Whose liberty is it! by Navneet Kaur Ahuja

Whose Liberty Is It! FotoVisura Hundreds, thousands rather millions of sadhu, sanyasi, pilgrims and tourists from around the globe travel to Kumbh to take a holy dip in the Ganga water or/and to have a chance to encounter with myriad holy men “naga sadhus (naked saints)” who have dedicated... Navneet Kaur Ahuja http://c0875922.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/50219.medium.jpg http://www.fotovisura.com//user/Sanjhineet23/view/whose-liberty-it-is 05/01/12 Hundreds, thousands rather millions of sadhu, sanyasi, pilgrims and tourists from around the globe travel to Kumbh to take a holy dip in the Ganga water or/and to have a chance to encounter with myriad holy men “naga sadhus (naked saints)” who have dedicated their entire lives in mediations and fulfilling spiritual deeds.... Kumbh is not just like any other mela, or festival....For masses this is the one time opportunity to unburden one's sins and achieve “Nirvana (freedom)”, to liberate themselves from the miseries and sufferings of life. It is believed that taking three dips in the holy water paves way for attainment of Moksha ! After hearing various notions about Kumbh, I was happy to got an opportunity to visit “Maha Kumb 2010” in Haridwar. Maha kumbh occurs after every 12 years and rotates between 4 pilgrimage places i.e Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad. I was so excited to see the color of celebrations, to witness pilgrims, saints, spiritual passengers and the history of course and to experience the essence of Maha Kumbh. After being there, I started wandering on the roads of the holy city Haridwar. All places, roads were full of people. I liked it more and got indulge into talking with visitors/ sadhus/ sadhvi, all these people gave me numerous terms of the word “moksha” Moksha : - to liberate from the cycle of death and rebirth - to get freedom from all sort of sufferings and pain - to get away the materialist pleasures of life and get involved to serve mankind - to attain peace, knowledge and enlightenment - to do self-realization - to liberate from all desires, actions and consequences - to attain supreme peace and bliss And they also shared, - how does one achieve liberation/ moksha/ immortality to reach the Supreme state, and - who can attain that state! But every time I walked down on a road, I encountered multiple sights and each one raised a contradict question mark …..if the freedom comes with an illusion or who is getting liberate with this process and in what means! What does an "absolute freedom" means!

1 of 29

Bandhan: Bond of illusion

2 of 29

Har Har Gange!

3 of 29

Aarti time at har ki pauri, the most beautiful time, full of high energies, full of people, no empty spaces. The light was marvelous, the flow of Ganga, the candles and diyas traveled on the water which carried the prayers of the pilgrimages. This one moment is very simpler time too when no one mind shredding all frills of life and being mythical.

4 of 29

Light a Diya and make a wish, they do come true!

5 of 29

'Tilak' symbolizes Satvikta and used to enlighten human brain and body.

6 of 29

Consumption of Chilum (marijunana) and bhang is considered to be a ritual with a view that it will lead them to eternity or nirvana...

7 of 29

All through his tiresome journey, he thought only of 'nirvana'. It was wonderful to see that the power of a faith makes old and weak people to join in for such incredible journeys.

8 of 29

Self reflection!

9 of 29

Holy thread: One way people are here in this holy city to attain freedom from materialism and in another scenario they tie red and yellow holy thread (mauli) around the banyan tree to get their wishes fulfilled.

10 of 29

I don't know the path by which I can discover my God!

11 of 29

Dancing Shiva : A yogi from Nirankari Akhara, in a marvelously dynamic composition expressing the rhythm and harmony of life and showing a gesture with assertion: “Be without fear”

12 of 29

Sanyasis belongs to different akharas (akaharas are the places where their life span is divided into 4 distinct periods of Vedic life). Each akhara have their own set of Naga Babas who are living this world in most unconventional way and follow their own set of religion and spiritual activities without caring about this world. And they come out on the roads during procession, they seem very royal, they show anonymous amount of wealth too another way of showing their powerful status.

