ANCIENT THEOSOPHY IN MODERN "NEWSPEAK":
Time and the River
Hindus plunge into Ganges River
By RUPAN BHATTACHARYA
Associated Press Writer
ALLAHABAD,
India (AP) - Millions of Hindus, hands clasped in
prayer, plunged into the icy Ganges River hoping to wash away their
sins at the opening of a festival that falls every 12 years _ and
is especially auspicious Tuesday because of the lunar eclipse.
``I have
come here to get a new life, to wash away the sins I
have committed in the last few years,'' says Pratap Garh, a teacher
wearing only a loincloth as temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.
Millions
flocked Tuesday to a sacred riverbank on the first day
of the Kumbh Mela festival _ and as many as 65 million are
anticipated to dip into the river's chilly waters for a holy bath
during the 43-day celebration.
``I was
very close to god. I was totally away from the world,
life and everything,'' Garh said after wading into the river, his
11th sacred bath. ``This water is nectar; nothing can spoil it.''
Kumbh
Mela derives its name from a Hindu myth that tells how the
gods and demons fought over a ``kumbh,'' or pot, of nectar that
would give them immortality. Legend has it that one of the gods ran
off with the pot, spilling four drops of nectar near four blessed
cities.
While
the cities alternate holding Kumbh Mela, the festival in
Allahabad, 360 miles east of New Delhi, is considered the most
blessed because it lies near the confluence of rivers considered
sacred by Hindus: the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical
Saraswati.
Six days
during the first festival of the new millennium are
considered particularly auspicious bathing days _ including
Tuesday, which falls during a total lunar eclipse, said festival
director Jivesh Nandan.
By 2 a.m.,
men, women and children gathered by the river, some
of the men arriving naked or stripped to their underwear and some
women with shaved heads. Many had daubed ash or sandalwood paste on
their foreheads and were slipping offerings of money or food to
beggars along the shore.
Worshippers
raised their hands to the skies, chanting prayers.
Others bent and dunked their heads in the water. Most dipped their
hands in, washing water over their faces and bodies.
Some brought
metal pails to take home some of the sacred water.
Others soaked pieces of clothing. Commercial activity, except for
vegetarian food, was prohibited, but vendors were doing brisk sales
of flowers for temple offerings, vermillion for daubing on the
forehead and a watch that purported to reveal the best bathing
times.
``Most
of the people think that the sins we have created are
washed away here,'' Mohan Sharma said as she stood in the water,
fully clothed in a bright sari.
Bands
of holy men from warrior sects marched naked, with their
long hair and beards, toward the river holding hands or wielding
spears and poles.
In past
years, convoys carrying officials to the river have
sparked stampedes, forcing Uttar Pradesh state officials to ban
them. But two members of the High Court of Allahabad drove through
the crowd escorted by police, lights flashing from the tops of
their luxury cars.
The crowds
were still surging at sunrise, with nearly 2 million
people estimated to have bathed in the waters during the first six
hours of Kumbh Mela and 2.2 million more expected by the end of the
first day, Nandan said.
The festival
ends Feb. 21.
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