The Churning of the Ocean … from chapter 7

Bam Baba’s Story of the Kumbh Mela

“For debased humans the kamandal is just a water pot,” said Bam Baba, “but in the hands of the physician of the gods, Dhanwantari, it is the container of amrit.” I wanted to make sure I knew what Bam Baba meant, so I looked up the word in my Universal Hindi Teacher and confirmed that it meant “ambrosia.”

“Not any ol’ juice,” continued Bam Baba, “but the nectar of immortality! That’s the real reason you are taking your kamandal to the Kumbh Mela. After all, kumbh is a jug and kamandal is a kind of kumbh. You must fill it with amrit.”

“And how will I find this amrit?” I asked.

“You have come to Kashi to find death, isn’t it?” he asked. “And you will go to Allahabad to find ‘no death.’”

This was a little confusing but I realized that he was defining amrit for me. Mrit means “death,” and a-mrit means “no death,” as the vowel “a” negates what it precedes.

“Now,” he said, “before time was counted, the gods and demons decided to forget their differences for a timeless moment, and joined together to churn the Ocean of Milk for that treasure of all treasures, the nectar of immortality, amrit. Why?” he asked.

He answered his own question. “Because the gods lacked the numbers and strength to do this on their own so they invited the demons to become partners in the greatest enterprise the universe had ever witnessed.”

“Live forever!” he shouted and his massive body shook the earth. “Defy and defeat death,” he said more softly. Three babas strolling along the river came running over to the dhuni when they heard him roar. Bam Baba told them to sit down and listen, and put a pot of tea on the fire.

“The gods and the demons agreed that they would share the amrit and any other treasure they might find in the very sea where Vishnu dreamt the world into existence while sleeping on the coils of his endless serpent.

“They turned Mount Meru, the axis of the world, upside down to use as their churning rod, Vishnu morphed into his avatar, the Cosmic Tortoise who floated in the bottomless waters as a churning base, and his endless serpent stretched as the churning .rope in the hands of the gods and demons. They stood on opposite shores and churned the waters as a farmer might churn fresh milk for butter.

“After a thousand years of churning, treasures started rising to the surface. The Wish-Granting Cow was first and quickly spirited away by the gods. Then came the Sea Goddess, the fragrant Wish-Granting Tree, and the Apsaras (the celestial dancers); Shiva caught Soma the Moon which he displayed in his dreadlocks, and the cannabis plant, as they appeared; Vishnu acquired the ruby called Kaustubha, and placed it on his chest like a medal.

“Then Mahalakshmi, the Earth Mother, the Goddess of Prosperity, rose from the depths of the waters seated on a magnificent lotus, holding a water lily in her hand. The four immortal elephants, that support the Earth, filled golden pitchers from the Ganga and other sacred streams, and anointed the goddess. She ran over to her beloved, the Gd Vishnu, and sat on his lap. The demons were not pleased that the gods seemed to take all the booty.

“The waters bubbled and foamed. Dhanvantari, Lord of Healing, Herbs, and Longevity, holding a kamandal in his right hand appeared standing on the water. They all knew he had It, the Nectar of Immortality, amrit.

“But the demons snatched it away and prepared for a fight.

Vishnu [not normally known as a cross-dresser] manifested himself as Mohini, the Seductress, a voluptuous celestial damsel so beautiful that both gods and demons became enchanted. When Mohini winked her kohl-painted eyes deep as the Ocean of Milk itself, and let her upper garments fall to reveal her golden breasts, the demons became were overcome with lust. She played the demons into handing her the kumbh of amrit. After all what is immortality when compared to the possibility of a moment with the goddess Mohini?

“She made the gods and the demons sit in two long lines facing each other. She was going to distribute it to the gods first and then the demons.. However, the demon Rahu was impatient and managed to quaff a drop of the amrit by sitting incognito in the gods’ line. As if none of the gods would notice a new god.

“Soma the Moon and Surya the Sun both realized the ruse and called to Vishnu. Angered by the cheap trick, Vishnu threw his divine discus, the Sudarshan Chakra, at Rahu, severing the demon’s now immortal head, which flew off into the heavens, and the war began.

““Jayant Mohini entrusted the kumbh of amrit to the son of Indra who transformed himself into a sparrow and flew into the sky chased by all the demons. The pursuit lasted the equivalent of twelve human years, during which Jupiter guided and protected Jayant from the attacks of the demons, the Moon helped prevent the amrit from spilling (as he also controls the tides), the Sun protected the kumbh from breaking, and Saturn prevented Jayant from drinking all the amrit by himself. However, during all this excitement, four drops fell to earth and landed at what is now Prayag (Allahabad), Hardwar, Ujjain, and Nasik.

“Every twelve years, which is how long it takes for Jupiter to circle the Sun, when Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon are in the same places in the sky as they were when each drop was spilled, the amrit, this Nectar of Immortality appears and there is a great celebration called the Kumbh Mela in each of those four places.”

Mela means fair. It is the largest religious event in the world, the greatest gathering of human beings on Earth, and it is nurtured by a single drop of the Nectar of Immortality.

I examined my kamandal. At least I’ve found my grail, I thought. I just have to fill it up with the right stuff.