The Nectar of Immortality
Photo Essay by Tina

Thousands of years ago after the Creation of the World all the Gods were under the influence of a curse that made them weak and coward. The Gods made a temporary agreement with the Demons to work together and to find the nectar of immortality which would retain their powers. They churned the great milky ocean for a 1000 years and at the end they obtained amrita , the nectar of immortality. However, when the divine healer Dhanvantari appeared with the golden Kumbh pot that contained the nectar, first the Demons snatched the pot with the amrit, but then the Gods snatched it back, and then one of them turned into a bird and flew away with it. For twelve days equal to twelve human years the Demons chased the Gods in the sky and fought for the pot full of amrita. During the battle some drops of the nectar fell on four different places on earth. Since hundreds of years at these four locations the largest spiritual gathering on Earth takes place. Millions of pilgrims come from all over India to take a holy bath in the rivers, where the drops of immortality fell on. The holy bath takes place where the three sacred rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati meet. The main bathing dates are astrologically determined by the constellation of the stars at the moment when the drops of immortality fell on Earth. Every human being that takes a bath on this particular days and place will attain liberation from all sins and be blessed by the Gods.

I have never considered myself a devotee of any religion but the idea of being a part of the largest religious gathering of pilgrims on Earth has been inducing very powerful warm waves in my heart for many years. I dreamed for taking a bath together with 20 million pilgrims in the Ganges, being one with them and feeling their religious ecstasy as they touch the sacred water of immortality. I imagined the feeling of merit that I would attain while I am taking the holy bath. One night a strange old men with three meter long dreadlocks appeared in my dreams and told me that I should come to Kumbha Mela in India because they want to show me the nectar of immortality. I did not wait long after this dream and just concentrated all my inner powers, saved money for the flight to India and arranged my journey.

Like a real present from the destiny I and my friend Sven even got a special invitation for the Kumbha Mela from the first foreigner who was ever initiated as a Sadhu in the highest Akhara of the Naked Yogis – in the Juna Akhara, the most sacred among the Hindu Sadhus. The invitation came from Baba Rampuri with whom we had organized a psychedelic trance party in Frankfurt with a lecture about “The spirit of India”.

Baba Rampuri was introduced to us by the world known Godfather of the trance culture DJ Goa Gil, (also known as Baba Mangalanand Giri), whom we visited while he was in Germany. Baba Mangalanand Giri and Baba Rampuri know each other since they were teenagers and they are among the first Americans who were initiated in the secrets of the sadhus back in the years of the hippie culture.

Soon I realized that we had a great advantage to have this invitation and to have the opportunity to get directly to the core of the festival without the need to observe the periphery of the millions of visitors, who do not really go to Kumbha Mela for an active religious purpose but only to see what happens. On the way to Kumbha Mela I met the confused eyes of the taxi drivers, hotel personal, restaurant waiters and accident passers on the streets, whom I asked about Juna Akhara.
“What, you are searching for Juna Akhara?! Madam, do you actually know who Juna Akhara are? These people have magic powers, they can even kill a man just by looking at him. They are up to 500 years old and live only on prana, they don’t eat and drink, they don’t live in the material world. They are very dangerous, Madam, and they are also saints. Do you really know what you are talking about??”

I felt really strange to hear that from every person I asked about Juna Akhara. However, I managed to convince a driver of a rickshaw to show me the way to those sadhus, but he kept warning me all the way long that I may come into a big trouble going there. After an exhausting ride on the dusty streets of Kumbha Mela we finally got to the camp of Juna Akhara, where about 30000 sadhus resided. Immediately as I got out of the rickshaw, some strange looking old men with dreadlocks gathered around me. Their bodies were naked and covered in ashes from the dhuni, the sacred fire. I asked them where Baba Rampuri was and they took me to one of the dhunis. It was a great relief for me when I saw Baba Rampuri and Baba Mangalanand sitting next to each other and talking. I knew that as a female white visitor I would have to keep distance on the Kumbha Mela but I felt safe to be near them after the culture shock and the long journey to Allahabad.

