The Nagas At The Maha Kumbh

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The Nagas At The Maha Kumbh
The Nagas or the Naga Sadhus are the ones who are
given the privilege of bathing first at the
grand Maha Kumbh festival. "Nag" means naked and
thus the Naga Babas stay naked even during
chilling winters.Their nakedness is the symbol of
non-attachment and transcendence. They were
founded by Dattatreya during the ancient times.
The Nagas usually belong to one of the three
Akharas Mahanirvani, Niranjini and Juna. They
often call themselves as the "defenders of the
faith" with pride. As per Naga Baba Gopal Giri
ofJuna Akhara "We are the Shankaracharya's
sanyasi fauj (army) for the protection of
Sanatana Dharma". Since they belong to the
warrior class, they are divided like a regiment
in the army. They are fearless and are always up
for an intellectual discussion or wrestling.
They can be seen carrying trident, sword, stick,
conch shells, and other weapons, that denote
their warrior stature. The Naga Sadhus
undoubtedly have a huge following that has kept
the tradition ongoing.
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naga sadhu in simhastha
The Nagas are detached from the material world
and from life. They keep their lifestyle as
mysterious and secretive as possible. They mostly
reside in the Himalayan caves and can be spotted
among the general public only during the Maha
Kumbh Mela. Their appearance is inspired from
lord Shiva, the god of death and regeneration.
Their bodies are covered in thick bhasma( ash)
and they often have their locks of hair coiled up
on the top of their head. They can be seen
smoking Marijuana through a Chillum(clay pipe)
or Shiv Muli. They indulge in such acts to
distract themselves from the worldly things.
However, they remain in a controlled state even
when they are intoxicated. With time, as they
move forward on their spiritual path, they give
up intoxication too. They give the spiritual
message to their followers of anand, mauj and
masti (fun and bliss).
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Naga-Sadhu-Smocking-Kumbh
Naga Sadhus live their lives by renouncing the
materialistic world and practice celibacy to
attain Nirvana or salvation and escape the cycle
of birth and death. The crowd at the Kumbh Mela
is left astound by their appearance and the
rituals they follow. They are often called as
naked holy men of India by the foreigners. Before
initiating the Shahi Snan (Holy bath) at the
Kumbh, and endless row of nudes stands by the
banks of the sacred river and gradually dip with
joy into the water chanting "Har Har Mahadeva".
This spectacular dip for salvation is a sight not
to be missed. To know participate and more about
this glorious festival, please visit -
yogalife.co.in.