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Photographic tale, exhibition, book
the kumbh mela
DIVE IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST SPIRITUAL FESTIVAL
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THE WORLD'S LARGEST SPIRITUAL FESTIVAL.
- THE BACKGROUND -
Kumbh Mela is a Hindu festival and probably the largest spiritual gathering in the world. This pilgrimage that happens four times every twelve years takes place along different sacred rivers in the holy cities of Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik, and Prayagraj (formerly called Allahabad).
In 2019 pilgrims of all castes and paths of faith came together in an ephemeral infrastructure installed in Prayagraj, at the confluence of the three sacred rivers: the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati. Official figures show that hundreds of millions of visitors attended the near month-and-a-half-long event.
The ephemeral infrastructure was spread over approximately 60 km2. There were countless rows of modern and makeshift tents, electric poles, dirt roads, huge floating bridges, gigantic temples…
The diversity of spiritual individuals that one can meet while attending Kumbh Mela reflects the antiquity of Hindustan’s history and the range of practices and paths leading to the spiritual awakening that one finds there. The saints of many beliefs, the hermits coming to visit civilization on this unique occasion and the students of spirituality from small villages or big cities, all unite in this moment of inspiration and exchange.
I. LANDING IN KUMBH
" I arrive at nightfall.
The crowd is impressive, the infrastructure immense, the energy tangible. "
I walk around and penetrate what seems to be an endless space. Thousands of lights shine above the maze of tents stretching as far as the eye can see. Where am I? What is happening? Words fail to describe the intensity that extends to my senses. Here I am already transported out of the reality and I lose the notion of time – as if I was in the middle of a dream. Disoriented and yet serene. My heart is pounding, inhabited by a powerful energy pacing its beats at the tempo induced by the discovery of so many subjects of curiosity. The night becomes dark and the mist thickens, increasing the loss of bearings. Thought drives me to seek a shelter for the night while the excitement pushes me to explore.
I become obsessed with meeting nagas Babas. Full of fantasies and preconceived ideas, I wander for miles, for hours, trying hopelessly to comprehend the topography of the festival. Suddenly, I find myself facing a Naga Baba whose presence seizes me. He took shelter under a makeshift tent, still some thirty meters away. Already, his appearance impresses me. While observing him from afar, I am seized by all the apparent differences that separate us. I see everything that I am not. As I sit near him, I have the feeling that all borders are already vanishing letting both of our naked soul starring at each other.
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I imagined that he was focused on his personal enlightenment – as the final objective of his accomplishment – and I discover that his introspective life serves an avowed altruism! To reach Samadhi and share it with the world, shine, inspire. He gives infinitely and without asking anything in return. Surprised, I remain sceptical and interpret this altruism as a burden that he self-imposes in order to sublimate his action, by moving his aspiration lastly on others. Thus, he would legitimize his self-centered lifestyle choice.
Immediately I feel that this interpretation belongs only to me, to the tumult of my thoughts attached to analyze everything, even in such circumstances where I lack the prerequisites for understanding. Quickly, it seems to me that this analysis, in addition to be unfounded, reveals my need to categorize, to judge something that escapes me and that conceals to my understanding.
I feel trapped in an inappropriate, closed and thoughtful posture. I would like to be open and receptive.
II. THE DISCOVERY
- 11 pm -
Piercing the mist, in the middle of the infinite maze of makeshift installations, buildings that we hardly believe to be ephemeral emerge from the sandy ground. The shards of opulence bloom and shine within an ascetic universe. The pageantry and austerity coexist. What a contrast! There an arch, here a gigantic temple adorned with neon lights, as if they come straight out of a fairy tale. As I get closer, I realized that the walls are made of low-quality lightweight materials. The installation is not made to last but to shine. These buildings disturb me; I don’t dare to enter at first. I judge the appearance being pedantic and inappropriate. Pretentious eye catchers made of cardboard nevertheless impressive to me.
I don’t know what to do with this spectacle. It is too unexpected. I feel more comfortable outside wandering through the modest tents. My body sends me a clear message; it does not wish to enter it. My head is busy, it judges without knowing “What is that doing there? It’s bling-bling! It’s a Disneyland of spirituality emerging in the middle of nowhere! How is it possible? After walking for miles through the mist strolling on an ascetic landscape, I find myself facing that?! It’s simultaneously magical, attractive, ordinary, repulsive.” Later, when I stop applying images from my cultural heritage to a universe that knows nothing about it, I will allow myself to enter these places and really perceive[1] what’s going on there.
“Pierce” the cloud of smoke made up of judgments, which obstructs my vision, to “see” with the heart, which is offered to the perception of the soul. It is by ceasing to look for what is only in my head, which was created by an amalgamation of fantasies, images perceived at a distance, stories heard, that I will be able to open up and find what my soul is really searching, more deeply, and what my conscious mind still ignores.
[1] French expression borrowed from Patrick de Burensteinas, “percevoir, percer et vous verrez”, during his lectures on alchemy. In French “perce-voir” is composed of “percer” = “to pierce”, and “voir” = “to see”.
