes place in India every three years, rotating between four holy cities—the last one in 2007 drew an estimated 17 million people. More than 100 million people were said to have attended the 2001 Maha Kumbh Mela, a six-week event that occurs every 144 years, making it the largest gathering in world history. The current one goes from January 14 to April 28, with several especially holy days interspersed.
The festival commemorates the story of Lord Vishnu taking amrita kalasha (immortality nectar) from the kumbh (pot) and giving it to the mythical eagle god garuda, who was escaping from the demons also seeking the nectar. The garuda then sprinkled four drops of the nectar on the four cities that now hold the Kumbh Mela: Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Nasik. Exact time and locale depends on the placements of the sun, moon and Jupiter in the sky—complicated astrological configurations, but with the sun in Aries this time around, it’s in Haridwar.
As an attendee, you have to be prepared for the intense pollution and poverty of India. The makeshift tents and shelters devotees set up by the river front along the banks of the Ganges are unfathomable to a typical Westerner, even when you’re looking right at them. I’ve traveled around India and Asia enough to see all of that as part of the paradoxical beauty of the region—and was very excited when a yoga friend and fellow mate asked me to come along on a trip that coincided with the Kumbha Mela.
We ended up in Delhi for a trade show the week before the First Royal Bath (or Maha Shivratri) of the Kumbha Mela and were excited about the prospect of some quick holy pilgrimage vibes at the Kumbha Mela.
Our driver took us to the outskirts of Haridwar, which was as far as he could go since traffic was diverted off of the main road. We were told we had to walk three-kilometers to the holy sites on the river, and we couldn’t complain about it really, since many pilgrims walk barefoot for months to get there. On the way, we passed some devotees wearing all orange, some wearing all pink, as well as some naga sadhus (Nag means “naked”; sadhu literally means “good man” in Sanskrit--essentially they are wandering holy men who have renounced society to follow a spiritual path) who wore nothing besides long dreadlocks. These devoted sadhus, who are fast-tracking to the end of their reincarnation cycles walk in trance-like states covered in sacred ash, blessing the many who kneel to touch their feet, which are considered holy.
Drumming and chanting were everywhere, as were soldiers. Security has been completely beefed up and the administrative body of the Kumbha Mela kept on high alert to ensure proper crowd control, safety and security of the pilgrims. After walking for three hours we arrived at a sufficiently holy place to bathe in the Ganges. The moment of truth arrived: Would I actually go in?
On the plus side, the water in the river, which in some places contains floating bodies of cows and humans, was surprisingly clear and blue; we were near its source from the Himalayas. The milky blue water actually did look very inviting after the three-hour trek in the strong sun. On the minus side, there are numerous obvious health-related reasons as to why this wouldn’t be a great idea. In the end, my pragmatic side eked a win over my mystical half, as I took off my, shoes and socks, rolled up my pants and thoroughly doused the top half of my body, including my head with Ganges water—which is also said to impart many spiritual blessings.
After the holy dip I really didn’t have time to process the entire Kumbha Mela experience until I returned home. I can’t pinpoint exactly why I feel different now, but I do feel like I’ve been through a rite of passage. Maybe walking with millions of seriously spiritually devoted people for six hours straight on such a holy day can do that. The ubiquitous music… the intense sun… the mystic stoicism of the pilgrims... the rough, dusty air… the cool feeling of the Ganges water… all are staying with me.
Still, holy pilgrimages shouldn’t be rushed and I wish that I had more time at the Kumbh Mela. Hopefully I’ll get another chance in this life. If not, there’s always the next one.