Divinity at the Mahakumbh
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| Sector 21 - Our First Enclosure |
When the news about the Mahakumbh
first started coming into the public domain I had a great inner desire to participate
in it. I sent a message to Swamiji in the beginning of January and he replied
with an emoji. With that response I was sure that I would get to go there. Once
the Mahakumbh started along with the Samarpan Mahakumbh (Gahan Dhyan Anushthan)
on January 12-13, I went to my friend’s office in the same office complex and
expressed my intention of going to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh. He immediately responded,
saying that he too would come and that he is originally from Benaras and has
relatives in Prayagraj, as a result he would also take care of all the
arrangements. I spoke with Harish another friend and sadhak and he responded
saying that he too will join – this would be his fourth kumbh.
We fixed the dates for the visit from
10 to 13 February, 12th being Maghi Purnima and the Amrit Snan day.
Our tickets were arranged by Manoj through a young 22-year-old whose travel
company’s office was recently opened in our office complex. When he was asked
to do the booking, he said that he too would join. Now I could see Swamiji’s
energy starting to work as everything was automatically being taken care of. Three
of Manoj’s friends also said that they would join, taking our group to seven. Then
I asked Deepak Tandon if he wanted to join in, he said yes, so his tickets were
also booked. So, we were not eight – at the last moment one of Manoj’s friends
who was to join from Delhi said he could not make it. So, ultimately it was
seven of us – symbolically one individual for one chakra (just kidding!). I did
not ask Manok about the arrangements where we were to stay etc, as too much
talk about doubts about the stay arrangements just disturbed the energy which
was being developed. One of Manoj’s friends had doubts about the trip as there
was the stampede, fires and bad fake publicity which was happening in the media.
I told him that we are definitely going, if he wants to drop out, he is
welcome, because in my opinion our trip would be filled with Swamiji’s
blessings.
I was listening to Sadhguru talk
about the Mahakumbh and he mentioned that one should do the ‘Om Namah Shivay’
jaap for 21 days before the first dip in the Mahakumbh. So, 21 days prior to
our departure I started chanting the mantra 108 times during early morning
meditation. Every time my chitta went on the River Ganga, I felt extremely cold
vibrations as if I was bathing in the River Ganga, thereafter I would take my
chitta to the Gahan Dhyan Anushthan and immediately feel Swamiji’s subtle
loving energy. Both the energies were a contrast to each other but just as
divine. I was also chanting the Mahavtar Babaji mantra and praying for darshan
in some form or the other.
On 8th February, I got
Swamiji’s only Anushthan message for translation and that was titled Mahakumbh
and dated 12.2.2025 – that is Maghi Purnima day, which was the day we were to
take our second dip. In this message Swamiji had stressed on the importance of
taking three dips on three separate occasions – based on this we planned dips
for the 11th, 12th and 13th before leaving for
Lucknow on the 13th.
Finally, the day of departure
arrived. Our tickets were booked from Mumbai-Lucknow-Mumbai. On the 10th
we reached the Mumbai airport T2 at around 7am, did the Digiyatra check-in and
went to relax in the Adani lounge. We had something to eat there and then went
to board our flight. The flight left on time and a couple of hours later we
landed in Lucknow, all set for the car trip to Lucknow.
Harsh had made all the travel
arrangements and our cab driver was one hell of a character. I sat in the front
and got chatting with him. He told us that he will take us via Phulpur village
and that the other cab should follow him. The Lucknow Prayagraj expressway was
newly built and completed just before the start of the Mahakumbh. The road was 6
lanes wide and beautifully laid. The whole drive through was very smooth. After
our lunch break, we continued on our journey and at around 4.30pm he took us
off the expressway at a point where the aluminium crash barriers had been cut
and a rough road went down into a village. From this rough road we travelled
through the village till we came to a metal road – from here within an hour we
reached inside Prayagraj just a kilometre and a half away from the tent city.
We decided to walk down the narrow, crowded streets just to soak in the
ambience.
