The dried up sand bed of the River Ganges is like a mini Vatican. It is an autonomous unit inside the city. The operation is run by the priests. I do not know how many of of the power-center priests exist and who appointed them. Each priest has an army of teenage freelance "employees" who guide the pilgrim's movement in the area. In case a teenager had dispute with another, the dispute is settled quickly. There is possibly a threat of immediate job loss. The power structure takes root dynamically. There are intermediaries.
I was not very respectful to the priest internally because of his lack of training in Sanskrit. His language was faulty and he mimicked to speak in Oriya. I wanted to know his qualifications to conduct the ritual, but it was too late. It was possible that he belonged to a family who had contributed to the traditional scholarship. Inheriting privilege is a peculiar human condition. While I was observing the disability, I should feel happy that they maintain an old tradition.
After getting done with the ritual, we were "commanded" to carry the urns to the river for immersion. The Sergeant in the priest's team had been overlooking for a while and asked us to ride a three-wheeler. The vehicle stopped after a quarter mile and various vendors surrounded us. It was not clear if it was premeditated. With hot sun above and somewhat hungry, we were not in mood for any souvenir purchase. We declined, but were then loaded with the task of walking the rest quarter mile to the river. The Sergeant disappeared saying that he would meet us at the boat dock. Walking on the river bed was not unpleasant. Many others were walking in various directions. Some were proceeding to perform their rituals and some were returning after conducting the immersion. The atmosphere in the river was fairly relaxed. The air was cool hydrated by the flowing river water. Some people were searching for metal objects on the sand bed with electronic sensors like they do on the beaches in the west. The sand was wet. The walking was comfortable.
In the distance I saw the flotation devices that were used to make temporary bridges on the river bed two years ago. Every twelve years or so, Prayag draws a massive crowd of pilgrims from around India and abroad on the occasion of the Hindu festival "Kumbha Mela". Kumbha means an "urn". Mela means "festival". There is a mythological story that drops of immortality nectar fell at the site when the Hindu God was carrying away the urn that contained the nectar. More empirical observation could be to relate repeated application of the mineral content of the water from the Ganges to therapeutic healing of gout or disorder. But it is not proven. Kumbha Mela is a massive assembly for the cause of a bath in the Ganges. It is reputed to be the largest congregation of human beings on earth. Spread over a two month period, the number of people visiting can easily exceed a hundred million. Thirty million took bath on a single day in February, 2013. The priestly fiefdoms fold their shops during the Festival and give way to more organized cult groups. "Holy" men with various attires, hairstyles and body paints show up in dignity. It is the most colorful and most diverse religious gathering on the face of the earth. The orderliness in the amorphous administration has stunned the western observers. Mark Twain called it "beyond imagination."
Holy men in Hindu religion are called "sadhu". Typically they do not burden themselves with a family or any other social bindings. Many leave outside the population centers and live in their own monastery. Some even choose to live under a tree to declare their independence from the society. Renunciation of worldly operations is an old Indian tradition. The theory is that each person is responsible for his or her journey in life. We are born alone and die alone. Any encumbrance in life is an unnecessary hassle. The Buddha famously left home after being married and having a child.
The analytic Indian philosophy proposes that one's life is a function of a cosmic consciousness that enlivens all objects. The body is a container that is composed of five cosmic elements:space, air, fire, water and earth. In beautiful post-Vedic speculative literature, the creation theory is spelled out. We do not have the research to figure out the development of the theory. The philosophical basis has been accepted by the later population of India. The theory has also influenced Greek thoughts on creation.
A "sadhu" takes this analysis literally and tries to experiment the theory on his or her body. Some of the extreme ones go naked and live a "natural" life under the sun and moon in their definition. Because of their naked bodies they become a spectacle when they show up anywhere. Normally they live in their own enclaves and appear in public on the occasion of Kumbha Mela for their religious observance. To live and die incognito is considered the greatest humility for a Hindu. Various variations are tried by people.
There are many other groups, clubs and clans who practice their own version of "detachment," a principle enunciated in the yoga literature. The effort is to gain the realization of the internal principle of life, which is consciousness, called "Ishvara" in literature. Practicing meditation to silence the mind is a technique prescribed by a sage Patanjali in second century BC. The preliminaries to the technique requires that one restrains from the sensory experiences. The rest part of the theory is a function of practice. People display various dresses, body hairs and begging bowls in order to exhibit their practice. Some would carry sticks and metals of various shapes as a tool of defense.
India is a field study of human experiment on life and conduct. The declaration that truth exists and must be pursued is powerful. But the truth is unknown and possibly unknowable. Truth can only be realized but cannot be spoken about. One can go through various body experiences in order to realize the truth. Truth has many forms and an experienced person might find truth in cosmic silence. Indian theory of cosmos goes beyond the universe that we observe. We realize that there is more to be known than we can know. The knowledge is open inquiry.
Our ritual of immersing the ashes in the river broadly fell within this larger cosmological theory. The body was converted to the ashes through cremation. In a pure disintegration, the ashes should smear back to the earth. The river is a medium to help in this smearing process. The selection of a location for immersion is a personal preference of the person performing the immersion. We follow the tradition as a part of the social norm.
We were on the boat and were slowly wading our way towards the immersion centers created in the middle of the river. These were bamboo platforms which barricaded a pool of water. The water had strong current in the middle of the river and the barricades were a protective measure. Close to the platform, I was asked to drop the urns in the water which I did. Optionally I could take a dip in the river for my own security and to foster forgiveness. The location is called Sangam because of the confluence of the rivers.
Water was cold. There were old ladies on the neighboring platforms. Stout men were helping the ladies to get in water. There was an expression of nervousness and accomplishment on the part of the ladies. The entire family including the infant children were thrown in this ablution exercise. The man wants to make sure to rid of any "sin". It was a semi-baptization ritual that could imprint itself in memory. Water to head can be scary if forced. The children were yelling.
I had my turn. Water was chest high. The pressure and the current made the feet unstable. I had to hold on to the barricade to keep balance. Once stable, I enjoyed my stay in water. I went on observing people and took full dips myself periodically. After some time, I was called by the boatman to come out. Coming out was not so easy. Some experiences in life need better flexibility in the muscles and bones. The boatman helped to recollect me back on board.
We returned back to the shore and were transported back to our residence monastery. The brothers and their families were also with us through the entire experience. We met back in the lunch room.
