The seers’ response to the PM’s Kumbh appeal must not be seen as weak-willed or forced

The ongoing pandemic has ravaged everyone alike. It doesn’t matter if one is a common citizen, a bureaucrat, politician or a sadhu (seer) or belongs to which gender, the Coronavirus just doesn’t discriminate. The virus is spreading like a wildfire and has put to test not only the economies, Governments and the healthcare infrastructure, but also faith and religion. The Maha Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, earlier slated to close on April 30, now wears a deserted look — after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to keep the remaining part of the Mela “symbolic” in the backdrop of the surging COVID-19 cases. With the pilgrims and seers leaving Haridwar, the skeptics may view it any way they like but no one should see it as a defeat of faith. Here, the matter of faith and religiosity needs to be seen through the prism of science — the philosophy as followed and professed by the great Indian monk Swami Vivekananda. The silent exodus from Haridwar proves yet again that for the flag-bearers and followers of the world’s most ancient or primordial religious order — the ‘Sanatan dharma’— science is as sacrosanct as faith. This is what our seers have done and this is exactly what they have been doing since ages. We should be thankful to the seers for heeding the PM’s appeal and deciding to vacate the site. For thousands of ‘batuks’ (new inductees) and numerous others who must have been waiting to participate in the major religious event, giving up on the Shahi Snan (royal bath) or cutting short their stay is no mean sacrifice.

But they have done so willingly to serve the greater cause of humanity by helping to break the transmission chain. The Kumbh is not only about ‘Snan’ (holy bath); it is in fact like a universe in microcosm — representing the very idea and soul of existence. But it’s always good to surrender one’s interests willingly when it’s a question of the greater good of humankind. This behaviour is in sharp contrast to the Tablighi Jamaat members’— spitting on policemen and volunteers, urinating/defecating openly inside their quarantine centres and abusing doctors and nurses. It’s really for the reader to decide for herself/himself which behaviour is close to fundamentalism and which one is sympathetic, accommodative and humane. After the Prime Minister’s appeal, Juna akhada’s Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Avdheshanand Giri announced the formal conclusion of the Maha Kumbh Mela for their followers, saying that the remaining Shahi Snan should be observed symbolically on April 27. Many people assert that COVID-19 is here, and maybe will stay for long, but the Kumbh — which represents the primeval culture and its ethos in a nutshell — certainly has been around much longer. It’s a good time to remember the famous lines by poet Iqbal: “Kuchh baat hai ki hasti mit-ti nahi hamaari, sadiyon raha hai dushman daur-e-zamaan hamara.” It doesn’t matter if that dushman (enemy) be as mighty as the Coronavirus. With faith by our side, we shall surely win.