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Maha Kumbha Mela Celebrated at Sivananda International Cultural Centre

Maha Kumbha Mela Celebrated at Sivananda International Cultural Centre

Date: 2013-03-14
Kumbha Mela has gained international fame as "the world's most massive act of faith." In India, pilgrims come to this holy event with such tremendous faith and in such overwhelming numbers that it boggles the mind. Faith is the most important thing for the pilgrims at Kumbha Mela, they have an "unflinching trust in something sublime". In India, they came by the millions! Wave after wave, they formed a veritable river of humanity that flowed onto the banks of the Ganges to celebrate the greatest spiritual festival ever held in the history of the world, the Kumbha Mela.

According to astrological calculations, the Kumbha Mela is held every twelve years and begins on Makar Sankranti, the day when the sun and moon enter Capricorn and Jupiter enters Aries. The astrological configuration on Makar Sankranti is considered to be especially auspicious, as it is said that the passage from Earth to the higher planets is open at that time, thus allowing the soul to easily attain the celestial world. For such reasons it is understandable why the Kumbha Mela has become so popular among all classes of transcendentalists in India. This year the Indian government spent more than 8 million dollars on preliminary organization for the Kumbha Mela.

Here in South Africa, Divine Life Society of South Africa observed this auspicious event on Sunday, 3 March at the magnificent Sivananda International Cultural Centre in Sivananda Nagar, La Mercy. This event was first observed by Pujya Swami Sahajananda on 29 January 2001 to enable devotees to experience the joy of receiving Ganga Mata's Darshan. Wrote Pujya Swamiji, "We in the Divine Life Society are the most fortunate in the world to have Ganga both at Reservoir Hills and at SICC, Sivananda Nagar, La Mercy....Our Divine Master gave this priceless gift to us."

Kumbha Mela in India is indeed a magnificent and awesome encounter. It is impossible to capture the festival. At Sivananda International Cultural Centre, in La Mercy, Ganga Mata captured its devotees.