‘A case study for planning, policy experts’: PM Modi pens blog on conclusion of Maha Kumbh | Full text

Following the conclusion of the Maha Kumbh Mela on the occasion on Mahashivratri on Wednesday (February 26), Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned his thoughts about the 45-day event.

In a blog, he mentioned that the organisation of this grand religious event could be a case study for planning and policy experts.

Here’s the full text of the blog PM Modi penned on Thursday (February 27):

The Maha Kumbh Mela has been concluded…the great yagya of unity is over. When the consciousness of a nation awakens, when it breaks all the shackles of hundreds of years of slavery mentality and starts breathing the air with new consciousness, then a similar scene is seen as we saw in the Mahakumbh of unity in Prayagraj since January 13.

On January 22, 2024, at the Prana Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, I had talked about patriotism through devotion to God. During the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, all the gods and goddesses gathered, saints and mahatmas gathered, children and old people gathered, women and youth gathered, and we witnessed the awakened consciousness of the country. This Maha Kumbh was the Maha Kumbh of unity, where the faith of 140 crore countrymen came together at one time through this one festival.

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In this region of Teerthraj Prayagraj, there is also Shringaverpur, the holy region of unity, harmony and love, where Lord Shri Ram and Nishadraj met. That incident of their meeting is also like a confluence of devotion and harmony in our history. This pilgrimage of Prayagraj still inspires us to have unity and harmony.

For the last 45 days, everyday, I have seen how lakhs of people from every corner of the country are moving towards the banks of Sangam. The tide of sentiments of bathing at Sangam kept on rising. Every devotee was in the mood of just one thing- bathing at Sangam. The confluence of Maa Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati was filling every devotee with enthusiasm, energy and faith.

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This Maha Kumbh event held in Prayagraj has become a subject of study for the management professionals of the modern era, for planning and policy experts. Today, there is no other comparison of such a huge event in the whole world, there is no other example like this.

The whole world is surprised how crores of people gathered in such a large number on a river bank, at Triveni Sangam. These crores of people had neither a formal invitation, nor any prior information about when to reach. So, people started for Maha Kumbh… and became blessed by taking a dip in the holy Sangam.

I cannot forget those pictures… I cannot forget those faces filled with immense joy and satisfaction after the bath. Be it women, elderly, our disabled people, everyone reached Sangam by whatever means they could.

And it was very pleasing for me to see that today’s young generation of India reached Prayagraj in very large numbers. The youth of India coming forward to participate in the Maha Kumbh in this way is a very big message. This strengthens the belief that the young generation of India is the carrier of our values ​​and culture and understands the responsibility of taking it forward and is also determined and dedicated to it.

The number of people reaching Prayagraj in this Maha Kumbh has definitely set a new record. But in this Maha Kumbh we also saw that those who could not reach Prayag also got emotionally connected to this event. Those who took the water of Triveni Tirtha with them while returning from Kumbh, a few drops of that water also gave the same virtue to crores of devotees as Kumbh bath. The way so many people were welcomed in villages after returning from Kumbh, the way the entire society bowed their head in reverence towards them, is unforgettable.

This is something that has never happened before in the last few decades. This is something that has laid the foundation for many centuries to come.

A much larger number of devotees reached Prayagraj than was imagined. One reason for this was that the administration had also estimated it by looking at the experiences of the previous Kumbh. But almost twice the population of America participated in this Maha Kumbh of unity and took a dip.

If people doing research in the spiritual field study this enthusiasm of crores of Indians, they will find that India, which is proud of its heritage, is now moving forward with a new energy. I believe, this is the sound of the change of era, which is going to write a new future for India.

Friends,

This tradition of Maha Kumbh has been strengthening the national consciousness of India for thousands of years. In every Purna Kumbh, sages, munis and learned people used to deliberate on the conditions of the society at that time for 45 days. In this churning, the country and the society used to get new guidelines.

After this, the conditions and guidelines were reviewed in Ardh Kumbh every 6 years. By the time 12 Purna Kumbhs were held, i.e. after a gap of 144 years, the guidelines and traditions that had become outdated were abandoned, modernity was accepted and new traditions were created by making changes according to the times.

