All the preparations, all the calculations and all the processions of the Kumbh Mela ultimately lead to one small act: a person steps into the river, takes water in his hands, calms his mind for a few moments and bathes. To someone watching from outside, this may seem simple. We bathe every day anyway, so why is this bath in the river different? Finding the answer to this question means understanding the place of water in Indian spirituality.
The central act in the Kumbh is the bath. According to tradition, it is believed that during this special conjunction the water of the river becomes more meritorious, and that bathing in it washes away sins. Some devotees consider it the path to moksha; some people regard it simply as an opportunity for purification of the mind, remembrance of the ancestors and expression of gratitude. After the bath, charity, japa, meditation and darshan of the sadhus and saints form the usual sequence.
Water Since the Vedic Age
In the Indian tradition, water has not been regarded as merely a physical substance. The Rigveda has a separate hymn to "Apah", that is, the water deities, in which water is called comforting, health-giving and purifying. The idea that water washes the body but along with it also washes away sin dates from the Vedic age. The Dharmashastras describe many kinds of bathing. Nitya snan is to be done every morning, naimittik snan is to be done on special occasions such as an eclipse, Sankranti, Amavasya and Purnima, and kamya snan is to be done for the fulfilment of a particular wish. The bath at the Kumbh is regarded as mainly naimittik and to some extent kamya, because it is done during a fixed sacred period and with the aim of accumulating merit.
Making a sankalp along with the bath is also an old practice. Sankalp means declaring aloud who we are, at which place, in which period and with what intention we are performing this act. It is a kind of mental contract, which gives a simple act purpose and seriousness. To put it in the language of today's psychology, sankalp means fixing an intention, and once the intention is settled, the depth of the experience increases.