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The
search for a
unifying theory in
physics may still
be a distant
dream, but faith
has always acted
as a strong
binding force for
the humanity and
the entire
existence. There
is no greater
manifestation of
this unifying
dynamics than the
spectacle of the
sea of humanity
surging like one
organic whole,
driven by the
common desire to
be one with the
divine during
Simhastha Kumbha
in
Ujjain
.
People
may be different
in their outlook
to life, may have
different motives
and all the
diversities that
characterize them,
but when they
gather in
Ujjain
to partake in
Simhastha, they
present a scene
where they
themselves become
divine and anybody
who joins them
become the divine
and those who
observe them can
claim to have
witnessed the
divinity. Thus at
the Simhastha, the
subject, object
and the process
all become unified
in one existence,
the ultimate and
only reality. For
the people
engrossed in the
worldly pursuit of
life, Simhastha
offers a great
opportunity, a
kind of time warp,
to have the direct
experience of
their true nature,
the supreme
consciousness.
The
wind rustling past
the colourful
flags and canvass
tents pitched in
the Mela area
sprinkles the
aroma of the
divine presence.
Streets
reverberating with
chanting of
mantras and sound
of cymbals give
impression of
intense presence
of the
consciousness. The
mundane colours of
physical existence
of temples,
streets, houses,
trees, people and
sadhus-sanyasis
have acquired the
other worldly hue,
testifying to the
presence of the
some thing beyond
this world. Waves
over water surface
of the Shipra at
Ramghat are
overjoyed in
anticipation of
the closest
encounter with the
spirituality.
Finally the wait
is over to snatch
a glimpse of the
eternity,
sadhus and
sanyasis as well
as men and women
from all over the
country and abroad
are converging on
the ghats of
Shipra today,
April 5, the first
day, of the
Simhastha in
Ujjain
. People would
pour in like a
torrent of a river
to
Ujjain
riding on the
waves of faith and
hope during the
entire duration of
Simhastha. On the
days of shahi-snan,
there would be
very large
gatherings of
people. These
special days are
April 5, the day
of inauguration,
on April 22 and
May 4, the
concluding day.
Any
government worth
its name can
hardly remain a
spectator in such
a truly people’s
event. Expansion
of media and means
of communication
has further added
to the attraction
of
Ujjain
. In view of
expectation of as
many as three
crores people
taking part in
Simhastha, the
State has not
spared any effort
for providing best
possible
facilities to
pilgrims. Although
people
congregating in
Ujjain
would be
disciplined on
their own by the
faith and the
grace of the
Mahakal, the State
has also put in
place modern
systems of crowd
management and
security.
The
city has been
spruced up with
relaying of roads,
temples have been
given a face-lift,
sacred lakes
(known as
sapta-sagar),
rejuvenated, new
ghats running into
hundreds of meters
added and the
Shipra has been
cleaned up, all
this has been done
in anticipation of
the mega-event. It
is obvious that
the people who
would take a dip
in Shipra would
also perform
darshan of the
Mahakal, one of
the 12
jyotirlingams. In
order to
facilitate darshan
of the Mahakal by
the largest number
of devotees,
nandigriha in the
temple has been
expanded. Basic
facilities in
terms of drinking
water,
electricity,
hospitals and
dispensaries,
permanent toilets
have been
adequately
provided.
Government staff,
in large numbers,
drawn from various
departments has
been stationed in
Ujjain
for making the
Simhastha a
fitting finale to
the spiritual
aspirations of
millions of
devotees.
The
government of
Madhya Pradesh not
only speeded up
various
development works
in
Ujjain
for the Simhashta,
but also channeled
more funds to the
tune of Rs 110
crores, which is
about 50 per cent
more than the
already allotted
Rs 217 crores, .so
as to minimise the
possibility of
glitches. The
allocation of
additional funds
as well as close
monitoring of
ongoing works have
improved
infrastructure and
basic services in
the area where
sadhus and
sanyasis have put
up their tents in
traditional style.
It is no
exaggeration that
this time the
scale and range of
arrangements made
by the State are
unprecedented.
Simhastha
is among those
rare occasions
when social
divisions cease to
matter and every
soul experiences
unity with the
only reality.
There is no bar of
religion, creed,
language or
rituals for
participation,
people from far
and wide, from all
parts of
India
and the world
would be embraced
in its fold by the
city of the
eternal time
embodied in
Mahakal.
Ujjain
is
a city that defies
portrayal, however
timelessness
frozen into
spatiality is the
closest
description for
Ujjain
. For it is a city
that ranks among
the oldest cities
known to the
mankind, whose
past cuts through
the history and
rests on legends,
becoming part of
the folklore and
collective memory
of the people.
That is why
people, prompted
by their
collective memory,
move to the banks
of Shipra to take
a dip into their
past and the
future.
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