A spiritual and divine dip at Kumbhmela in Haridwar

My next most spiritual destination was the Kumbhmela held in Haridwar. While reading books, I had also read about the Kumbhmela which is held after every 12 years and it was high time for it to be held this year. So, I planned my journey in the similar way so that I can take ride of the Kumbhmela in Haridwar.

Kumbhmela is the huge Hindu mass pilgrim in which Hindus get together at the Ganges River. The normal Kumbhmela is celebrated after every 3 years but the Purna Kumbhmela is held after every 12 years. Kumbhmela is not just a festival for the Indians but holds a lot of importance for the people in India. Here thousands of people take dip in the river before sunrise and then spent the whole day by exploring the place.

When I reached there, I was pretty surprised to see such a huge crowd which came via trains, buses, cars or any means which they got to arrive at the place. Everyone was almost carrying five times the weight of their capacity with bed roll and other necessary equipments. Their main intention was to take a holy dip in the sacred water of river Ganges which would wash away all their sins. People from different parts of the country as well as world interestingly come to be the part of this sacred and spiritual ceremony.

I found many strange people like the naked sadhus who were present almost all over the place. These sadhus were generously helping many people by either sharing their tents with or by offering them food. Almost all of them had long hair. When I took their photographs, they demanded me to show them. I captured lot of pictures in my camera but there were some aggressive sadhus also were charging people for pointing the camera at them and clicking photos.

I was very shocked when I saw many people throwing all the garbage on the street as well as in the sacred river. The place where people worship the river and the holy place, they don’t even find it difficult to throw all sort of garbage there. And instead of throwing it in the bins or in the available resources, they literally threw it anywhere.
Whatever may be the religious connotations but once you have an experience of the Kumbhmela, you might not need to go anywhere else. This experience was a truly a magical one of my lifetime. It’s truly the world’s most massive act of faith!