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| As we enter the tent city |
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| On the main road as we enter the tent city |
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| Mahavatar Babaji - first anubhuti and enclosure |
When we reached the enclosure which housed our tent (arranged by Manoj’s relative) I was overjoyed to see that it was that of Kriyayog Ashram and Research Institute headed by Sadguru Yogiraj Dr. Mangeshda – this had posters of Mahavtar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasayaji, Sri Yukteswar Giriji and Paramhansa Yogananda ji along with Dr. Mangeshda ji. The tent allotted to us had exactly seven beds and we settled in for the night. The temperature was down to a pleasant 15 degrees or so. The beds were comfortable and the bathrooms were outside in separate tents just across the rear of our tent. We were used to big events with Samarpan, so this was quite luxurious! We were located in sector 21 on the 10th of February and we had to move to sector 19 the next day, where Manoj’s nephew, Harshit, had made arrangements for two tents for one night.
As usual I woke up at 2.30 am on
the 11th and after a cold-water wash sat down for meditation. I was in
deep meditation while sitting in my shorts and banyan – two of our colleagues
were not getting sleep and they got up and went across to the neighbouring
vacant tent and brought two more blankets. Apparently when they returned, I was
in meditation – they claimed they were quite psyched to see me sitting for
meditation without any warm clothing! The meditation was blissful and Mahavatar
Babaji’s energy was all around us – this really made us feel good! Harish got
up and did his yoga and then sat for meditation while I went for a nice cold
shower. Manoj went for a kriyayog session close by with Dr. Mangeshdaji where
he was holding daily sessions and answering questions from participants. Later
the rest of the group woke up as we called for snacks and tea.
Manoj was trying to get in touch
with his nephew but he was not getting through. Much later, as we started
walking towards sector 19, Harshit called back and asked us to wait where we
were and said that he would send an ambulance to take us to our tents! After the ambulance dropped us off at the tent
enclosure in section 19, we were allotted two tents and when we went inside, we
were pleasantly surprised to see that they were of 4-star quality, there was an
attached bathroom with hot water and toiletries, plus a heater in the room,
which made things really comfortable for those who were not used to the cold.
We asked for an extra bed in one tent as we were seven people. Harish, Manoj,
Deepak and I were in one tent and Sateesh, Harsh and Pawan were in the other tent.
After breakfast, we decided to go for our first dip at around 11.30am. The sun
was out and it was quite warm. All seven of us left for the Sangam Ghat, with
our towels and bags to keep our clothes.
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| The crowd at the Triveni Sangam |
Even though we had an idea of the crowd which would be there, we were still left open mouthed with astonishment at the site once we reached the ghat. There were people going into the river, people outside changing clothes, there was a continuous throb of palpable devotional energy of people taking the bath. There were continuous announcements being made in various languages for people who had lost their friend/relative and were asking them to come to pillar 66 from where the announcements were being made. These announcements were quite entertaining as the authorities were asking the visitors themselves to make the announcements and the appeals were really entertaining, the language, the diction, the phrases were literally a laugh riot. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
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| The first collective dip |
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| Just finishing the first dip |
We bought a sheet of plastic to place our clothes on before going for the dip. All seven of us found a place to lay the plastic – five of us went in first while two remained behind to watch over the clothes. The water was ice cold as I went in followed by Harish, Manoj, Deepak and Harsh. I took my dips and prayed to Mahadev and Gurudev, paid obeisance to the Sun and offered ardhya (offering the Ganga water with both hands raised above the head while facing the Sun). In 15 odd minutes we came out and then Pawan and Sateesh went in for the dip along with Harish. We then changed and some lady came and applied tilak and we gave some Dakshina and moved on back to our tent. After bathing and changing into fresh clothes, we went for prasad at Harshit’s free food distribution pandal where he had tied up with Vishwa Manav Ruhani Kendra, whose manager Manmohan Singhji greeted us. He showed us the kitchen area where massive food was being cooked in massive utensils. All the cooks and attendants were volunteers who had come to offer seva from different states like Himachal, Punjab, Chattisgarh etc. The entire setup was extremely impressive as they were giving high quality, nutritious food free of cost to almost 40-50000 people daily. When we entered the tent there was along line of people waiting to get in. Manmohan Singh ji himself was so gentle and kind, nothing seemed to hassle him as he tackled issues in real time basis without batting an eyelid or losing his cool. He later told us that they have langars going on in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Amarnath, Vaishnodevi etc and we should give him a call whenever we visit. He had left home at the age of 12 and joined Sant Baljit Singhji’s NGO, remained unmarried and offered his services to mankind. The motto of this NGO was - ‘CONSIDER THYSELF A SOUL’ – is this any different from ‘I am a holy soul; I am a pure soul’? Swamiji had arranged things in a way that we found our soul mates at Prayagraj!
