Kumbha Mela- The Festival of Immortality by Lokanath Swami

Kumbha, The Festival of Immortality is drawn from the Lord’s pastime of protecting the demigods from the demons by producing nectar from the ocean of mille The fighting between the devas and the asuras lasted for twelve earth years (twelve demigod days), Maha Kumbha-melas are held at each of these sites once every twelve years and ardha Kumbha-melas every six years.

Lokanath Swami captures the celebration of this Mela at Prayag, Nasik, Haridwar and Ujjian. It attracts millions of pilgrims who believe that bathing in the holy rivers at this auspicious time guarantees liberation from birth and death. Srila Prabhupada attended the 1971 and 1977 with his disciples.

“On April 20, 2004 history was made at the Ujjain Kumbha-mela when the All India Sadhu Samaj officially accepted Lokanath Swami as a mahanta representing ISKCON. Dina-Bandhu Prabhu

About the Author

Lokanath Swami was born in 1949 in Aravade, a village in Maharastra. In 1971 he met the Hare Krishna devotees at ISKCON’s first pandal program in Bombay.

In 1976, on Srila Prabhupada’s order Lokanath Swami organised a padayatra across India. The first leg was from Vrndavana to Mayapur, stopping in Allahabad at the 1977 Kumbha-mela, which Prabhupada attended. Maharaja expanded his padayatra service worldwide as ISKCON’s Global Padayatra Minister. By 1996, Prabhupada’s Centennial year, padayatras were held in over a hundred countries. The All India Padayatra still continues, and many in other parts of the world as well.

Lokanath Swami provided the inspiration to begin ISKCON’s yearly Vraja-mandala parikrama in 1987. Maharaja has personally walked the parikrama path for many years. He is also cred