There’s always something interesting happening in the world of religion and this week is no exception. At present the Kumbh Mela is taking place in India. It began on 13th January and will end on 26th February. It’s thought to be the largest religious gathering in the world and has captured the imagination of the world’s press. Over the 6 weeks about 600 million people will gather in Prayagraj in Utter Pradesh to take part in a great festivity of faith and culture with the central act being a ritual bathing in what is thought to be the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and a mystical underground river, the Saraswati. According to ancient myth, after gods and demons had churned the ocean for the nectar of immortality, 4 drops fell in Haridwar, Nashik, Ujjain, and Prayagraj. Every 12 years there is a large gathering in one of these sacred places, but this year is especially significant as it is a great or Maha Kumbh Mela which takes place every 144 years, marking each 12th Kumbh Mela.
Why it is of interest to me is because I visited Haridwar in a year of the Kumbh Mela. The festivities were over but the tents and infrastructure necessary for such a large gathering were still being dismantled so it was easy to see just how large a gathering it had been. I was with a Hindu couple who are friends, and we took a boat to the point where the three sacred rivers met and, surprisingly, there was a noticeable difference in the colour of the two visible rivers. A boat pulled up beside ours with a shrine and priest on it and we were encouraged to engage in a puja, a religious ritual of offering prayers, light and in this case a coconut to the Goddess Saraswati, after which my friend, the wife of the couple, bathed in the sacred rivers. What has stayed with me is the devotion with which my friend performed the puja and bathed in the river, believing it to be a moment of forgiveness and renewal. She was moved to tears by the experience which her more sceptical husband was less inclined to engage in, being aware of opportunities for financial and political advantages that can occur at such times. But for me it was an opportunity to enter the world of another and move beyond the observation of a ritual which certainly at a time of Kumbh Mela can seem quite exotic to appreciate the inner significance of a truly spiritual experience for a person of faith.
All religions have their times and places of pilgrimage and renewal, expressed in different ways. For Muslims it can be a visit to Mecca and walking round the Kabbah, for Jews praying at the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. It so happens that this year, a bit like the regularity of the Kumbh Mela, Catholics are celebrating a Jubilee Year or Holy Year which takes place every 25 years. It too is a moment of renewal and recommitment and has its own symbolism. In this case it is the symbolism of a door. There is a door at the front of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome which is usually bricked up from the inside and only opened by the Pope at the beginning of a Holy Year. It is known as the Holy Door and crossing its threshold is a symbol of conversion, of seeking forgiveness of sin and a recommitment to live a Christian life of love and service. More than 30 million pilgrims from all over the world are expected to head to Rome to pass through the door and seek forgiveness for their sins. This jubilee is one of Hope, something the world needs badly. In opening the door in St Peter’s on Christmas Eve Pope Francis said “Tonight, the door of hope has opened wide to the world” and “God speaks to each of us and says: ‘there is hope also for you! The year is meant to have a positive, affirming, inclusive and global message which in the Pope’ words is that the light of Christian hope will illumine every man and woman, as a message of God’s love addressed to all! And that the Church will bear faithful witness to this message in every part of the world!”
There will of course be sceptics and cynics who don’t find this helpful and are aware of the economic costs to such a project as well as economic advantages for some. But many will journey to Rome to take part in religious exercises in a true spirit of faith. There is much in religion that can look rather strange and even ridiculous which is part of its rich tapestry. It cannot be understood or appreciated from the outside but only from the inside and a recognition of the symbolism which like the finger pointing to the moon leads to a reality that can be transforming if open to it.
Hopefully the millions of people taking part in the Maha Kumbh Mela and in the Jubilee year, as well as those taking part in the Hajj and other religious services and festivals as well as serving others, either in religion or not, will benefit our broken world and all sentient beings. There is a lot of good energy around and remembering it and harnessing it can surely be a sign of hope that can help us face this year positively, determined to do our best for our neighbour and our world.
Why it is of interest to me is because I visited Haridwar in a year of the Kumbh Mela. The festivities were over but the tents and infrastructure necessary for such a large gathering were still being dismantled so it was easy to see just how large a gathering it had been. I was with a Hindu couple who are friends, and we took a boat to the point where the three sacred rivers met and, surprisingly, there was a noticeable difference in the colour of the two visible rivers. A boat pulled up beside ours with a shrine and priest on it and we were encouraged to engage in a puja, a religious ritual of offering prayers, light and in this case a coconut to the Goddess Saraswati, after which my friend, the wife of the couple, bathed in the sacred rivers. What has stayed with me is the devotion with which my friend performed the puja and bathed in the river, believing it to be a moment of forgiveness and renewal. She was moved to tears by the experience which her more sceptical husband was less inclined to engage in, being aware of opportunities for financial and political advantages that can occur at such times. But for me it was an opportunity to enter the world of another and move beyond the observation of a ritual which certainly at a time of Kumbh Mela can seem quite exotic to appreciate the inner significance of a truly spiritual experience for a person of faith.
All religions have their times and places of pilgrimage and renewal, expressed in different ways. For Muslims it can be a visit to Mecca and walking round the Kabbah, for Jews praying at the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. It so happens that this year, a bit like the regularity of the Kumbh Mela, Catholics are celebrating a Jubilee Year or Holy Year which takes place every 25 years. It too is a moment of renewal and recommitment and has its own symbolism. In this case it is the symbolism of a door. There is a door at the front of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome which is usually bricked up from the inside and only opened by the Pope at the beginning of a Holy Year. It is known as the Holy Door and crossing its threshold is a symbol of conversion, of seeking forgiveness of sin and a recommitment to live a Christian life of love and service. More than 30 million pilgrims from all over the world are expected to head to Rome to pass through the door and seek forgiveness for their sins. This jubilee is one of Hope, something the world needs badly. In opening the door in St Peter’s on Christmas Eve Pope Francis said “Tonight, the door of hope has opened wide to the world” and “God speaks to each of us and says: ‘there is hope also for you! The year is meant to have a positive, affirming, inclusive and global message which in the Pope’ words is that the light of Christian hope will illumine every man and woman, as a message of God’s love addressed to all! And that the Church will bear faithful witness to this message in every part of the world!”
There will of course be sceptics and cynics who don’t find this helpful and are aware of the economic costs to such a project as well as economic advantages for some. But many will journey to Rome to take part in religious exercises in a true spirit of faith. There is much in religion that can look rather strange and even ridiculous which is part of its rich tapestry. It cannot be understood or appreciated from the outside but only from the inside and a recognition of the symbolism which like the finger pointing to the moon leads to a reality that can be transforming if open to it.
Hopefully the millions of people taking part in the Maha Kumbh Mela and in the Jubilee year, as well as those taking part in the Hajj and other religious services and festivals as well as serving others, either in religion or not, will benefit our broken world and all sentient beings. There is a lot of good energy around and remembering it and harnessing it can surely be a sign of hope that can help us face this year positively, determined to do our best for our neighbour and our world.
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