It was heartbreaking to hear and terrifying to witness — the stampede on the most pivotal day of Kumbha Mela, Mauni Amavasya.

We went to Kumbha with a single intention: to behold and experience the energy of millions of Sanatanis pouring their Shraddha in devoted submission to a higher power.

As we walked toward the Mela grounds, keeping a distance from the camp, the journey was long yet relatively smooth. We reached the Sangam and bathed in the sacred confluence in the middle of the night, just as Amavasya set in—around 1:25 a.m.

As we made our way back to our lodging, we saw the sheer speed at which people were descending toward the Sangam area. By morning, the devastating news struck—many had lost their lives, countless were injured. It was shocking, agonizing, and an unsettling relief that we had not been caught in it.

Unfortunately, like hawks and vultures circling over misfortune, many were eager to feast on the tragedy. Some politicians criticized the arrangements, though they had barely managed to handle even a fraction of the crowd in previous years. The left-liberal and Western media wasted no time blaming God, the administration, and the entire system, demanding why more hadn’t been done to save the pilgrims.

Yet, despite their cynicism, the so-called “mass madness”—as the liberals call it—remained overwhelmingly strong. Pilgrims continued to gather at the Sangam in vast numbers, eager to bathe, undeterred by tragedy. Is this madness? Shraddha? Stupidity? Hysteria? What exactly is it?

It defies explanation. Educated, less educated, and even the uneducated—people with sharp intellect, limited intellect, research scholars, and those with little formal knowledge—were all present at the Sangam, undeterred by the disaster that had unfolded.

For skeptics, Shraddha seems utterly unreasonable. But for those who possess it, Shraddha transcends human logic—it is a force beyond explanation, meant only to be experienced. The so-called rational minds will debate endlessly, but Shraddha will continue to defy logic.

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗵𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.”

𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.
𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺.
𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥.
𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦.

𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.

𝘽𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.

– Govinda Das (ISKCON Member)