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Fri 1 Aug, 2003 02:53 am
It is time for the Kumbh Mela in India again !!
A brief history and some pictures
More than happy to answer any questions (If I know them) what you all might have !!
Come, be a part of India's glorious heritage !
Hey, Gautam. I know absolutely zero about Kumbh Mela. Why not just share the history and pictures with us.
Hey Letty, the link in my post gives a brief history and pictures

Sorry, Gautam. I can never get used to clicking on the link that isn't highlighted. The fair of the faithful--intriguing and the pictures were inspirational, especially the one of the man blowing the conch. Thanks, buddy.
Yr welcome gorgeous !!
Blowing of the conch is mandatory in every hindu relgious festival, it is said that this purges the sin of the person blowing the conch and brings him closer to god vishnu.
Interesting how that tradition, blowing of the conch, has crossed cultures, Gautam. In the book, "Lord of the Flys" the young boy who possessed the conch, was the leader.
So, the god shiva is worshipped or vishnu? And why a conch shell? And what does it entail to be faithful to an indian god?
The Kumbh, as far as I am aware is not taregted towards just one god. The "samudra manthan" - the churning of the ocean to get the nectar of life was a joint effort by all gods and demons.
Some sites on conch shells and their significance...
http://www.lifepositive.com/spirit/traditional-paths/rituals/shells.asp
http://www.lifepositive.com/gallery/conch-article.asp
http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/htm/conch.htm
oooh cool, churning the ocean..... why did the demons and gods work together?
littlek wrote:oooh cool, churning the ocean..... why did the demons and gods work together?
This is what I found on the web lil'k
Quote:
Samudra Manthan literally means: The Churning of the Ocean.
Our Consciousness represents the Ocean or the Samudra.
And the process of churning, is the Spiritual and/or emotional process that one goes through while one experiences the difficulties/pleasures that life brings.
The story of the Samudra Manthan narrated in the Shrimad Bhaagvad is interesting!
Let us first understand the terms : Devas and Daityas.
Devas Represent ?'Good', and Daityas represent ?'Evil'.
It is interesting to note that, it is mentioned in the Bhaagvad that both, Good and Evil or Devas and Daityas are born of the same father.
The King of the Devas is called Indra.
Once the Sage Durvaasa honored Indra by presenting him with a garland of flowers.
Indra, having become egoistic and insensitive, disrespectfully placed the garland on the tusk of an elephant who trampled it with his feet.
Durvaasa feeling humiliated cursed Indra that he would lose his power and position.
So, Paradise, the Land of the Devas fell into the hands of the Daityas.
The Devas prayed to the Lord for help. The Lord realized that though the Devas had committed an offence, it was more favorable for Creation, that Paradise should be in the hands of the Devas.
But for that victory to come to pass, a Samudra Manthan had to be performed.
To remind you what it means: ?'The Churning of the Ocean'.
The Samudra Manthan was not going to be easy, so the Devas would have to take the assistance of the Daityas.
The nectar that would come out of the Ocean after all the poison that would emerge first, would make the Devas immortal.
For the churning to take place, a big pole was inserted in the Ocean. But no matter what they did, the pole would continue to sink into the Ocean bed. So the Lord took the form of a tortoise. The pole was placed on His back.
The latter symbolizes the fact that whatever you undertake to do, its support must be God.
The rope that was used for the churning is symbolic of the string of cooperation.
One end of the rope was manipulated by the Devas and the other end by the Daityas.
When the churning commenced, at first an extremely potent poison emerged which threatened to destroy Creation.
That venomous potion had to be discarded. But where? No place was powerful enough to contain it.
The Devas and the Daityas finally decided to implore to God Shiv to help them.
Shivji did, by gulping it, yet retaining it in his throat.
This is the reason why Shivji is called ?'Neel-Kanth' the ?'Blue Throated One'
Symbolically, when one is faced with troubles, take them to the Lord.
He will help you out by swallowing your difficulties!
The churning of the Ocean continued. A lot of Divine gifts emerged from the Ocean.
These were shared by the Devas and the Daityas.
Finally, the much coveted Amrit (Nectar) appeared. The Daityas grabbed it and ran.
The Lord incarnated as a beautiful damsel named ?'Mohini'.
With His/Her help the potion was attained by the Devas, who got back their Paradise.
But two of the Daityas managed to partake of the Amrit.
And they both became immortal.
Therefore the strife between good and evil continues to this day.
Krishna in the ChIV, VerseVII of the Geeta claims:
Yada Yada hi Dharmasya glaanir bhavati Bhaarata
Abhyuthaanam adharmasya Tadaatmaanam Srujaamyaham
Paritraanaaya Sadhunaam Vinaashaaya cha Dushkrutaam
Dharma sthaapnaarthaaya Sambhavaami yuge yuge
Which means:
Whenever righteousness is on the vane, and unrighteousness increases,
Then I come in the body (Incarnate) from age to age, to establish Dharma (Righteousness) firmly.
I protect the virtuous and destroy the evil -perpetrators.
During these troubled times specially, let us remind Krishna of His promise to help us, yet one more time.
wow, I really like that whole thing. What does 'yada' mean?