Contemporising Kumbh: Ancient wisdom, modern relevance

Can we go beyond the ritualistic dip and honestly observe life as it is, within and around us? Can we see how desperately we want the one beyond time and death?

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Amrit—that is at the essence of the story behind the Kumbh festival. Where does the Amrit come from? It comes through self-reflection. What does one see when one honestly looks at himself? Nothing but that which is changing all the time, nothing but that which has been absorbed from the time-dependent world. On seeing the real nature of what we are inwardly attached to, the attachment weakens. This is freedom from that which changes and deceives and disappoints. In other words, this observation of one’s inner reality is freedom from death.

What is death? A result of what we mistakenly consider ourselves to be. The more we observe ourselves, the clearer it becomes that the “self” is a thing dependent on the world. Our moods, desires, body, identities, birth and death are all dependent on the world. One is not independent at all. One is continuously dependent on stuff that is perishable— money, gender, prestige, body. Since I am dependent on that which is perishable, hence I will always be in fear of death. Amrit means being free from death. Whoever stops at poison symbolizing suffering will never be freed from death. And whoever stops at jewels symbolizing wish-fulfilling objects—temporary rewards and happiness—will never be freed from death. Anyone who remains stuck in any false identity and desires that arise from it will be trapped in death. This is the essence of the story of Kumbh.