A Naga Sadhu in meditation at Juna akhada during Maha Shivratri

2014-08-12 29

Juna Akhara

In the 5th century B.C., India's greatest philosopher and commentator on sacred texts, Adi Shankara, organized the lineages of shamans, yogis and ascetics into India's first monastic order, the Order of the Sannyasis of the Ten Names (Dasnami Sannyasi) which exists until this day.

In the 7th century A.D., 52 lineages within the Order of Sannyasis formalized their age-old network into an elite brotherhood, a society, that became known as Juna Akhara, or the "Ancient Circle".

Maha Kumh:

Maha Kumbh has a mesmerizing influence over the minds of Indians as it is witness to the largest human garthering in history for the same cause on a single day irrespective of any worldy barriers of caste, creed, colour and religion. It is once in a lifetime experience seeing millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world come together for a common goal-this spectacle of Faith is truly unforgettable.

This festival is held in highest regard as the ritual bath in the sacred water on this day saturated with flower & incense fragrance amidst chanting of vedic hyms and mantras liberates one from all suffering and miseries of life . The Kumbh Mela considered the most sacred and greatest of india festivals where the ceremonial dip in the Holy river is an important ritual. It is belived that bathing on the auspicious days cleanses one of all sins and attains Moksha (meaning liberation from the cycle of life, Death and Rebirth).

Source: http://rampuri.com/about/juna-akhara & http://www.up-tourism.com/mahakumbh.htm

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