Johnnesburg: Several thousand people from South Africa are expected to flock to the Maha Kumbh Mela being held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh before it officially ends on February 26.
“In just the first few days since the Maha Kumbh was inaugurated on Jabuary 13, more than a hundred visas have been issued for people wanting to attend the event, with scores more using their OCI cards to attend the same,” Consul General of India in Johannesburg, Mahesh Kumar, said on Wednesday evening.
Kumar was hosting a seminar titled ‘Maha Khumb 2025 – Where Spirituality Meets Technical Innovation’, at which various speakers outlined both the history of the event and the spiritual benefits that all people, irrespective of religious affiliation or creed, could benefit from.
“Travel agents are also putting together special packages, which is expected to further boost attendance at the Maha Kumbh Mela,” Kumar said, as he explained that the 400 million devotees expected at the Maha Kumbh made it a global phenomenon of unparalleled scale and spiritual significance.
“The thought of organising this talk today came from a large number of queries received from people wanting to visit Maha Kumbh. We are facilitating all such visits. Another important element is India’s spiritual and cultural heritage through which it connects with the world and this is the very core of that connection,” Kumar said.
“Inclusivity is at the heart of Maha Kumbh Mela. There is no discrimination. Any well-meaning individual can participate, irrespective of one’s background, faith or belief,” he added.
This year’s gathering was a seamless fusion of history, spirituality and modern innovation, Kumar said.
“This year’s festival leverages cutting-edge technology to ensure safety and enhance the pilgrim experience,” the diplomat said, as he detailed the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve this as well as sustainability projects such as eliminating plastic at the event.
Tseke Nkadimeng, an environmental advocate and the leader of the Save Soil Movement in South Africa, who said he had been inspired after meeting the Sadhguru for the first time 13 years ago, will be going to the Maha Kumbh Mela.
“The next Maha Khumb like this one is going to happen in 2169, so you have to be there to see what this really means. I’ll be there participating in the activities. I urge everyone to go, if you can, as this is the last time (for us). There are six-year and 12-year Khumbs, but this one is quite significant,” he said.
“Many of us Africans who engage in spirituality end up going to India to learn from those people who have traversed that path of those inner dimensions, because you need someone else who knows those things. Kumbh Mela is one example of those,” Nkadimeng said.
Swami Viprananda Maharaj from the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa said it would be very difficult for somebody from South Africa who has not had an experience of such a large gathering to even conceive of what the Kumbh Mela is.
“Just imagine the planning that is necessary in order to sustain, build, construct and also dismantle everything after the function is over… An event that can accommodate and host 400 million people. We think of many sporting events, such as the soccer World Cup or the Olympics, as being the biggest global events, but those hardly cater to three or four million people,” Swami Viprananda said as he also commended how AI would be used to make the Maha Kumbh highly effective.
Guru Kirit Bhai Acharya from the Radheshyam Mandir said the unity of the gathering at Kumbh Mela would bring about greater peace in the world.
“Maha Khumb is ‘sangam’ (confluence), and where there is ‘sangam’, ‘sangram’ (battle) will stop,” Acharya said.
He added that while technology could be used innovatively for both negative and positive purposes, at Kumbh Mela, what he had seen was how much it had been put to positive use to improve the pilgrim experience.
