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After the fantastic earlier experiences at the Kumbh Mela festivals of 2001, 2003 and 2004, a group of people related to Sanatan Society is planning to travel together to visit the Kumbh Mela of Allahabad 2007. In part this correlates to an invitation of Sri Kathia Baba.
 Sanatan Society came in contact with Kathia Baba on the Kumbh Mela of Nasik in 2003 - completely by accident or God-guided. Among us were the first foreigners Baba met since 30 years. Because of his education he was able to talk English very well. He illustrated all his knowledge with surprising stories, which could be puzzling for the mind. We visited him many times and were impressed by the openness, simplicity and sincerity.
In 2004 at the Kumbh Mela of Ujain we stayed in his camp all the time, day and night. We enjoyed a long satsang with Kathia Baba in a peaceful surrounding and realized, that he was Sanatan Dharma in a pure form. We came in contact with a lot of Babas, who were visiting or where we went to visit.
 For the half-Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in January 2007 Kathia Baba is inviting everbody who wants to experience God's presence. The Kumbh Mela is the biggest gathering on earth (30 miljoen people) and completely dedicated to God or the old unchanging truth, Sanatan Dharma. In Allahabad it will be on a big beach, where all the saddhu's will make their camp. For one month there will be a town of tents, where everybody is welcome and will get food and shelter. For those who want, there is school going on all the time with real teachers. Trust on God and it will happen.
 Together with Sanatan Society Kathia Baba wants to create a atmosphere suitable for foreigners. That means special tents with a little bit more privacy and luxury without leaving the principal of "simple living, high thinking", which is characterising the Kumbh.
It is Baba's desire to run this project only on charity as does the whole Kumbh Mela. As Baba says himself: "Charity cannot be taught. The art of practising sacrfifice and charity itself gives austerity and cheerfullness to the mind, a habit of meditation, self-control and purity. Of course I mean charity with supreme faith on God."
Other teachers with whom we will meet at the Kumb will be Pilot Baba, Swami Avdheshanand, Narmada Devi Puri , Indrajit Puri, etc...
The group trips from U.S. and Europe have already been fully booked. This means that for other people, the best thing to do is to arrange their own trip and local accomodations and then visit the adress below to join our gathering and maybe see what else might still be possible.
Our location at the Kumbh is :
Shri Dhananjaydasji Kathiababa Nagar
Plot No.24, Harishchandra Marg
Sector-7, Beside Swami Avadeshananda Giri's camp
Jhusi, Allahabad.
The bathing days in this Ardha Kumbha Mela in Prayag are announced as :
First dipping day 14-01-2007
Second dipping day 19-01-2007
Third dipping day 23-01-2007
Fourth dipping day 02-02-2007
 The
Kumbh Mela is the largest hindu festival that occurs once
in every 12 years in four major pilgrim centres across India
: Hardwar, Allahabad, Uijain and Nashik. All of India's saints,
sages, mendicants and fakirs come out of their caves for the
Kumbh Mela every three years.
This geographical sequence is coordinated with
the astrological relationship of Jupiter
to Pisces and Aquarius. The Kumbh Mela is an ancient Indian
festival of the holy ones and is alluded to in the epic Mahabharata.
The name Kumbh Mela itself means "assembly of the water
pot," and relates to the ancient story of the churning
of the ocean that provides the origin for the unique festival
of the Kumbh Mela.
See some pictures of the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad
2001.
The Kumbh Mela festival originates from the
story of the churning of the ocean :
 A
long time ago the gods and demons made a concerted effort
to churn the ocean to extract its elixir, the amrit or the
water of life. They both desired immortality, which only the
water of life could bestow. First they extracted 12 precious
objects, then the divine medicine man, Dhanwantari,
emerged from the ocean with a pot of amrit, or nectar.
Somebody had to distribute the amrit equally
among gods and demons, so Vishnu
assumed the form of Mohini, a beautiful woman, and through
sleight of hand, she gave the demons varuni, or liquor,
while the gods got the amrit. The demons, however, caught
on to the deception and grabbed the amrit kumbh, or
pot of elixir.
 During
the quarrel, some drops of the elixir fell on the earth.
Jayant, the son of Indra,
removed the pot from the quarreling gods and demons
and ran away with it. He rested at four places in India,
where he set down the pitcher, drank a little, and let
a few drops of nectar spill to the ground. Where these
drops landed became the four sacred sites of Kumbha
Mela, but where the earlier drops fell on the earth,
from the jostling of the pitcher, became the precious
gem mines.
Another story relates how Garuda,
the sacred mount of Vishnu, spilled the amrit four times at
the four places where the Kumbh Mela festival is now held.
His journey took 12 days, equalling 12 years for mortals.
More complete story of The
Churning of the Ocean.
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