Baba says, “only the meeting of souls with the Supreme Soul is a true confluence, a Kumbha.”

In today’s world where science, brain-power and physical strength are celebrated, one might ask: Why is it important to know God? The answer is: It is important to know God for the same reason that it is important for a child to know its parents. A child is never asked why it is important for it to know its parents! It’s expected. It is not just important for a child to ‘know’ its parents, it is important for a child to have a deep, intimate relationship with its parents. It is through this relationship that a child gets its identity and a sense of deep belonging – this is oxygen for the soul. It is through this parent-child relationship that a child feels a sense of security and safety. A child knows that if it makes a mistake, it’s okay because its parents have its back. It has the faith that the parents will pick him back up. The child knows that if there should be a train coming toward it at full speed, the parents love him so much that they wouldn’t hesitate to jump in front of the train to save his life. It is through this relationship that the child receives its daily sustenance; the parents ensure the child receives the best education and they are always available 24/7 to guide the child at every step of its journey.

All these things- identity, deep belonging, security, safety, sustenance, education, guidance etc. are not something the child has to ‘earn’ or try to ‘win’. They are all his birthright! He gets it all just for being born to his parents. He is entitled to these gifts, so to speak, it is his right. Without these gifts that come with ONLY this relationship, the child is an orphan fending for itself, trying to figure life out on its own, stumbling, falling, living in fear and cultivating deep insecurities. That is how important a parent-child relationship is.

With every birth, my physical parents have changed; they have given me the body I reside in. Yes, I am not the body, I am the pure soul that resides in the body, that uses the various organs to express myself, to play my part, so to speak, on this physical stage. And so while I receive different physical parents in each birth, they are not the parents of I, the soul. God is. He is the Mother and Father of not just me, but of all souls. He is the one constant throughout the cycle of time- He was, is and will always be my Mother and Father. For a long time, for many births, I had been separated from my Mother and Father which is why I lived like an orphan, seeking, stumbling in the darkness of ignorance. I performed actions, made choices that hurt myself and others.

But now, when the world has descended into the depths of ignorance, when souls have forgotten the meaning of religion and commit heinous acts in its name. When brother fights brother, the Father comes to this physical stage to rescue His children. He comes to liberate them from their sorrow and return them to their self-sovereignty. He comes to change the world from the hell it has become to heaven again. This most auspicious union, this most precious meeting is the real Kumbha or the confluence. It is through this Kumbha that the soul receives it strength back. It is through this Kumbha that the soul becomes pure again by melting away the alloy in the fire of yoga with the Father. It is the Father’s love that is the alchemy that heals and transforms, how could water from a river do this?

People worship the Triveni and take a dip in the Ganges but how could that help the soul! It might cleanse the body, perhaps, but it has no connection whatsoever with me, the soul. To believe that a dip in a river can make me pure is blind faith. What’s more – the rivers have always been here; if they had purifying powers, then no one would be impure and the world would still be heaven. No, the Purifier (Patit Pavan) definitely has to come, He is the Ocean of Knowledge. Through giving me the knowledge of who I am and Whose I am, He empowers the soul by giving it its lost identity and belonging. This is Raja Yoga– the yoga or union that makes the soul, king again. While there is the Ganges on one hand, on the other hand, there are many gurus and pundits that promise salvation and liberation. But God comes and clarifies that it is only the task of the Supreme Father, the Supreme Soul, and not a human being, to make the impure world pure and change this old iron age into the new golden age or heaven.

He comes and becomes my Father, Teacher and Satguru, my Friend and my Beloved. He becomes my constant Companion. He makes it easy to remember Him. When I remember Him as the Father, I remember my rights. When I remember Him as the Teacher, I remember the secrets of the beginning, middle and end of the cycle, that is, of my own story. As the Satguru, He guides me at every step; these elevated directions that I receive from Him are His blessings. Previously, I was living as an orphan. Now, I have identity and belonging- I am a child of God. I have security and guidance- I simply have to follow shrimat at every step. I don’t have to try to figure anything out on my own, I don’t have to live by trial and error. I simply have to ask my Mother and Father for directions and then follow them. I live worry free, anxiety free, I live a carefree life because I know that my Parents are watching over me, that they are responsible for me.

People give special importance to the Kumbha mela but in fact, the importance is of the present time, of this union of the soul and Supreme Soul. It is the memorial of this that is celebrated with their fairs.