What is happening to my religion during the ongoing Mahakumbh is forcing me to contemplate how any incident is exploited by a section of people to malign it using the sophisticated academic tone sketching historical narratives which are half baked and far from the reality.
In an opinion piece written for the Indian Express, a Delhi University professor of History has cited Mahakumbh as some manifestation of transformation of Hinduism into an Abrahamic style religion. In the opinion piece, professor Savita Jha has argued that Hinduism has embarked towards a more codified, performative and mandatory form. The reason that has been ascertained to this analysis is the alleged centralisation, popular urge to travel to Prayagraj at any cost and Kanwar Yatras among others.
It has been argued that the incidents of chaos and stampede have risen due to this reason and people are somehow behaving irrationally because Abrahamic style processions, mass scale show of devotion has taken precedence over the self-realisation, a key feature of Hinduism.
As the questions have been raised on the religious aspect, it is prudent to put these arguments on the litmus test of religious values only.
Professor Jha has argued that traditionally, Kumbh has never been the ultimate destination for pilgrimage. Such a false claim is concerning and can not be validated by any sacred text or historical realities, in fact, the writer has herself contradicted her argument in the later part of its piece. The concept of Dham and Teerth (pilgrimage) has been categorically defined in our ancient texts and has long been enshrined in its practice.
Kumbh, a teerth that happens at four places is a teerth because of being its observance near the river banks. On top of that, considering the latest Mahakumbh as some symbol of centralisation is a sheer ignorance of what is happening across the country. From North to South and East to West, India comprises hundreds religious sites and they are not vacant for the last month or more. In fact, devotees, irrespective of caste, creed, or different traditional values, are also visiting other religious sites in large numbers.
And if the centralisation is argued because believers all across India give preference to Kumbh, then it raises the question on the understanding of the commentator. Kumbh mela takes place after 12 years. In such a case it would obviously become the first choice of people.
For the better understanding of the negligence, Kumbh is predominantly not revered because it happens after 12 years but because the celestial position of stars and planets is nearly similar to when Amrit drop fell at four places. It is the same reason that Shahi snan was renamed to Amrit snan this year.
In such a case, the government’s aggressive promotion and people’s massive urge to be part of it is not centralisation but the self-realisation of the Hindu ethos.
Moreover, the writer also backed her argument of centralisation stating that several water bodies once served as the cites for Kalpavas but now the landscape has changed into a unilinear, mass participation one.
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She forgot to vet her premise as various river banks, apart from Sangam in Prayagraj, were flocked by kalpavasis this year too. Even at the smallest scale like Gomti River in Naimisharanya in Sitapur district, the kalpavas was observed. The writer must go through the religious history of Naimisharanya and then see how the practice of self-realisation at individual level is still prevalent in Hinduism.
The fact of the matter is that the writer is diagnosing the disease she is suffering with. In Prayagraj Mahakumbh, over 10 lakh Kalpavasis stayed from Paush Purnima to Maghi Purnima. They, along with millions others, silently strived for self realisation but the writer and many others, for that matter, ignored that because what is coming out in reels and videos is chaotic slugfest over newly born babas or controversial Mahamandaleshwars.
While in TFI we have raised these red flags previously but painting the whole Kumbh in bad light and exaggerating some kind of centralisation theory, while raking stampede, is no less than an absurdity.
Meanwhile, the claim that earlier less people, mostly elderly, travelled to Kumbh while rest settled with prasad, to vilify mass scale participation is utter nonsensical gimmick to tarnish Mahakumbh. Be it Kumbh, Badrinath or Kedarnath, less people traveled in the past because the resources and facilities were not available with such ease and scale back then.
The writer wants people to not travel to Mahakumbh by their vehicles so as to pay condolences to our past fragile economy, poor road infrastructure and vehicle-less population.
It is a fact that Hinduism is a pluralistic religion which can not be bound to a book, a prophet or a deity but it is also a fact that faith is a personal conduct of a person that can not be questioned by any other observation of religion.
Mahakumbh has always been an event of mass scale. The community-level celebrations in the form of mandals and mandalis have been the practical aspect of following the religion. Citing it as exempt and exclusive of Hinduism is to pull it to the level of Abrahamic religions and is an unnecessary outcry to malign Hinduism.
Hinduism is indeed evolving with time and is proving itself relevant for masses even when the other religious principles are falling short to fulfill the scientific and logical aspirations of the populace. Despite being grand and ancient, Hinduism is a time-tested and most remarkable philosophy. No doubt that honey attracts the ants but sweetness can’t be blamed for it neither the natural instinct of the ant.
If a pristine and clear picture of contemporary Hinduism is to be painted, it can’t be done on the basis of headlines crafted with preferential urge of click bait nor can it be done by creating exaggerated hypotheses.
Nonetheless, it is pertinent to note that following public outrage the portal has subtly changed the article headline.