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| The kitchen of Vishwa Manav Ruhani Kendra |
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| Manmohanji and volunteers |
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| The dining hall feeding almost 40000 souls for 45 days |
After our afternoon prasad we decided to take a walk and soak in the ambience. We returned to our enclosure by 5pm and sat down to have tea and snacks. Suddenly Manoj announced that we will leave for Lucknow tomorrow. He took this decision because we had this tent only for a day. This was discussed during prasad and Manmohan Singhji invited us to their enclosure which was even closer to the Sangam ghat and with the same facilities which were available here. But by then Manoj had made up his mind to return to Lucknow the next morning. There was no point arguing and spoiling the divine ambience as Manoj’s face had a very adamant – ‘I won’t take no for an answer’ kind of look. Harish and I decided to take our second dip at 6.30 the same evening as Maghi Purnima muhurat commenced at 6.30pm and our third dip at the Brahma Muhurat the next morning. This would complete our three dips as indicated by Swamiji in His message. We had planned to go to Sector 24 on the 13th, but that plan was short circuited and we could not make it unfortunately. But as Swamiji say 'sweekar bhav' is required, so we accepted the situation and moved on.
Harish and I asked the others if
they would join us, all of them said ‘no’ as the cold weather was not something
they relished, so both of us left our phones behind and just went in our shorts
and tops so that no one really had to take care of our clothes. We left at
around 5.45pm and reached the ghat in a short while. The Purnima rush had
started coming in, and thousands of people could be seen moving towards the
ghat. Some were singing, some were shouting ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and so on. Again,
the ambience was electrifying! We reached the ghat at 6 and as there was still
half an hour, I told Harish that we will sit down to meditate. He agreed. We walked
a little further and found an open area of pure white sand and sat down to
meditate. Suddenly, I felt something wet and cold moving against my chin and
cheeks – I opened my eyes to see a dog licking me and looking at me with
tremendous love in its eyes. Harish was also looking at me with a wry smile. He
said that the dog had come and sat on his lap and after he pushed it away, it
started licking me. I cuddled the dog as it continued its licking spree – some foreigners
passing by had fun clicking our photos. After some time, I told Harish lets go,
as the doggie wouldn’t let us sit in peace. It was 6.25 anyways and the dog
followed us for some time, prancing behind us and then ultimately left after we
went into the crowd. The beauty of this incident was that in the last two days
we had not seen a single stray animal moving around, and after this incident,
we did not see the dog again. Both of us got the sense that – Paramatma comes
and shows his love and presence in some form or the other. In Shirdi Baba’s Sai
Charitra one such incident is mentioned. Also, if you go to various samadhis
all over the country you will always find dogs at the samadhi – this is because
dogs sense energy and are attracted to it.
Both of us took our dip turn by
turn – one went in and held the others’ top and then the other way around - it had
become quite cold now, must have been around 10-12 degrees. After we finished
our rituals, we got out and started walking towards the tent. Both of us were
in our wet clothes – shorts and top – while the crowd was cuddling in blankets
and monkey caps. We had a kind of glow as we went back to the tent. When we
returned Deepak said why did you not tell me, I would have also come. We said,
we asked and you said ‘no’. Harish accompanied Deepak again and they both
returned about 45 minutes later.
At around 9.30 we retired for the
evening – Harish and I had decided to go for the Brahma Muhurat dip. As usual,
we woke up early, did our morning meditation and left for the ghat at around
4.30 am. It was really cold – our shorts and top had not dried, nevertheless we
wore the same clothes and went for my third and Harish’s fourth dip. The crowd
was massive now and the police arrangements had been tightened. Everything was
now one way – go in from one side and exit via a circuitous route entailing maybe
a 4 km walk. We slowly made our way towards the edge of the Ganga – all the
ladies were lighting lamps and making them flow into the Ganga – the edge was full
of ladies, sitting shoulder to shoulder and it was almost impossible to get
into the water. As we tried finding a way into the water, suddenly a group of
five ladies encircled me…..one was crying out loudly in maybe Bhojpuri as if
she was looking for something. I was like squashed from all sides by the
village ladies and somehow managed to elbow my way out of that predicament.
