MAHA KUMBH AT UJJAIN

 

When Madhu Chadha arrived in the holy city of Ujjain on April 3 for the 2004 Maha Kumbh, the great festival was already in full swing.

 

During the grand Peshwai (procession) a few days earlier, flower petals were showered from an airplane along the entire route. And in this city, where Lord Shiva is worshipped as Mahakaal, the master of cosmic time, people were already proclaiming this Kumb the best ever.

 

Despite scorching heat, the generous-hearted and devout residents of the ancient city of Ujjain came in their thousands offering cold drinks, fruit and other refreshments, but above all, their devotion to the saints and devotees.

 

On April 3, about twenty of us from Delhi reached the sprawling tented camp located only minutes from the main bathing ghat of the holy river Shipra, also known as the Ganges of Malwa. We shared accommodation with Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishveshwaranandji and his group. Gurudev remarked that many other saints came to see how two holy men could live together in such harmony! It was a perfect example to emulate in our daily lives.

 

As there were no fixed daily programs we were free to do as we wished. Options included taking a dip in the Shipra or visiting one of the city’s innumerable temples. A favored destination was the main Kaaleshwar Temple where Lord Shiva is worshipped as the master of kaal (time). Others included Lord Krishna’s school and the caves where the saint-king Bharthari did his tapasya.

 

Samashti bhandara was scheduled for the next afternoon in a huge tented hall at the camp site of Shri Mahanirvani Akhara. More than a thousand sadhus filled the tent and everything went off perfectly. We noted the way Gurudev looked after every detail of the arrangements while remaining calm and relaxed throughout.

 

Dawn of fifth morning saw us ready to take the holy dip of the first Shahi Snan. Led by Gurudev and Swamiji, we walked to the akhara grounds where all the Mahamandaleshwars mounted their chariots and the procession began. Leading our group was our very own Guruseva Brass Band from Yeola. The band’s renditions of much loved tunes made the atmosphere so joyous and festive that many of us almost danced our way to the ghat. Hundreds of sadhus, pilgrims and devotees formed a sea of humanity around us. However, the blessing of being with Gurudev meant we took our dips with such ease that it was difficult to believe we were actually bathing at the Kumbh.

 

In one of the informal evening satsangs Swami Vishveshwaranandji explained that we were all bound by kaal, time. Here in the city of Kaaleshwar Mahadev we are made aware that it is only through the grace of God and the Guru that we can be free from this endless kaal chakra (wheel of time). Therefore we are truly blessed to have the Guru’s grace.

 

We marveled at the devotion of people – young and old. They walked miles, slept in the open and stood in burning heat to have a glimpse of the saints, listening with rapt attention to discourses well into the night. In the midst of all this our camp and all its activities were permeated with the underlying serenity which always pervades around Gurudev. This is what will always stay with us when we think of the Maha Kumbh at Ujjain.

 

As Gurudev said, “With the name of Hari, any trace of duality disappears. Rarely does anyone know the secret of non-duality. So when one becomes lost in the experience of devotion, a sense of separation, of duality is gone, and this is what we found in Ujjain.”