Baba Rampuri and Baba Mangalanand had prepared a big camp with lots of sleeping tents, a chill out tent with a sacred fire, toilets and a bath area for all the foreigners who were invited to the Kumbha Mela. There were about 30 guests from all over the world, most of them were very young and were engaged into media, music and photography. For me it was a very pleasant surprise that lots of them came from the psychedelic trance culture. Actually we thought of making a tribal trance ritual in this area on the Kumbha Mela because we had the perfect facilities for that: lots of tents decorated in Hindu style, lots of Hindu wall blankets , pictures, statues, altars, chill out zone with a fire , toilets and baths. Even in Germany which is quite a rich country you can not find such a perfect organized area for the tribal trance festivals and it was quite a mystery for me that a third world country invests so much money to organize a festival like this which lasts only a month and is then being destroyed till the next Mela. However, we decided not to arrange a trance party and not to put our western trip onto them because the most important thing here and now was to learn more about the secrets of the Sadhus. Our foreigner camp was always very well attended and lots of Sadhus had a real pleasure talking to us and telling us legends and stories around the fire.

Already in the first few days I met some Sadhus with very strong spiritual powers, for instance Sadhus who do not eat since thirty years and just live on prana. There were others who can get possession of your body and your mind only by pronouncing a sacred mantra. Then they control your physical movements and your thoughts.

This Sadhu is covered all over with rudraksha and is considered to be very powerful. I talked to him for a minute and although we did not really have a deep conversation, he was able to take away all my negative thoughts that I brought from Europe only by putting a finger on my forehead. It is unbelievable but his power really worked on me and some hours after this I had the feeling that someone else was in my body and mind and was taking control over me. There were also some questions in my mind about the possibility of being hypnotized here on the Kumbha Mela. Were these Sadhus actually doing some kind of mind control with me? My ego tried to oppose against it by reminding me of all the conservative stories I had heard in my family and in the western society about the sects, the fake gurus and the hypnosis of western kids. However, soon I realized that my ego was actually in a battle against my own freedom of the mind so I just decided to stop and to let the flow go on.

There was another Sadhu who had been keeping his right hand up towards the sky for more than ten years. His hand looked like a statue from stone and his fingernails had formed a spiral.

Baba Rampuri and Baba Mangalanand Giri at the Dhuni. The young man in the photo has just been initiated. Hundreds of new initiations of Sadhus take place on the Kumbha Mela. First the hair is being cut and then there is a special initiation ritual, which is the climax of the festival for lots of people.

There were also Sadhus who live for more then 500 years long meditating alone in a cave up in the mountains. They only leave their cave on the Kumbha Mela days to come and take a holy bath and be blessed by the Gods. One of the Sadhus from the neighbour dhuni even went into Samadhi just in front of my eyes. It was fascinating to see this for the first time in my life in reality, because till then I only read stories about people falling into Samadhi in the books and thought them to be a fairytale.

Early in the morning they teach me how to smoke chillum ritually. They explain to me why I should respect the chillum as a divine attribute: the chillum symbolizes the lingam of God Shiva. In spite of the low temperatures in the night it is obviously not a problem at all for the Sadhus to stay naked all night long covered in vibhuti.

In the western society the sacred nectar of immortality is considered to be a psychedelic hallucinogenic drink. Professors in the field of ethnology, religion and history science claim that the magic soma that was used as a part of the vedic rituals is actually a hallucinogenic mushroom, the mushroom type called amanita muscaria, known from the European fairytales as fly agaric. In the Vedic texts there is a substance called soma that was used in the higher rituals but it is not said in detail if soma was a drink or just a substance that the priesters used to sacrifice into the fire. Before I arrived on Kumbha Mela, I hoped that those strange men with the dreadlocks who appeared in my dreams actually wanted to see me in India to show me the secret of the hallucinogenic drink, which leads to immortality. On the first few days on Kumbha Mela I did not even imagine the possibility that the nectar of immortality could be something else and not a hallucinogenic substance. I was horribly surprised when I asked a Sadhu with a higher initiation among the Naga Babas what the drops of immortally look like and what they are.

“ Oh, you came to seek for the drops of immortality? Do you want me to show you what they are? Here you are, keep them and look after them well, because you will also have to give them as a present to other people one day.”