In the Maha Kumbh held after 144 years, new messages were also given by sages and munis, keeping in view the time and circumstances. Now this time, such a Purna Maha Kumbh held after 144 years has also given us the message of a new chapter in India’s development journey. This is the message of a developed India.

Just as in the Maha Kumbh of unity, every devotee, whether poor or rich, child or old, from the country or abroad, from the village or the city, from the east or the west, from the north or the south, from any caste, from any ideology, all united in the Maha Kumbh of unity for a Maha Yagya. This unforgettable scene of one India – the best India became a Maha Parva of self-confidence in crores of countrymen. Now in the same way, we have to unite and come together for the Maha Yagya of a developed India.

Friends,

Today I am also remembering the incident when as a child Shri Krishna had shown the universe in his mouth to mother Yashoda. Similarly, in this Maha Kumbh, Indians and the world have seen the immense form of India’s power. Now we have to move forward with this self-confidence and dedication to fulfill the resolution of a developed India.

This is such a power of India, about which our saints had awakened the spirit in every corner of the nation during the Bhakti movement. Be it Vivekananda or Sri Aurobindo, everyone had made us aware about it. Gandhiji also realized this during the freedom movement. If we had known the immense form of this power of India after independence, and had turned this power towards the welfare of all, happiness of all, then it would have become a great power for India coming out of the effects of slavery. But we could not do this then. Now I am satisfied, happy that this power of the people is uniting for a developed India.

From Vedas to Vivekananda and from Upanishads to satellites, India’s great traditions have shaped this nation. As a citizen, I wish that while remembering our ancestors and our sages with unconditional devotion, we should take new inspiration from the Maha Kumbh of unity and take new resolutions with us. Let us make the Mahamantra of unity our life mantra, and dedicate ourselves to the service of God in the service of the country, and to the service of Shiva in the service of living beings.

Friends,

When I went to Kashi for elections, my inner feelings were expressed in words, and I said - Maa Ganga has called me. There was also a sense of responsibility in this, regarding the purity and cleanliness of our mother rivers. At the confluence of Ganga-Yamuna-Saraswati in Prayagraj, my resolution has become stronger. Ganga ji, Yamuna ji, the cleanliness of our rivers is linked to our life journey. It is our responsibility that considering every river, whether small or big, as a symbol of life-giving mother, we should celebrate river festival as per our convenience. This Maha Kumbh of unity has inspired us to keep our rivers clean and keep strengthening this campaign.

I know, such a huge event was not easy. I pray to Maa Ganga… Maa Yamuna… Maa Saraswati… O Maa, if there is any shortcoming in our worship, please forgive me… If there is any shortcoming in serving the devotees, the public, who is God to me, I also seek forgiveness from the public.

Friends,

The responsibility of serving the crores of people who reached Prayag filled with faith and became a part of this Maha Kumbh of unity has also been fulfilled only with the power of faith. Being an MP from UP, I can proudly say that under the leadership of Yogi ji, the government, administration and the public together made this Maha Kumbh of unity a success. Be it the centre or the state, there was no ruler, no administrator, everyone was a servant full of devotion. Our sanitation workers, our policemen, sailors, drivers, cooks, everyone worked continuously with full devotion and service and made this Mahakumbh a success. Especially, the way the residents of Prayagraj have served the devotees in these 45 days despite facing many difficulties is incomparable. I express my gratitude and congratulations to all the residents of Prayagraj, the people of UP.

Friends,

Seeing the scenes of Mahakumbh, the feelings that arose in my mind from the very beginning, which have been strengthened further in the last 45 days, my faith in the bright future of the nation has become stronger manifold.

The way 140 crore countrymen made the Mahakumbh of unity in Prayagraj a great identity of today’s world, is amazing.

Impressed by the hard work, efforts and resolve of the countrymen, I will soon visit the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Shri Somnath, and offer my Sankalp Pushp as a symbol of devotion and pray for every Indian.

The physical form of Maha Kumbh has reached its culmination on Maha Shivratri. But I am confident that like the uninterrupted flow of Maa Ganga, the flow of spiritual consciousness and unity of Maha Kumbh will continue to flow.