The 45-day long Mahakumbh was held in Prayagraj from January 13, 2025, Paush Purnima, to February 26, 2025, Maha Shivratri. More than 65 crore devotees took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam of the Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati rivers and found themselves blessed. As this Mahakumbh is being held after 144 years, those who take a holy dip at the Sangam certainly consider themselves lucky. On the one hand, this festival of collective faith of Mahakumbh has enriched Bharat socially and culturally, while on the other, it has also benefited it economically. This will strengthen the economic growth rate. The country’s leading economists have claimed that the standard of living of the people will improve. From this point of view also, Mahakumbh has a unique and extraordinary importance.
This Mahakumbh can be described as a never before event. With its huge form, it is unlikely that such a thing will be seen in the near future. Kumbh is not a religious event, it has been established as a symbol of social harmony, cultural and spiritual unity. Sanatani people from all sections of the society, caste, language, sects came to the Triveni Sangam. This statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi absolutely hits the chord that when consciousness of a nation awakens breaking all the shackles of the mentality of slavery of hundreds of years and starts breathing in the air with new consciousness, then a similar scene appears, as we saw in the Mahakumbh of unity in Prayagraj after January 13, 2025. Further, PM Narendra Modi said that on January 22, 2024, at the Prana Pratishtha of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, we had seen patriotism with devotion to Bhagwan. During Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, we also witnessed the awakened consciousness of the country.
Sangh’s Pioneering Role
During this Mahakumbh, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and many Sangh inspired organisations have played a very important role. It is well known that the Sangh is celebrating its centenary this year. Unlike other institutions and organisations, it is actively involved in connecting people by reaching out to every section of society through various programmes in service work. It has run a cleanliness campaign during the Mahakumbh through its Paryavaran Gatividhi (environmental activity). In this, many other institutions and organisations including Vishva Hindu Parishad, Janjati Suraksha Manch associated with Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Shiksha Punarutthan Samiti have been active here.
Safeguarding the Environment
According to senior Pracharak Gopal Arya, in-charge of environmental activities being run under the inspiration of RSS, a special campaign was run to collect one plate and one bag (Ek Thali, Ek Thaila) from every house with the aim of maintaining cleanliness in the Mahakumbh premises and curbing the use of polythene. This big campaign was run with community participation in which 7,258 collection centres were established by about 2,241 organisations from different States of the country. Through these centres, 14 lakh 17 thousand 64 steel plates and 13 lakh 46 thousand 128 cloth bags and 2 lakh 63 thousand 678 steel glasses were collected. Pracharak Gopal Aryaji revealed that more material was received than this count. About 10.25 lakh steel plates and 13 lakh cloth bags and 2.5 lakh steel glasses were distributed in the stores in Mahakumbh.
Asserting that the campaign has been successful, Gopal Arya said that the use of disposable plates, glasses and bowls i.e. pattal dona in Mahakumbh has reduced the waste by 80 to 85 per cent. Also, there was a reduction of about 29,000 tonnes in waste generation, while the estimated total waste could have been more than 40,000 tonnes. He said that Rs 3.5 crore was saved per day on disposable plates, glasses and bowls, which was a total of Rs 140 crore in the 40-day event. This does not include transportation, fuel, cleaning staff and other related costs.
Kumbh is not a religious event, it has been established as a symbol of social harmony, cultural and spiritual unity. Sanatani people from all sections of the society, caste, language, sects came to the Triveni Sangam
Under the aegis of Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, another RSS inspired organisation, a Janjati cultural conference was organised during the Prayagraj Mahakumbh from February 6 to February 10, 2025, which saw the participation of more than 10 thousand Janjati people from communities of different States of the country. A grand procession was taken out. Later, they got an opportunity to take a dip and bath in the Triveni Sangam. The Janjati also had the opportunity to listen to the views and guidance of religious leaders.
RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, Sah Sarkaryavah Dr. Krishna Gopal, senior Pracharak Bhaiyaji Joshi, and other prominent officials participated in various programmes at Prayagraj. Due to Mahakumbh, the country’s economy has seen a rise and the signs and symptoms of increase in the standard of living of the people of Uttar Pradesh in particular will be seen in the coming days. Due to this positive effect, the country’s leading economists have predicted that Bharat’s economy will reach an estimated four billion dollars by the end of March 2025. On the other hand, there has been an upsurge in the spiritual atmosphere in the country after several decades long struggle and sacrifice for the construction of a Mandir on Ram Janmabhoomi. Due to the awakening of Hindu sentiments, especially after the consecration of Ram Mandir and the recently concluded Mahakumbh, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Hindu society seems to be returning to its roots.
