Maha Kumbh 2025: An insignia of divine in human & resurgent India

Jammu, Jan 15: Maha Kumbh 2025 is not only a cultural spectacle but the convergence of the Indian cultural moorings at one place. Its significance lies in showcasing the civilizational undercurrents that define the place, consciousness and aesthetics of India. This year, the Maha Kumbh is a unique celestial event. As per the astrological calculations this spiritual event has arrived after 144 years. It is really the shift from the past as the Government of India and the Government of Uttar Pradesh have put an enormous effort and mobilised the various resources to widen the horizons of the celestial event that is supposed to shower boons of the humans on the earth and it is believed that all the deities of the Hindu pantheon arrive at the pious site to bestow boons.
This year the canvas has been widened to include the “Kalagram” that has been conceived by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It is a cultural aesthetic conceived and created by the Ministry within the 10 acre Naga Vasuki area. It depicts the living heritage of India that includes both tangible and intangible heritage in terms of cuisine, art forms and cultural presentations depicting the continuous living traditions of India from the Vedic times.
This area encompasses the depiction of the 12 Jyotirlingas in terms of their significance in the Hindu system.It also includes the thematic “Sanskriti Aangnas” showing different zones of the nation themed around the prominent temples located in those areas.Tribal arts have also been given space in terms of their unique craftsmanship.Not only that artists from different segments are performing every day on multiple stages these performances range from Bangra to Kathak. Maha Kumbh 2025 has emerged as the cultural mosaic that is attracting both pilgrims and tourists from different corners of India and abroad.
This year Maha Kumbh has emerged as the insignia of India’s cultural renaissance, making it clear that this nation is an ancient civilisation rooted in its Sanskrit living tradition that is not confined to a mere language system but a predominantly comprehensive socio-religious ecosystem. This event is sending a message of resurgent India that upholds its civilizational continuity with conviction and confidence.
Over the centuries Kumbh has been representing India’s religious heritage and faith of the masses in the celestial powers to guide the destiny of Indian people. It has been instilling a courage among the masses that though the nation witnessed onslaughts on its national self respect from time to time but it has not given up its spiritual core rooted in the age old traditions.
The image of ash smeared Sadhus dancing and singing to Vedic hymns has given the brand value to the Kumbh. But it cannot be denied that Kumbh Melas have been the events of decoding India’s Agamic and Nigamic traditions when Sadhus of all hues arrive with all their paraphernalia to infuse a sense of Divine presence. It has attracted foreigners for centuries and helped to define India abroad. At times the Westerners who were not well versed in the Tantric traditions of Hindu system tried to paint the false image of India. But now the things have changed as more and more foreigners arrive at the Kumbh to internalise the socio-religious and cultural moorings of India.As the Kumbh represents the depiction of India’s identity by allowing both Indians and foreigners of all hues to witness the living traditions at one destination.
The Kumbh unites India beyond sects and Akharas by sending a vocal message that India respects diversity even within the same faith and allows people of all hues to seek the Divine in this life at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.These are not mere river systems by the lifelines of India defining the national continuity that extends beyond the geographical borders. This Maha Kumbh gives even boarder message that India is not a mere nation just confined to mere geography that have been altered from time to time by the outsiders through their nefarious designs but it is a cultural ecosystem that must be addressed as the “Greater India”, extending beyond seas and mountains. It is call for reclaiming the lost lands and expanding the shrinked borders with civilizational reach. Maha Kumbh2025 is the India’s call for the arrival of the Indian Age to re-establish the nation’s denied place as the civilizational fountain head for the humanity that upholds the Divinity in Human Life and realisation of the cosmic truth in the real life by embracing the human form as the vehicle of the Divine as rightly underlined by the great Raj Rishi of Bharat-Sri Aurobindo. The Holy Dip at the Maha Kumbh is the insignia of the Divinity of Humanity in Human Life upheld by the Sanskrit Indian Civilisational Values.