Faith, Frenzy and Fanaticism

 The recent events relating to the stampedes during the Mahakumbh mela and the similar accident at New Delhi Railway station has set me thinking about the problem of Bhakti and the distinct possibility of faith turning to a frenzy and leading to fanaticism. While the message of religion and Self realisation is not easy to understand especially when there are so many distractions surrounding us there is a constant urge to over to find easy way out and anybody offering a quick fix solution is more welcome than the serious strict demanding teacher of Vedanta. 

Kumbh Mela in India is an annual event which celebrates the full orbital revolution of Jupiter around the sun. The event which is in the month of January and February becomes what in the most populous country of the world the largest peaceful gathering of humanity. Every 12 years this alignment of Sun, moon and jupiter happens. I really don't quite know the importance of Jupiter but science says that the larger planets have a gravitational pull which is extremely strong and in its wake pulls and protects the earth from collision or damage from stars or comets. The site of the MahaKumbh is Sangam that is the confluence of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river. While some reports claim that the 2025 Mela is a once in 144 year event, this is not clear as a similar claim was made in 2013 at the time the Samajwadi party was in power. But, this once in 144 year claim is an example of right wing RSS/VHP propaganda. 

The mythological story of the Kumbh comes from the churning of the ocean, Samudra manthan when, Vishnu disguised as Mhini intervened in the struggle between the devas and asuras and carried away the pot of nectar. But the nectar was spilled and 4 drops fell at 4 holy sites Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayagraj) Ujjain and Nashik. The reason why humans have become a dominant race on earth is because of the ability to share a common imagination which leads to a powerful unification of the species which acts in cohesion to fulfill a common end. This force multiplier has enabled a physically weak man to prosper and become the most populous race who can conquer nature and go on top of the food chain. However, this shared imagination if channeled in the wrong direction can lead to disastrous consequences. 

It requires a confluence of forces which may be influenced by a belief system propagated by an idea, albeit with good intentions which can result in bad unintended consequences. The degree of damage starts becoming apparent with time. In our regular life the annual Ganesha festival was created by Lokmanya Tilak with the intention of mobilising the Indian masses against British rule, by using community celebrations. Today long after the British have left this festival is exploited by politicians, businessmen and charitable and religious trusts to create vote banks and profit centers  along with NGOs which profess to do social good but practice exclusion based on caste and communal lines. Today, the annual tamasha leads to traffic snarls, noise pollution, pollution of water bodies and divisions based on socioeconomic status. Sponsorship by companies manufacturing carcinogenic product do not go well with this festival. 

 The other more example is that of the Third Reich where a strong personality and leader Hitler captured the imagination of a defeated German race and created a mass following. The consequential othering of the jews and their literal extermination in gas chambers is shuddering and cannot be dismissed as acts of good faith. 

The Kumbh mela can also be classified as act of faith based on strong scientific belief systems, but has slowly degenerated to frenzy and fanaticism. This is not something which is a modern phenomenon but was observed as early as 1915 by Mahatma. While the 1915 mela was not marked by government making arrangements, it was in very trying conditions that pilgrims went in very crowded unhygienic conditions in trains. Humans were packed like cattle and even then refused to have water if it was served by Muslims as against so called Hindu water. Come 2025, there is a clamour by BJP leaders to ensure Muslims are not to attend the Mela. Also, the recent diktat of the Adityanath government to make vendors display the names of owners to ensure identification and ensure that Muslims are othered and ousted from the holy areas as much as possible. 

The conduct of the crowds and the state hardly shows any sign of piety and the images above show that far from peace and quietude that should mark holy occasions the scenes were one of frenzied panic. The exclusion of Dalits and Muslims which has never been a part of the true Hindu ethos, meant that the fanatic elements had taken over and the tragedies of this kind will repeat. The attempt by the Government to hide the facts and target journalists covering this was to prove that BJP can do no wrong. The fact that daily accurate figures on the number of devotees were being furnished makes it difficult to believe that accurate figures on the number of persons crushed in the stampede were not available. 

This leads to the fundamental question of Bhakti vs Jnana. My answer is Knowledge without practical application and Devotion without reflection and action are both equally useless. The Gita talks in Chapter 12 about Bhakti and says that the path of devotional worship is swifter and quicker. 

Of those who love you as the Lord of Love, ever present in all, and those who seek you
as the nameless, formless Reality, which way is sure and swift, love or knowledge?

Sri Krishna:
For those who set their hearts on me and worship me with unfailing devotion and faith,
the way of love leads sure and swift to me.

Those who seek the transcendental Reality, unmanifested, without name or form, beyond the reach of feeling and of thought, with their senses subdued and mind serene and striving for the good of all beings, they too will verily come unto me.

Yet hazardous and slow is the path to the unrevealed, difficult for physical man to tread.
But they for whom I am the goal supreme, who do all work renouncing self for me and meditate on me with single-hearted devotion, these will I swiftly rescue from the fragment’s cycle of birth and death to fullness of eternal life in me.

Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without doubt you shall be united with me,
Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. But if you cannot still your mind in me, learn to do so through the practice of meditation. If you lack the will for such self-discipline, engage yourself in selfless service of all around you, for selfless service can lead you at last to me.
If you are unable to do even this, surrender yourself to me in love, receiving success and failure with equal calmness as granted by me.

Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice, better than knowledge is meditation.
But better still is surrender in love, because there follows immediate peace.

This seems to suggest that there is no need to work hard but just indulge in blind faith. This is not correct because this passage never suggests that such faith must exclude others and must be available to some only. Also nowhere it is suggested that this path is marked by rituals of a certain kind and is time bound by a certain period. Yet these kinds of myths and imaginary beliefs leads to such disasters and avoidable human tragedies. A secular state which allow freedom of religion must also ensure the number of pilgrims are regulated and use all technology to prevent the stampedes. Yet I understand that these things happen all over the world, but honest reporting and admission of responsibility must be the duty of the state. 

There is no fool proof solution to this problem except education and keeping politicians away from these events. 

Vispi Jokhi