Yet, this spot is considered holy -- or at least it is during the Kumbh Mela festival in the city of Allahabad.
Hindus believe that bathing in the water cleanses their sins.
According to Hindu myths, the gods and the demons once fought over the nectar of life, spilling several drops on the earth. The largest drop fell where the Ganges and Yamuna meet. When the moon and Jupiter align, Hindus believe that the flow is joined by a mystical river, the Saraswati, bearing the divine nectar of immortality.
Some believe that if they can bathe in these rivers at exactly the right time, it can stop the cycle of reincarnation.
Watching people bathe and even drink the river water is difficult -- physically, emotionally and spiritually -- as they place their faith in gods and idols toward achieving the Hindu experience of "nothingness."
For me, this stirs prayer that the "Light of the world" will shine into this 55-day festival. It will take a miracle as only God can do. It's illegal to share Christ on the banks or around the grounds of the festival.
Pilgrims will continue streaming into Allahabad by plane, train and bus (some even walk) until March 9. This particular Kumbh Mela, called Maha Kumbh Mela, is a special one that happens only once every 144 years. Parades of different Hindu sects roam through the streets. Dreadlocked sadhus (Hindu holy men) cover their bodies in ashes and sit teaching and blessing the hordes of people.
The riverbanks are jammed with tents and mats where the pilgrims camp. Luxurious tents of the rich sprawl in one area while the frayed tarps of the poor cram onto another section of land.
Allahabad will go from a population of 1.2 million people to an estimated 100 million during Maha Kumbh Mela's 55 days. On the "holiest" days, Feb. 10-11, city officials estimated more than 30 million people camped on the banks of our river. To put that in perspective, that's like the entire population of Texas, 26 million, visiting Savannah, Ga., on the same weekend.
This Maha Kumbh Mela is being called the largest human gathering on earth. (By comparison, 3.1 million people visited Mecca in Saudi Arabia during last year's annual hajj pilgrimage.)
It is surprising how many foreigners have come to bathe alongside the national Hindu population. I and others with me keep getting asked if we have also come for this "holy time." We quickly inform them that we are followers of Jesus. One Christian worker was able to talk about Jesus being "the Way, the Truth and the Light" but he was met with ridicule.
Please join us in praying:
-- for followers of Christ in India who are risking imprisonment (and even their lives) for sharing the Good News of Jesus with pilgrims.
-- that Allahabad one day will be known by the true meaning of the city's name, "the abode of God." Pray that Jehovah will be the God of this city.
-- that the pilgrims searching for forgiveness will find it in Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
-- for believers in this city. Pray that the Father will allow us to feel His presence even more during this time. Pray that His light shines.
*Name changed. Maggie Hardison is a Christian worker in southern Asia. Susie Rain contributed to this article. For Kumbh Mela prayer guides, go to kumbh-mela-2013
Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net
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