A Monumental Journey: Seva and Grace at Maha Kumbh

by Bhavani Nair, USA

Last year, when Mohanji announced that his birthday would be during the Maha Kumbh Mela, I didn’t even realize the sheer monumental task of arranging such a program—and I would be part of it as well! It was just a dream to think about the Kumbh Mela, which was seeded in my heart by Mohanji’s words during Ganeshpuri. 

As soon as the sign-up for volunteers was announced, I filled out the form without a second thought, but as the weeks progressed and I didn’t hear back from anyone, I gave up.  All I remember was that the girls who are part of the HSTD received some information from Radha, their dance teacher, about booking the air tickets as early as possible as it would be costly as the date for Kumbh neared (as per Mohanji).  So, the dates to leave were decided, and the tickets were all booked for October.

In December, I received a call from Savi saying that Gurulight needed some administrative help and asked if I was available to help. Volunteering for Gurulight at this time was a blessing as it kept me busy during a difficult time. There was no time to sit and think about anything.

It was living, breathing, and being part of Maha Kumbh daily. Imagine trying to assist over 1,000 people who all wanted to be part of Kumbh Mela with Mohanji. Many new faces who had never heard of Mohanji joined this journey of Maha Kumbh, which happened after 144 years. It was a powerful event, and we all felt sheer grace made everything possible effortlessly despite the challenges that popped up daily.  

Being part of the background volunteer team kept me homebound for two and a half months on my couch.  It was morning till night work, all while not being able to be physically present at the Kumbh.  Mohanji mentioned during one satsang that if your mind is at Kumbh, then you are at Kumbh. That was my solace as I longed to be physically there but could not.  I lived in my own world of being there by helping others with their journey.

As the weeks progressed, the pain of being present in the village also heightened. I couldn’t handle being indoors and stationary. I refused to watch any Kumbh Mela diaries or anything about Maha Kumbh because I wanted to experience Kumbh for myself, as it was meant for me, not as anyone else’s experience. This decision really helped me be in the village mentally and at Kumbh without any expectations.

Lastly, the moment arrived, and we all came to Prayagraj. We met many Mohanji family members before boarding, and it felt good to connect with all of them, who were also looking forward to being in the village. Once at Prayagraj, we were told the congestion and traffic blockages could hamper our travel to the village.

I was expecting some difficulty, but everything went relatively smoothly.  We had to walk some distance with our big luggage through the crowd. This experience showed us how much we were carrying while we were told to travel light. Luckily, we found someone who had been to the Mohanji village before and agreed to take us by auto. Many thanks to Hemant bhai from the UK for his skills in securing this arrangement.

Mohanji often speaks about feeling places and not just seeing them with mere eyes. This was an experience that I felt so strongly about as I sat and drove towards the village. Something took over me, and it was as if everything was passing by me, but I was not affected by the noise, crowd, cows, dogs, or people. Tears just flowed as I was there, yet I wasn’t.  It was magical to drive to the village.  It felt very meditative despite the sheer madness of the place.

Upon reaching the village, I felt out of place, but the same day, my lovely friend told me just to surrender all these feelings to Mohanji.  In the tired moments during dinner, I simply prayed to Mohanji to take away all the heaviness and let me be and just flow.

The following morning, I met Devi Ji, who mentioned that she had also felt out of place when she first arrived and needed time to stabilize with the high energy of the place. I understood completely, as by the end of the day, I was completely fine.

I would like to mention two events that happened during Kumbh which is the reason I am writing this testimonial. 

Mohanji always speaks about selfless seva to purify oneself, be it in the form of feeding others or simply giving time or whatever you have in abundance to others. I will focus on the food aspect here, as I experienced something that I didn’t while living in the USA. The capacity to feed on a large scale publicly is not possible in a Western country. 