The Sadhu gave me a golden pot and explained to me that this is the sacred kumbh, from which the holy festival Kumbha Mela derives its name. Already in the first few hours after I had arrived on the Kumbha Mela I noticed that this golden pot was a very important part of the outfit of every Naga Baba: together with the trident and the chillum with hashish. I looked inside of the kumbh and was horrified to see only the dark dry bottom of the pot: the golden kumbh was empty. I tried once more to recognize at least some small drops of soma in the pot but unfortunately my sight only collided with the dark mirror surface. Where the hell is the nectar of immortality that brought me here so many thousands of kilometres away from my home?
The Sadhu saw the confusion on my face and burst into laughter. “It seems to be empty but it is not. “

After this encounter I started to doubt if I am at the right place at all. I spent the rest of the day trying to talk with other Sadhus about the drops of immortality. I told everybody about the disappointment that took over me. The excitement that I felt at the beginning vaporized in the air and gave way to the scepticism which is typical for the western world. I refused to believe that the nectar of immortality is not really a psychedelic drink but a meanless useless legend. Before I fell asleep, I obstinately kept thinking that these Sadhus were actually just some fake enlightened and did not know anything about the real thing. In my dreams later in the night I walked alone in the middle of a desert and cried in my attempts to free myself from the isolation and to find someone who could accompany me in my journey through the desolated sands. I heard myself shouting in my dreams: “Who the hell are these Sadhus, are they really capable of doing any supernatural things at all??” A swarm of bees gathered around my feet and started to scare me by crawling on me. I woke up very frightened and ran immediately away from the tent to smoke a chillum somewhere under the moonlight far away from the camp.

I sat down for a night meditation on the shore of the river Ganges. A minute after I started repeating my sacred mantra a Baba from the family of Baba Rampuri approached me and took a seat beside me. He pointed with a finger towards the river and sighed:
“Do you see the Mother Ganges? She is dead. “
He took some charas from his bag and threw the piece in the water to offer it as a sacrifice to the Mother Goddess. Then he bowed and touched the earth with his forehead three times.

“Every time on the Kumbha Mela days the millions of people who come here actually kill the Mother Ganges with their ridiculous attempts to find the immortality here. They rape the Mother Ganges and steal her magic power. Do you also want to take a bath in the river?"

"Well, actually yes, I came to India to find the nectar of immortality but I am probably not predestined for that”. I answered full of disbelief and pessimism and told him about the case with the empty kumbh.

“This is exactly what I mean, Tina Puri. Your story shows perfectly the ignorance that Western people bring to this place. You expect that the nectar of immortality is a hallucinogenic drink that you could drink and then solve all your problems. The western man always tries to consume the sacred. You see an empty pot and this is a symbol that you are now free from your sins and have the chance to fill your mind with pure amrita, pure nectar of immortality. Why don’t you just do that?!? Just fill the kumbh with the drops of the immortality yourself!”

The Sadhu looked at me compassionately, stood up and left the place. The conversation made me even more confused and desperate. What did he want to say ? I continued to doubt if it was the right thing to come here from so far away just to find out that the nectar of immortality doesn’t exist at all.

Later that day Baba Serpuri, the funniest of all Naga Babas from our camp, burst into laughter while I was telling him the story about the empty kumbh. He said that I should have told him earlier that I was going to undertake this exhausting trip in an airplane and then up to Allahabad only in order to find some drops of immortality on the Kumbha Mela, because he would have sent me some kilos immortality by post. He lied down on his belly and continued laughing. Baba Serpuri was always in very good mood and always laughing. While the other Babas took part in serious rituals, sang mantras and tried to raise their Kundalini energy, he was telling jokes and laughing. In the evening he came to me once more and said that he had prepared a surprise for me that he would show me the next day.

I met him early the next morning and he gave me an issue of the Hindustan Times. Our photo had appeared on the first page: me, my friend Sven and Baba Serpuri.

“So what do you think, what do you think, Tina Puri?” Baba Serpuri asked. “While the others torture themselves not eating 30 years long, we become famous and get the applauses from the outside world hahahah. Do you like my magic surprise?”.

There was a short text under the photo: “Foreigners enjoy the company of saints from Juna Akhara”. For me it was a mystery how he knew about this 24 hours in advance: of course there was also the possibility that he knew the journalist who wrote the article but still it was almost impossible that he knew in advance there would be a photo of us exactly on that day. Some questions appeared in my head if Baba Serpuri actually did some magical thing to make this happen. Was it just an accident or was it some magic on purpose?