Harish being tall had moved ahead, and I tried to get into the water, and of
those ladies followed me, placing her blanket on my shoulders – I was topless,
maybe she wanted to keep me warm who knows? – I moved left, she followed, I moved
right, she followed, I moved back she followed absolutely sticking to me –
suddenly I saw an opening and went into the Ganga and the lady disappeared in
the rush of people.
The water was ice cold, the river
flow was pretty fast and the full moon shone in all its glory, shedding its
ethereal light over the entire area. We took our dips, completed our rituals
and left for the tent. We tried to return the way we had come, but the police
had barricaded the area and told us to walk all the way round. As we started following
the crowd, we saw a bunch of people going through the side barricade which went
into the labour tent camp, we followed, and luckily this way bypassed the
barricade and we returned to the road which led to our tent. We returned by
around 5.45 and had our bath and started getting ready to return to Lucknow.
Around 7am all of them came and asked whether we finished our dip, we said ‘yes’.
We then had a photo session and
then after packing our bags we went to Manmohan Singhji’s tent for breakfast.
We had some very healthy breakfast and jaggery to finish – the jagger was
directly brought over from Punjab and it was extremely delicious. We thanked all
the volunteers and Manmohanji. I felt like giving him a hug – I requested him
and we hugged each other, neither of us felt like letting go, as the love
energy flowed between us. After that everyone hugged Manmohanji and he said
that it is very rare to meet people like us who come with the sole purpose of
spiritual upliftment. We then had a group photo outside the tent and Manmohanji
said his ambulance will drop us.
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| Sant Baljit Singhji's NGO providing free food for 45 days |
Our taxis were to come at a certain point which was about 10 km away – all the other roads had been blocked. It is just Guru’s grace that we were able to get into the ambulance which dropped us right up to our taxis. We returned to Lucknow and went to Gomtipur to visit Manoj’s relatives. Manoj and Harsh were to stay there, while Sateesh was to go and stay at his daughter’s marital home. After having tea and snacks and a healthy discussion, Harish, Pawan and I left for the hotel. One taxi had been relieved and we kept one taxi as it would take us again the next day around Lucknow and drop us off at the airport in the evening. Our flight was at 10.50pm to Mumbai on the 13th.
The next day after breakfast Ajay (Harish’s friend) came and picked us up and we left for his office (an architectural firm) in South City. Manoj, Harsh and Sateesh joined us there a little later. We then went for lunch to a very traditional Lucknowi food restaurant where we really enjoyed the sumptuous offerings. After the meal we took our cab and visited Lulu mall where I bought some local sweets to carry home.
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| At the Lucknowi Restaurant with Ajay |
There was nothing much to do, as we roamed around a bit and then got dropped off at the airport around 7pm. Our flight was delayed, and we ultimately landed in in Mumbai at around 1.30am. By the time we got our luggage and I reached home it was 2.30 am – my waking up time. I brushed my teeth, freshened up and sat for meditation. As I bowed down, I realised that the gold chain with Swamiji’s gold pendant was missing.
Frankly, I panicked a bit as the
devil in my mind started creating nasty thoughts, I brushed the aside and as I
was not in a state for meditation, after about half an hour I got up and
started scanning the photos. The chain was there around my neck till the 11th
evening. It was missing in the 12th morning photos. I felt that it
would have escaped my neck in the fast flow of water as I took those multiple
dips. Either that or as Shiraz, a college friend mentioned – the lady putting
her blanket round my neck may have taken it. Either way I felt it was an
offering to Mother Ganga. When I told my wife, she did not bat an eyelid and
said consider it as an offering the Mother Ganga. That same evening, I flew to
Mahudi for the Madhuchaitanya meeting on the 15th. When I narrated
this story, Pujya Guruma also said that consider it as an offering to Mother
Ganga – she also said that in the past gold and coins were offered to the river
to maintain its purity and energy.
With this all attachment to gold
has gone, earlier in 2015 I stopped wearing rings on my fingers, and now the
chain also went naturally. So, I feel that attachment too has gone. With this
our Mahakumbh saga came to a divine end.
Let me place on record my thanks
to Harsh and Fusion Fly Travels, Manoj for making it happen, Harish and Deepak
for their great company and Sateesh and Pawan for the joy of their company.
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