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The Significance of Kumbha Mela

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


Once every 12 years, all the seers, saints and aspirants of spiritual knowledge congregate at the confluence (sangam) of the 3 holy rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The Ganga is a symbol of Knowledge and Self-inquiry. It is on the banks of the Yamuna that events of love have been immortalized. Prayagraj is the unity of love and wisdom. When Knowledge and Love come together, when the head meets the heart, Saraswati, symbolic of wisdom and the fine arts, emerges and there is celebration.


Space by itself cannot be bought, and a lump of clay has no value, but when space is enveloped by clay it gains value, this is a Kumbha (pot). Spirit is all over in Nature, but when it dawns in the human body as an elevated state of consciousness, then it gains immense value. An embodied and elevated spirit is usually referred to as Kumbha. This is why the enlightened age is also called the Aquarian age. Kumbha denotes a pot, which is symbolic of fullness and perfection.


When a tiny atom explodes, the radiation lasts for a long time, the mind is even more subtle than an atom. When the mind explodes, that is Enlightenment. Over the centuries, thousands of sages who have meditated, done penance and been enlightened come to the Kumbha Mela and transfer all the merit gained through Sadhana to the waters by bathing in the rivers. Water has the quality to absorb the energy that they radiate. The seekers, who come from all corners to be in the company of the seers and saints, gain that merit when they take a dip in the rivers.


If you see it from the planetary perspective, Kumbha takes place when Jupiter enters Aquarius. By bathing in the Ganga, the chitta (consciousness) becomes joyful; you feel fresh and new. Your consciousness is purified and your sins, all the impurities of the mind are washed away. It's so beautiful. The sins are so superficial that just by a dip in the Ganga they can be washed away The ever-pure consciousness can never be dirtied.


In the olden days the transport facilities were not so extensive and travelling would take much time. Kumbha mela provided an opportunity for people to converse and exchange knowledge with each other. Saints, scholars and katha vachaks (story tellers) participate in discussion and meditation with the sankalpa of universal benefit. People needn’t go to all the different pilgrimage places. They can all come to one place. The concept of mela started in India. Nowadays, there are expos for motors, books, clothes, etc to present all the products in one place to the people. Similarly, all the saints congregate in one place once in twelve years. The Kumbha Mela is an ancient version of a spiritual expo.


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