Tamil
Nadu is a land of temples, with many of them having a very long and unique history.
Even in small villages, one could see many temples. When people begin to settle
in a new place, temple comes up there automatically. Tamilians believe that going
to Kashi and offering prayers to Lord Shiva at least once in their life time is
their duty. They usually undertake this holy pilgrimage after attaining the age
of 60 years. When they take up such exercise, they visit a few other prominent temples
in the region such as Ayodhya. In the recent periods, many of them undertake
visits covering major holy shrines in the northern states of India. The local voluntary
groups from different centres of Tamil Nadu organize such trips in association the
tour operators. But going to the Kumbh is not common in the state.
After
coming to know the significance of Kumbh, I wanted to participate during
the previous occasion itself. But by the time I decided it was already
over. So I was planning to visit this time since November 2024 and it happened
to be the Maha Kumbh also. Also I desired to take the Holy Snan
during Brahma Muhurtham. Since I could not find suitable friends in Coimbatore,
I consulted my friends in U.P. and Delhi. It was decided not to take up the
pilgrimage during the important snan days due to large crowds and during
the visits of the top-most leaders as there would be huge restrictions. Hence
after deliberations, we decided to take the snan in the early hours of February
10th 2025.
What
started off as a team of 3-4 close friends, the tally reached 12 by word of
mouth, including ladies and children, representing the northern and southern
parts of Bharat, namely Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As the train
tickets were not possible for all of us within a few days, my friends chose
travel by road in a convenient vehicle. We left Delhi on February 8th
by 10.30 am hoping to reach Prayagraj the next day morning as the distance is
around 670 kms.
But
we could reach our place of stay, a village on the banks of the mighty river
Ganges, about 3 kms near the Kumbh sthan only by 7.30 pm on February 9th
after about 21 hours of travel. During the course of our visit we learnt that
it was due to the heavy traffic that prevailed for 3-4 days during that time. On
the way we took breakfast in a decent road-side hotel and later lunch at a Dhaba.
There were crowds in these places,
particularly during lunch as we were nearing Prayagraj.
More
than a week before our departure for the holy trip, we had rented a house in
the village for two days of stay through Sangh friends. The house owner
received all of us and after getting refreshed we were provided with dinner. Soon
we went to sleep, as we had to get up very early next day. On 10th
Feb. we got up from bed at 3.30 am and after completing our daily morning
routine, we left the place for the holy Sanagmam by 4.15 am. After walking for about 3 kms. we
could reach the Triveni Sangamam area by around 4.45 am.
On
the way we could witness a sea of pilgrims entering the banks and leaving them after
the bath. There were people from diverse backgrounds - men, women, elderly and
children. One could see people from the very ordinary sections of the society,
with women carrying bags on their heads, entering the holy place with pure devotion.
It was a rare sight where we saw the faith uniting millions of people on a
daily basis. It is this faith that unites the largest number of people anywhere
on the earth since the ancient periods.
We
entered the sacred place, slowly stepped into the river and took the holy dip
at around 5 am with prayers. It was a very divine experience and once in a
life-time opportunity. Immediately I could realize the greatness of Sanatana
Dharma as a way of life and feel proud to be a part of our great
civilization with thousands of years of proud history. It is very difficult to
put the experience in a few words, as several thoughts crossed the mind. The
water flowing in the mighty rivers made us realize the continuous flow of time
and the temporary nature of human life.
After
coming out of the holy waters, the pandits over there applied sandals on
our foreheads with the image of Lord Shiva. Then our friends took a few photos
and we changed our clothes. Soon we walked towards the Hanuman ji temple. On
the way I stood over a bridge- like structure and saw a sea of humanity over
the entire region. It was a sight that I have never witnessed in my life time,
sea of humanity along the banks of the river as far as I could see.