13 of 29

While some are striving for nirvana away from the material world..... Some are three from the real world seeking the truth of “Whose Liberty Is It Anyway!”

14 of 29

Naga Sadhus (naked saints) – often misunderstood. However, they aren't bother about it. Everyone has an individual identity. Who am i to judge? People/general public do have their opinion but these naga sadhus also have their belief, their life style. They have their reasons or choice to opt this life. According to them, they opted a path which takes them to HIM. That way, they feel content and happy.

15 of 29

Royal walk: ash-smeared Naga Sadhus sporting long matted hair during the procession of Niranjani Akhara.

16 of 29

While some are striving for nirvana away from the material world..... Some are three from the real world seeking the truth of “Whose Liberty Is It Anyway!”

17 of 29

I don't know the path by which I can discover my God!

18 of 29

A Holy Man!

19 of 29

A Sadhvi with a midas touch. I found this sadhvi in a tent on the river bank with her most precious possessions. Not only she was loaded with yellow metal (gold) even had implanted six upper gold teeth. She had apparently found new meanings of freedom and attained her happiness in her own being. One of her disciple appeared all of a sudden and narrated with full pride that our ammaji is of almost 1 crore and she can beat any athlete even if she runs with such heavy weight on her body.

20 of 29

These children are so lost in watching the dramatic crowd and failed to understand purpose behind the celebration of Godhood.

21 of 29

Striving for freedom, in the corner of a road side house this young calf wanted to run to his mother to his freedom

22 of 29

While some are striving for nirvana away from the material world..... Some are three from the real world seeking the truth of “Whose Liberty Is It Anyway!”

23 of 29

Child Saint: He is too young to be aware of what this yellow rob meant for and what path he is following!

24 of 29

A glimpse of the afterlife....a sneak peak through the worldly chains

25 of 29

'A thinker'

26 of 29

I don't know the path by which I can discover my God!

27 of 29

While some are striving for nirvana away from the material world..... Some are three from the real world seeking the truth of “Whose Liberty Is It Anyway!”

28 of 29

While some are striving for nirvana away from the material world..... Some are three from the real world seeking the truth of “Whose Liberty Is It Anyway!”

29 of 29

I don't know the path by which I can discover my God!

Hundreds, thousands rather millions of sadhu, sanyasi, pilgrims and tourists from around the globe travel to Kumbh to take a holy dip in the Ganga water or/and to have a chance to encounter with myriad holy men “naga sadhus (naked saints)” who have dedicated their entire lives in mediations and fulfilling spiritual deeds....

Kumbh is not just like any other mela, or festival....For masses this is the one time opportunity to unburden one's sins and achieve “Nirvana (freedom)”, to liberate themselves from the miseries and sufferings of life. It is believed that taking three dips in the holy water paves way for attainment of Moksha!

After hearing various notions about Kumbh, I was happy to got an opportunity to visit “Maha Kumb 2010” in Haridwar. Maha kumbh occurs after every 12 years and rotates between 4 pilgrimage places i.e Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad.

I was so excited to see the color of celebrations, to witness pilgrims, saints, spiritual passengers and the history of course and to experience the essence of Maha Kumbh. After being there, I started wandering on the roads of the holy city Haridwar. All places, roads were full of people. I liked it more and got indulge into talking with visitors/ sadhus/ sadhvi, all these people gave me numerous terms of the word “moksha”

Moksha:

- to liberate from the cycle of death and rebirth
- to get freedom from all sort of sufferings and pain
- to get away the materialist pleasures of life and get involved to serve mankind
- to attain peace, knowledge and enlightenment
- to do self-realization
- to liberate from all desires, actions and consequences
- to attain supreme peace and bliss

And they also shared,

- how does one achieve liberation/ moksha/ immortality to reach the Supreme state, and
- who can attain that state!

But every time I walked down on a road, I encountered multiple sights and each one raised a contradict question mark …..if the freedom comes with an illusion or who is getting liberate with this process and in what means! What does an "absolute freedom" means!