Baba Serpuri somehow approved my mood but did not destroy my doubt and my pessimism about the non existing nectar of immortality. Tomorrow is the main bathing procession . Everybody from the camp is very excited and prepares for the big event. Some Babas sing mantras, others do special rituals around the dhuni. We go early to bed because the procession starts at 4 in the morning. I take a rest for two-three hours till some Sadhus shout into the tent that we have to wake everybody and gather around the fire.

The procession is going to start in half an hour. I try to get out of the sleeping tent but it is damn cold : the temperature is around 5 degree Celsius. I cannot imagine bathing in the freezing water right now and I undertake an inner battle with myself: is it better just to stay in the camp and smoke some chillum around the fire or should I go and take a bath in the freezing water. Maybe it is an illusion but I feel as if I have never been at a colder place in my life before and now I am on a survival quest surrounded by an iceberg dessert where I have to find a hidden treasure. And before I find the treasure first I have to go through obstacles.

The 30000 Sadhus from Juna Akhara have the right to be the first to take the holy bath before all the millions of other pilgrims. They pass by me one by one like a column of soldiers walking towards the most heroic battle in their lives. They shout very aggressively and throw their swords up above their heads. Hindu Mantras devoted to God Shiva, the Destroyer, fill the air all over the area where the procession takes place. The Sadhus have totally fallen into a collective religious trance. They look like many cells of the same organism all heading towards the one, towards the same goal, all eager to feel the drops of immortality on their skin. Some of them throw their swords directly towards the audience on both sides right and left of the procession. Others scream revengeful looking at the river like forest animals whose family has just been shot by the gun of some human visitors. Naga Baba are famous all over India with their aggressive way to behave and now I understand why. Somewhere deep in my head I hear very intensive dark psychedelic trance music and I think about the fact that spirituality does not necessarily mean retreat and calmness and spirituality does not mean that a person should never fight and defend aggressively the sacred. Sometimes we have to fight intensively against the Demons, chaise them and protect the sacred. A Sadhu throws his sword towards a camera of Reuters.

Soon they approach the river. The suspense grows and the crowd shouts from all over the place. Many millions of people have gathered to see how the saints take their holy bath. One of the Sadhus who passes by me gives me a chaplet with flowers for my neck. One of the Indians, who stand right next to me, explain that this is a very special chaplet and if a Baba puts it on you neck, then it means that you are very honoured . “You have to follow him” he says.

I follow him and soon I see the bank of the river right in front of me. Again very strong doubts take over me: does it really make sense to dip into this freezing water and catch a cold? May be it is just not meant to be and may be I will taste the drops of the immortality in the next incarnation but not now. I feel exactly like in my dream with the desert: all alone in the middle of the endless sands and my head full of questions if these Sadhus really have magic powers. My ego refuses to believe that this is really going to be a “once in a life experience”. As if the ego refuses to let me experience that.

While I stare at the river hundreds of Naga Baba pass by me and scream as if they are warriors in a battle. One of them stops right next to me and explains that most of them now fight for the drops of immortality, they fight against the Demons. They protect the Mother Ganges from the people who rape her and that’s why they are very aggressive. I feel that he wants to help me liberate myself from my disbeliefs and doubts. He takes my hand and pulls me towards the river. He looks at my hand again and says full of surprise:
“Where is your Kumbh, you can’t go into the water without your kumbh”.

Suddenly I feel a stream of light, starting from the root of my back and going upwards to the forehead. Something very strange is happening to me and it is so powerful that I even feel that the lows of the gravity do not rule over me any more. I feel as if I fly two meters above the earth surface. I have a powerful realization that this is the perfect moment , here and now, to fill my kumbh with the nectar of immortality that I was looking for all the time. I realize that everything I was looking for was actually right in front of me all the time. I don’t have to drink the nectar of immortality, it has always been there and I never recognized it. I only have to fill my kumbh with some water from the sacred river and my belief in the holy Mother Goddess will be my nectar of immortality. I dip deep into the water and sink the kumbh together with me. I have never been happier in my life before. I needed years to realize the biggest secret of the nectar of immortality. But now nobody will ever take this sacred amrita from me, I will never loose it and my kumbh will never by empty again. Because the nectar of immortality is not just a material substance that you can eat up but it is ever lasting devotion and belief in the Mother Goddess.

Tina @ psy-film.com

Please write me an email for any comments and questions about this story. Watch out for a video essay soon here on psy-film.com!!

Hier you can see a gallery with photos from the Kumbha Mela >>