We
offered prayers at the Hanuman Ji temple, thanking Him for giving us an
opportunity to visit the place. From
there, we went to a hotel inside and took food. While returning we went around
the Kumbh area and saw the fine arrangements made by the state
administration. Kudos to the Yogi Government. As a citizen from Tamil Nadu,
ruled by the notorious anti-Hindu DMK party, I could understand the difference
in attitudes and approach of the state machinery, and witness what a
nationalistic double-engine Government could do.
Then
we went around the Akharas, got blessings from the Naga Sadhus
and saw the pilgrims who were staying there on the banks of the river for ten
days to two weeks, taking regular baths in the holy river and offering prayers while
observing strict rules. One of them said that his family members usually take
part and stay for two weeks during every Kumbh. How lucky they are.
For
many of us, this was the first time that we saw Naga Sadhus directly. There
was an interesting incident with one of them during our return. Three of us went
to seek the blessings of one Naga Sadhu sitting by the side. The Sadhu
told one of my friends, who is rich and earning good money through different businesses,
to start donating a part of his income regularly to the poor and the needy. We
were really surprised, as it would not be possible for anyone to find out my
friend’s backgrounds from his appearance and approach. During my turn, the Sadhu said that I
would be meeting him again after six years.
Then
we visited few pandals and stalls and interacted with a few people to
understand what was going on. On the way we saw the pictures of Lord Muruga,
the important God of Tamilians, displayed prominently in many posters. When
enquired about it we were informed that Lord Muruga has a prime place in a major
Akhara in North India. I felt that this should be informed to the people
of Tamil Nadu, particularly the Dravidian elements. In their attempt to create
false narratives in Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian groups even divide Gods. For them
Lord Ram is a North Indian. As Lord Muruga is the most popular deity, no one
can deny His place; hence they accept Him as Tamil God, little knowing that He
is prayed in other parts of the country as Karthikeya.
After
hours of walking and interacting, we returned to our place by about 3.30 pm in
the evening. The house owner brought one Mr David, a U.S. citizen who was
staying in the opposite house. He said that he has been frequently touring
India for the past several years particularly visiting the holy places. He
informed us that he was there for the last three days and would be staying
there for the next few days also, visiting Kumbh every day. We saw many
from the foreign countries, both men and women, in Kumbh. It is learnt
that several lakhs of them from different countries took part in Kumbh
this year.
Our
original plan was to start early on Feb 8th and go to Ayodhya, pray
Lord Ram and then go to Prayagraj. But we were informed a day in advance that
the Ayodhya visit was not possible due to heavy crowd. And after the Kumbh,
we were planning to go to Kashi and offer prayers to Lord Shiva. We were told
that vehicles to the city of Varanasi were not allowed. We tried our best to
see whether there was any possibility of visiting Kashi till 10th
evening through our friends and contacts. We came to know from multiple sources
that it was not possible to enter the city in the vehicles.
Hence
we started our return journey to Delhi by around 7. 30 p.m in the evening. The
traffic was very heavy and we had to move very slowly for about three hours. We
could go to a restaurant only during late night. There was heavy crowd, but we
took the easily available items for dinner and left. Again there were traffic
jams in a few places. On 11th February, the next day, we stopped the
vehicle in a road side dabha and took breakfast. On the way the ladies
and children in our team were signing bhajans and we also listened to
devotional songs. In between we had snacks, biscuits and fruits that were
carefully brought by the Haryana families. Some of us took short naps, while
the children were playing.
It
was already 1.30 pm, when I reached my place. It was a highly memorable trip, a
life-time opportunity that we were able to get, as this Maha Kumbh takes
place once in 144 years. The experiences that I got during this visit and the
holy snan are highly memorable and are going to be with me during my
entire life.
We
are all lucky to be born in this ancient land of Bharat, the land of Hindu
Dharma, that is sustaining us our great civilization, and the one that continues
to teach each one of us the lessons that we need. It is our duty to preserve nurture
and preserve our Dharma for the emergence of Bharath as a powerful nation,
for the humanity to survive and flourish.
(The
Nationalist, SPMRF, New Delhi, Jan- Mar 2025 Issue)
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