I was asked by Jay Jayaseelan (ACT President from the UK) to help with the seva that the UK team was conducting the following day. He said to be there.  I took it as okay, as it was meant for me to join, and I said sure I would be there.  The following day, he let us borrow ACT t-shirts, and I was ready to serve during the mid-afternoon slot for the annadanam that was happening daily at the Mohanji village.

Just before I went down for seva, I saw Devi Ji also coming to serve. I was happy to see her; it is always fun to be around her, and serving food with her was an honour. I decided to serve the kids instead of the women and men who were also in the queue to receive the food from us.  I have never experienced these many people lining up eagerly to receive a plate of rice, fruit, ladoo and juice.  They all stood awaiting their turn. It was truly a humbling experience to witness people who truly desired food. 

What happened while serving during this time was very unexpected. As I served ladoo to every child, I glanced at them briefly.  Some of the children were so small and full of love, always smiling. A few children on the line just looked into my eyes and smiled.  This happened so quickly, but their smiles and eyes pierced my heart.  I felt love, and I melted in that moment.  Tears flowed, and I had to control myself. My hands could not wipe my tears as they were busy serving.  I loved looking at every child who came up to get food. Even though it was so hot, I never felt tired. It was just love serving them. Mohanji says that our food is made out of love, so all the people line up daily in the heat to receive food from us. 

I wanted to share this experience as many Westerners don’t get this opportunity to serve. Please don’t lose that moment if anyone out there has a chance.

The next event that touched my heart was dips with Mohanji. I had seen photos of Mohanji taking dips with the participants, and it was the highlight for anyone coming to Kumbh. Having been to Kailash with Mohanji and having had prior experience of taking a dip in Lake Mansarovar, I longed for this opportunity as this event was happening in India after 144 years.  It is not something that comes every day, definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity!  Mohanji agreed to go for a dip with us, and many joined in the line to follow him to the ghats of Ganges.

When we reached the ghats, I chose to be with myself during the process.  Upon entering, I was freezing, so two participants (Runa and Vidya Rajagopalan covered me to give me body heat. In their closeness, I smelled Mohanji’s perfume, and I felt he was holding me to make me feel warm.  I started weeping and felt some warmth come into my body. Later, I took dips per Mohanji’s instructions and kept going as many times as possible.  Finally, I found myself in the queue to get abhishekam (pouring water on the crown) from Mohanji. As I approached him, he looked into my eyes and said, “Ah, Mrs. Nair,” (His loving way of addressing me). The first pouring of water over my crown felt like it took my breath away; the second and the third happened so quickly that I lost all sense of what was happening around me and found myself moving or falling onto Rajesh Kamath.

This event with Mohanji struck me like a shock; it took away the barrier of who was around me or not. I simply cried loudly, and I just remember being passed on from Rajesh to Bimal. After a few seconds, my senses came back, and I realized I was too loud and stopped crying immediately.  I don’t know what happened in those moments in front of Mohanji, and I don’t even want to analyze it as it would only be jump-starting my imagination. After this, Devi Ji blessed some of us with abhishekam.  This again was unexpected, but something happened while kneeling in the water in front of her and receiving her unconditional love. Only love was experienced; nothing else. 

These two events, along with an unexpected dip in the Triveni Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Saraswati and Yamuna), were my highlights along with morning dips, homas with Rajesh, beautiful connections, conversations, food prepared daily by the kitchen, Beejom vegan cafe, Baba aaratis, and above all the sacred space of Kumbh loaned to us by Mother Ganga herself.

Nothing in this world can prepare you for this type of event.  It must be experienced and spoken about.  Mohanji called this whole event of the Maha Kumbh is what Sanatana Dharma feels like.  There is no caste, religion, colour, creed, money, or status. Everyone is equal and exists in harmony while serving one another.  I am grateful to have had this experience with Mohanji. I wasn’t planning on writing this at all, but it is my seva to spread this to others who may want to experience this in the future if the opportunity presents itself. In whatever form it may come, don’t miss out!

|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||

Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 1^st April 2025

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