Kumbh Mela: 'Eight million' bathers on first day of festival

[Awesome]

That's a lot of people...

No wonder Amitabh Bachan kept getting lost as a kid on this mela...

 

[Yeti]

Veer Dada Jasraj - King of LoharGadh
Shree Jalaram Bapa - a saint of Gujarat
Jhulelal - a saint of Sindh
Guru Nanak[33] - 1st Guru & founder of Sikhism
Yogiji Maharaj: 4th spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee - famous businessman during British Raj.
Agham Lohana - Lohana chieftain of the Sind in 7th Century AD.
Ajanbahu Lohana -Great general of Prithviraj Chauhan notable for his bravry.
Rana Vachhraj -An elder brother of Rana Jashraj.



These are all Lohana's also

 

[Dushmann]

media people are obsessed with naga sadhus. they are just one of many dozens of sub-sects.

 

[Awesome]

I love these Naga Sadhus ... For the years these People Roam Snowy Peaks of Himalayas with nearly No Dress or food ... amazing resilience to extreme cold ... Some wash there Hair only at the Purna Kumbha Mela which comes once in every 12 year ...

Is this mela only for them? I mean why are these event pictures with only these kind of Hindus, where are the average Joes?

 

[idune]

Even there was some study conducted on Water Pollution from mass Bathing in Ganga River During Kumbha Mela. If anyone can get hold of full report please post the link.

Water Pollution from mass Bathing in Ganga River During Kumbha Mela

Foreword

Mass bathing is frequently held in India. On certain religious occasions,
special importance is assigned to it and a very large number of people take
bath during a short period in specific stretches of rivers, lakes, tanks and sea
coast. 'Kumbh' and 'Ardh-Kumbh' are such occasions when millions take dip
at sacred spots.
Water quality is severely affected by mass bathing. Deterioration of river water
quality may injure health of the people taking the dip and also the population
downstream which use the river as a source of water for drinking and bathing.
To ascertain the deterioration of water quality, changes due to mass bathing
have to be observed through monitoring before, during and after the mass
bathing event and taking appropriate actions at all stages. The Central Board
for the Prevention and Control of Water pollution in the above context had
sent its team of scientists and
engineers to several religious congregations to monitor water quality changes.

http://www.cpcb.nic.in/upload/Publications/Publication_279_sec4_15.pdf

 

[Awesome]

Give it a rest on the water pollution stuff - everybody knows, we can see it! It's their faith, they would bear the consequences for it.

Don't work extra hard to piss other people off for no reason. Do it with a reason .

 

[DRaisinHerald]

Oh Goodness...these nanga babas..

 

[cloud]

Not sure why certain Jamati's and such people are pissing in their paints or burning their a$$es after seeing the 100 million gathering... It is just the a few minutes dip into a Flowing water, they are not taking a daily bath in a Pond or something. It doesn't matter if even 10 millions go at one time, because the fresh water is coming continuously.

 

[Awesome]

Not sure why certain Jamati's and such people are pissing in their paints or burning their a$$es after seeing the 100 million gathering... It is just the a few minutes dip into a Flowing water, they are not taking a daily bath in a Pond or something. It doesn't matter if even 10 millions go at one time, because the fresh water is coming continuously.

Why are you stoking up the debate - let it go, its offtopic altogether, so fresh water or stale water does not matter. This is not the place for a scientific debate on the matter.

 

[Yeti]

People checkout NamastePakistan channel on Youtube he is nice guy and shared many videos there

 

[Teeta]

A great event!

How many people, at most, are present in the event at any given time? Like 100 people will visit Kumb Mela but obviously they won't be there at one time?

Also, U.S state department's travel guide for Americans describe Hajj as the largest mass gathering on the planet? Probably because Hajj happens every year while Kumb mela every four (and major event every 12 year?)

But over-all, I'd rate Hajj far above this event. Hajj is the largest 'humanity's' gathering at one place!!!!!

 

[Yeti]

A great event!

How many people, at most, are present in the event at any given time? Like 100 people will visit Kumb Mela but obviously they won't be there at one time?

Also, U.S state department's travel guide for Americans describe Hajj as the largest mass gathering on the planet? Probably because Hajj happens every year while Kumb mela every four (and major event every 12 year?)

But over-all, I'd rate Hajj far above this event. Hajj is the largest 'humanity's' gathering at one place!!!!!

Wrong this is the biggest gathering in the world your state dept is telling porkie pies

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2262132/Kumbh-Mela-110-million-pilgrims-attend-worlds-largest-festival.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/mar/18/kumbh-mela-india-hindu-festival

 

[KS]

Kumbh Mela festival is proof that crowds can be good for you | Stephen Reicher | Science | guardian.co.uk

Our analysis suggests that the starting point lies in the development of a shared identity. Kalpwasis come to see themselves and others at the festival as a group: as "us" rather than "me" and "you".

On the one hand, this transforms relations between them. People cease to see their fellow kalpwasi as "other", but rather to share the same perspectives and goals. They expect to agree with others, to have their views validated by others and to receive support from others. All this makes social interaction smoother and social relations more rewarding.

On the other hand, the fact that kalpwasis share common goals, makes them more likely to understand and respect the perspective of others - and, crucially, to work together in order to achieve those goals. Kalpwasis give space for others to perform their devotions. They don't interrupt them or detain them with gossip. In this way – unlike everyday life where the constant distractions of work, neighbours and family inevitably drag one back to mundane, secular reality – the devout become better able to realise their fundamental goal of living a spiritual life.

Our rich ethnographic data, and the statistical modelling of our survey data, show that the combination of intimate social relations and the ability to live out the aspirations rooted in one's group identity (what we call "collective self-realisation") are critical to the extreme positivity that kalpwasis experience during the Mela.

At Kumbh Mela, pilgrims make space for others to perform their devotions. Our analysis also shows it is the sense of intimate social relations – that we are not alone, that we can call on others, that these others form a "social safety net" for us – that creates improvements in wellbeing once kalpwasis leave the Ganges and go back to their everyday lives.

What our work demonstrates, then, is the power of identity in transforming collective experience and the power of collective experience in transforming everyday life. It shows how a sense of shared identity provides the underpinning for that sense of community and civility about which so much is spoken. And, perhaps most remarkably, it suggests that shared identity also improves our physical wellbeing, with symptoms of ill health less apparent after the Mela than before.

The Mela metropolis may only come into being for a month a year, but it has many effects that endure well beyond.

@Yeti - let it be...this is not a dick measuring contest at who gets more crowds..Why go to Maha Kumbh which is in aa entirely different league..even Sabari Mala gets as many devotees annually as the Hajj..

 

[KS]

Some photos from Huff post :

 

[KS]

Source : Huff post.