Om Namo Narayanay Namah
Om Namo Saraswatai Namah
The background:
The Mahakumbh 2025 brought in a lot of new things that we could not even imagine in our wildest of dreams. The purpose of this grand gathering was to have a confluence of knowledge among the religious scholars o different sects in Hinduism. "KUMBH", as the word suggests is a closed pot that is containing several elements at the same time allowing them to brew into something more substantial. Sanatan Dharm, being one of the oldest paths of following the divine, has many agreed philosophies, some of them as bizarre as even atheism. However, an atheist is also accommodated in the same Sanatan Dharm with dignity and a voice. The real purpose of the events like the Kumbh are to establish a common mindset across all these philosophies and come across a level of pragmatic set of rituals that will stand the test of time. This is one of the reasons why the Sanatan Dharm has survived so many onslaughts and has been able to nurture itself over centuries and millenniums. The reason why Kumbh is done in a particular place after 12 years is due to the fact that the planet Jupiter or Brihaspati, as we call in Sanskrit, takes 12 earth years to complete one revolution of the sun. Therefore, revering the teacher of Gods (Brihaspati), the KUMBH is organized every 12 years, marking a Jupiter year.
Rishis and sages performing ablution in the Kumbh PC: Google
So, as we can clearly see that the purpose of this event is very much related to knowledge and is extremely of a nature of a "conclave" wehn it comes to setting rules. The ideal output of such an event in Sanatan Dharm is to disseminate the learnings and the findings of the sages and saints over several sessions of brainstorming and discussions to the people in general as a set of recommended rituals. These rituals would then propagate the right path to the people and give shape to the Sanatan Dharm under the times that are prevalent.
The concept of Religion and amendments
The word religion is very deep and has a very basic roots of evolution. Religons, do evolve, yes and there are changes made in the religion. The changes need to be based on the demands of time and this is paramount for any religion to thrive as the time goes by. There were many sects like the Pharaohs, Babylonians, Aztecs, Romans, Greeks etc who had a very strong religion but then could not eventually survive because they refused to change with time. Their rituals refused to adapt the nature of the modern world and slowly but very surely their way of living went into oblivion. I am not saying that their path of reaching the divine was wrong but then eventually the path became so difficult and non-yielding that they had to give up. The ways of the Sanatan Dharm, were different. Based on the concept of "Seeking" and not "Believing", this sect was distinctively different. With its flexible principles and open to interpretation scriptures the sect thrived in the ancient world. Despite many ancient ways of living fading away the ways of the Sanatan Dharm has prevailed even after 7,000 years of its known inception is because of this flexible nature.
If I can provide a sort of a structure of how a religion like Sanatan Dharm is based on then it will be like the picture below.
Structure of religion.
(Part of discussion with Walking Shepherds team)
So as we can see that in order to have a long sustaining religion or a path to the divine there has to be a very good structure that should prevail. Here, as we can see, religion is standing on three core pillars of Philosophy, Mythology and Rituals.
Philosophy is the core essence of the religion, in corporate terms you can also call it as a sort of a mission statement that are bounded by fundamentals and ethos. Long term principles like inclusivity, adaptability and ethical behavior are included in this layer. Not everybody would understand the values in absolute that are defined in the philosophy, therefore there is a need of illustrations.
These illustrations are achieved by mythology where we have the epics and folklores creating an environment of positivity and hero worship. These documentations, factual or fictional provide the essence of trust to the masses, who in turn favor the religion by their trust and following.
Then comes the more tangible part of religion that is dealing with rituals. Rituals are the actual elements that help in a sort of tangible sustenance of the religion in the masses. The rituals need to be simple and it has to be noted that they need to be aligned with the times and situations. Rituals are also a factor of the socio economic structure during the times so that they can be widely adapted by the masses and it does not seem to be difficult for the masses to do their daily chores while keeping in synch with the rituals. Documentation of rituals are done in the scripture and yes there is also an element of symbolism in the religion that enables the spirituality to channelize through mortal means. This symbolism can be words, idols or even events.
Where Kumbh Comes into Place?
The point where it is really necessary to have a conference like Kumbh is when there is a need to modify certain kinds of set rules in order to accommodate the nuances of changing times. The rituals, that are more tangible to the Sanatan Dharm, have been modified over the times by several sages over such confluences that have taken place for eons together.
For doing these changes that can potentially affect the ways of living of billions of people there needs to be an august gathering of knowledgeable minds who have both spiritual and material knowledge. These changes cannot be done by the whims of one person and has to go through several rounds of checks and balances with approvals from many sects. These cannot be just thrown to the people. It needs a lot of self-introspection and brainstorming.
The Sanatan Dharm has several sects and it is apparent that all the major and minor sects are consulted. The consultation even happens with atheists, and this is also surprising. Sanatan Dharm does not even leave out the people who actually do not believe in any of the rituals. It is also important to take the opinions of people who are involved in occult practices like the Naga Saadhus and so there is also a gathering of those sadhus.
So with the opinion of all these people over a conference these changes are documented and communicated. Actually was in previous times.
Example of an Akhara in Kumbh Mela (Pic: Google)
Different sects over here are represented by different "Akharas" (groups). Each of this group has their own main representative who would put forward their viewpoints in the larger conference.
There are sessions that are open to all sages and there are sessions that are limited to only heads of akharas. Just like any corporate process there is a general meeting and there are board-room meetings. The objective is the same. Arriving at a common mindset and disseminating the knowledge to the general public.
How the present time should look at Kumbh?
Kumbh is something like a religious conference that happens at various levels. This is not a ritual, but it is a platform where the new meanings of rituals are set, and it has to be looked at that way by any person. The real purpose of the Kumbh needs to be understood here and that is to sustain the age old Sanatan Dharm by mining more knowledge and disseminating them to people in general in form of scriptures or new set of rules. The younger generation, who are more swayed to the superficial ways of the living should understand the essence of spirituality and Dharm. Well, nobody can take away any material things that we possess over here or seem to possess if I may say so. Therefore, it is apparent that every human being should be concerned about the values that he/she is leaving behind.
Kumbh should not be looked at as a grand party where you can channelize your frustrations or hop on for some video content which you can post in social media for immediate virality. This is actually spoiling the essence of this august confluence, on which I will discuss in my next article.
In the end I would like to conclude with a shloka on knowledge.
Om Ekam Sadviprah Bahuda Vadanti
It means The truth is one... Though all sages call it by different names.
Happy Vasant Panchami to all
Cheers,
Kalyan
