The Nagas At The

Maha Kumbh

The Nagas or the Naga Sadhus are the ones who are given the
privilege of bathing first at the grand Maha Kumbh festival. "Nag"
means naked and thus the Naga Babas stay naked even during
chilling winters.Their nakedness is the symbol of non-attachment and
transcendence. They were founded by Dattatreya during the ancient
times. The Nagas usually belong to one of the three Akharas:
Mahanirvani, Niranjini and Juna. They often call themselves as the
"defenders of the faith" with pride.
As per Naga Baba Gopal Giri ofJuna Akhara "We are the
Shankaracharya's sanyasi fauj (army) for the protection of Sanatana
Dharma". Since they belong to the warrior class, they are divided like
a regiment in the army. They are fearless and are always up for an
intellectual discussion or wrestling. They can be seen carrying trident,
sword, stick, conch shells, and other weapons, that denote their
warrior stature. The Naga Sadhus undoubtedly have a huge
following that has kept the tradition ongoing.

naga sadhu in
simhastha

The Nagas are detached from the material world and from life. They
keep their lifestyle as mysterious and secretive as possible. They
mostly reside in the Himalayan caves and can be spotted among the
general public only during the Maha Kumbh Mela. Their appearance
is inspired from lord Shiva, the god of death and regeneration. Their
bodies are covered in thick bhasma( ash) and they often have their
locks of hair coiled up on the top of their head. They can be seen
smoking Marijuana through a Chillum(clay pipe) or Shiv Muli. They
indulge in such acts to distract themselves from the worldly things.
However, they remain in a controlled state even when they are
intoxicated. With time, as they move forward on their spiritual path,
they give up intoxication too. They give the spiritual message to their
followers of anand, mauj and masti (fun and bliss).

Naga-SadhuSmocking-Kumbh

Naga Sadhus live their lives by renouncing the materialistic world and
practice celibacy to attain Nirvana or salvation and escape the cycle
of birth and death. The crowd at the Kumbh Mela is left astound by
their appearance and the rituals they follow. They are often called as
naked holy men of India by the foreigners. Before initiating the Shahi
Snan (Holy bath) at the Kumbh, and endless row of nudes stands by
the banks of the sacred river and gradually dip with joy into the water
chanting "Har Har Mahadeva". This spectacular dip for salvation is a
sight not to be missed. To know participate and more about this
glorious festival, please visit - yogalife.co.in.