Kumbh in the light of Vedanta: Truth beyond tradition

If Devas and Danavas symbolize the ego, churning represents a symbol of self-reflection. Vedanta says that immortality is the very essence of your being, but you have drifted far from your center, and that is why you have become mortal. To regain immortality, you must delve deep within yourself.

- ACHARYA PRASHANT

Another Kumbh festival is here. There are several ancient stories behind Kumbh. If the stories are taken merely as tales or folklore, then religion risks becoming merely traditional ritualism. However, if these stories are understood through the lens of philosophy, particularly the illumination provided by Vedanta, they transform into wisdom. Unfortunately, India has mostly deprived itself of this profound understanding. But if we truly grasp the essence of these stories, it brings immense insight.

Immortality, and the meaning of life, is the theme of Kumbh. Seen with clarity, everything in the Kumbh narrative revolves around escaping death. Kumbh, literally, is the pot of Amrit (nectar of immortality) that promises immortality. Who is it that dies and seeks immortality? Vedanta tells us this is the ego, the "I"-the sense of self. We often say, "I will die," "I was born," "It is my life," or "My death will come." This I-self is the one perpetually living in the fear of death. It constantly seeks to evade death, and this fear shapes human life profoundly. Everything around us, the entire universe, constantly reminds us of impermanence and death. Change is all around, something is always passing away, something is always transforming. What is here now will not remain tomorrow, and even if it does, it will change.

This is death in a symbolic sense. And we are terrified of this impermanence; it is our fundamental anxietythe fear of change and hence death.

KUMBH: THE NARRATIVE AND ITS DEEPER MEANING STORY FROM PURANAS: The legend of Kumbh revolves around the perennial struggle between the Devas (demigods) and Danavas (demons), the resident gods of heaven and the lords of hell, respectively. The two keep jostling for superiority, and the demons are evereager to defeat the gods and occupy heaven. Danavas remain both envious and desirous of heaven, forever frustrated in their attempts to conquer it.