I will find in many of these temples, souls allowing me to reflect my buried parts. This Rasta-like Baba that hugs its dark side, who does not hide it. I admire him for showing himself as he is, for offering himself to the sight of others like an open book. These others who hang out like old friends, sitting around the fire and smoking chillum, throw me in the memories of the carefree moments with friends where we used to consume cannabis, just like them, as a unifying element. Unpretentious, a carefree lightness hovers in the atmosphere. This old pilgrim with a laughing eye seems to say to me “I saw you rascal … ». This other one distinguishes himself for his knowledge of English and his familiar chat. And this man, this man that I will tell you about later.
III. THE EXPERIENCE
" I surrender to the energy of the place. "
. I sense an energy which circulates in each one and unites the intentions of everyone who participates in there. Individual identities seem to fade in favour of a common energy, or maybe we could even say of a common identity? I no longer want to be this foreign spectator, this little mouse that sneaks up to take with him a testimony and interpret what is happening. I want to immerse myself, participate, give up on understanding, open myself to feel. I am now wandering with intuition, more open. My need to judge fades, then an upheaval takes place. Without understanding why, I notice that my communication is no longer the same. I am no longer in the posture of taking, of absorbing knowledge to fill my individual and closed being, but in a new posture of being, simply, open.
Babas and pilgrims open themselves; they invite me to be asleep with them. I stay with some of them for long moments, sometimes without even speaking, exchanging looks that say more. Then I open up myself to everyone. The concentration of my interest focused on the Babas widen. I see the pilgrims who have come for a day or for two months, the locals, strangers passing through, all inspire me indifferently. A new experience is offered to my senses. I now see the diversity of beings with a new conniving approach. I see a diversity of genres and characters which complement each other or without even having the need to complement each other, are self-sufficient by their simple existence. I see them as my brothers, my equals. Why consider them apart? Why create a rating for their elevation? Their differences, their stage of elevation whatever it is, sublimate them. A single light source unites them, and allows them to shine within a whole.
Are there fake men? I thus discover that there are neither false nor true Babas, that all are true and perfect. I realize that the common misconception of being disappointed by meeting those who are said to be wise or therapists comes from this clumsiness of the mind, to consider them as supermen, by assigning them the distinctive signs that we conceive as virtuous. We draw in our imagination the borders and values that an erudite must carry. This senseless mechanism creates expectations that cannot be fulfilled and reflects a deep closure that results from the overestimation of our opinions, from human intolerance towards being wrong, accepting himself as he is, accepting his contradictions. To see in this mechanism the reflection of an inconsistency and an imperfection, serves as a pretext for rejection. I closed-in on myself through the work of the mind instead of opening myself to the perception of the heart.
Baba does not escape his condition of man, he simply has the experience of full maintained devotion which allows him to deliver to others an inspiration more accessible, passing through a more intense light. His job is not to rise above others but to accept oneself, fully, with his imperfections. If he can accept others, it is because he accepts himself. By considering them in this way, an opening appears to me, making it possible to accept and receive their lights and their shadows. I discover that the energy they send back to me, echoes in my heart to the call of the spiritual awakening that inhabits me, or to my fears and anxieties that are buried there.
Like a mirror, I project myself into the other’s gaze. I become grateful for everything in existence because they let me perceive an infinite diversity of parts of myself. Whether my thoughts and emotions seem positive or negative, all of them reflect a part of me. A Baba looks at me with what I receive as harshness; I see there the reflection of my barriers. Is it not myself who looks at me with harshness? A visitor who seems to carry a burden on his shoulders reflects the way in which I place myself as a victim in my relationships, the weight of fictitious responsibility, the weight of self-judgment. Does this concern myself and only myself? If a Baba seems greedy to me, I see in him the disguise of my own greed. Facing a young visitor I see the humility, tenderness and openness that exists and that I would like to reveal in myself. All become guides to my self-awareness .
IV. VISUALISATION
An invitation to marvel, to take time.
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IV. satyam
A soul brother.
Younger in age, elder in love.
Sangam, is the meeting point of the three sacred rivers. For the occasion, gigantic temporary floating platforms are deployed, to go from one bank to the other. In the middle of the night, on one of these “bridges”, in the thick mist, I meet Satyam who is a 22-year-old young Indian man. He will be a bridge between me and this new world I’m discovering.
The complementarity of our perspectives elevates us. His innocence and humility allow him to share with an open, sincere heart. His wisdom feeds me. One afternoon, while tired, I sink for a moment into a flood of negative thoughts. As I was sh utting myself up and judging what was in front of me, Satyam surprised me. As I confess to him seeing that most of the Babas are fake and they are hidden traders. He said to me humbly,
“When facing a jar filled with yellow lentils it’s a lot easier to see the black one which is placed on the surface. The one who concentrates on the black lentil condemns the whole pot.
I quickly realize that I would learn a lot from him.
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THE FULL TALE
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UNREVEALED PHOTOGRAPHIES
- Discover the full tale, from which the content above is extracted
- "The opening" chapter, "The Tripathi family","The little funambulists" and many more encounters.
- Reflections about life, human connection, soul, magic ...
- A lot of unrevealed photographies, 66 pics with many of them full pages!
- 106 pages of adventure!
