The greatest tradition of Sanatana Hindu Dharma, the Kumbh Mela, was celebrated in a grand way here in Norwalk, CA on Feb 22nd. Participated by more than 2000 devotees, Kumbh Mela USA 2014 was inspired & organized by the disciples of Mahamandaleshwar of Mahanirvani Peet, His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda.
The event was widely welcomed, and supported by many Hindu temples of North America. The temples that participated in this festivity include Sindhu Center, Malibu Temple, Pasupathinath Temple, Radha Govinda Dham, Panchamuk Hanuman Temple, Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Nithyananda Vedic Temple – Los Angeles, Nithyananda Vedic Temple of Seattle, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam of San Jose, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam of Phoenix, Nithyananda Vedic Temple of Ohio, Nithyananda Meditation Academy, Toronto , Nithyanandeshwara Temple, North Carolina, Nithyananda Meditation University, Los Angeles and other spiritual organizations such as Brahmakumaris, Paramshakti Peet of America, Gala Foundation, The Shah Foundation, Life Essence Yoga.
The Temples and organizations went on a grand procession, carrying their deities, with devotion & excitement in the grounds and around the Ganga pool. The deities were then immersed in the Holy water sanctified with Ganga water, energizing the water. The devotees gathered were blessed with the water.
The Maha Kumbh Mela is the world’s oldest and largest gathering of Human beings on planet earth attracting over 80 million people. The tradition of Kumbh Mela was originated around 5000 years by Mahanirvani Akada, the world’s most ancient apex body of Hinduism. On the auspicious day of Kumbh Mela, devotees in Los Angeles were blessed to receive the Kumbh Mela message from the Mahamandaleshwar (Spiritual Head) of Mahanirvani Akada, His Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda. His Holiness gave his support, love, thanks, gratitude and blessings for the success of Kumbh Mela in United States of North America and gave the Kumbh Mela message of Sharing and Caring – “Sharing the Spiritual Bliss and expressing our love & caring for everyone. Each one of our traditions are(is) Unique. Unity, not Uniformity. Uniformity tries to destroy our Uniqueness. Without losing our Uniqueness, showing our unity is what is really needed now for our Sanatana Hindu Dharma”. Swami Nikhilananda from Radha Govinda Dham, Sister Gita Patel from Brahma Kumaris, Mr. Sunil Tolani from Sindhu Center were some of the guest speakers. Recorded messages were sent by Mr. Rajiv Malhotra, an Indian American researcher, and Mr. Stephen Knapp, a philosopher.
As per the Kumbh Mela tradition, free sattvic prasad was given to more than 2000 devotees that attended the celebration. In the evening, the devotees enjoyed a beautiful Aarti offered to Holy Ganga. The celebration concluded with bhajans and classical dance performances from various dance schools including Bharatnatyam & Kathak performances.
For thousands that could not be in India to celebrate the Maha Kumbh Mela, this was a great blessing indeed!