The sight of naked, ashed Sadhus traipsing down Main Street, Irvine will be worth the price of admission alone.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Gimbel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > New York, Aug 22, IANS) Kumbha Mela, the most sacred of all Hindu > pilgrimages, will be held for the first time in the United States. > > The Mela in the US is being organised on Sep 10 at Bren Center, > University of California Irvine, to usher in world peace by infusing > collective positivity, according to a press release. > > It is being organised under the auspices of Paramahamsa Nithyananda, > Nithyananda Foundation; Swami Ishwarananda, Chinmaya Mission; Swami > Sarvadevananda, Vedanta Society; Dr. Acharya Yogeesh, Yogeesh Ashram; > and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. > > The highlights of the celebrations will include a powerful Vishwa > Shanti Yagna, a Vedic style fire ceremony to invoke peace energy > through one of the purest elements of nature - fire - an abhishekam, > or offering of water from 21 holy rivers of India to all the deities, > and a grand procession with participation by various spiritual > organisations from across the US, the release stated. > > 'Homas' and 'aartis' will add to the daylong rituals, which will start > at 2 p.m. > > In India, the Mela is held four times every 12 years and rotates > between Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. > > Each twelve-year cycle includes one Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, > which is attended by millions of people, making it the largest > gathering anywhere in the world. > > Legend has it that in the Vedic ages, gods and demons made a temporary > agreement to work together churning 'amrita' or the nectar of > immortality from the Ksheera Sagara (primordial ocean of milk), and to > share the nectar equally. > > However, when the urn or 'Kumbha' containing the nectar appeared, the > demons ran away with it. The gods then gave a chase and for 12 days > and 12 nights the two sides fought for the possession of the urn. > > In the course of the battle, four drops of nectar fell at Prayag, > Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. Hence the Mela is held at these four places. >
