The Maha Kumbha Abhishekam at Devipuram

Guruji, Gurugaru and Haran Aiya at the Maha Kumbha Abhishekam, 1994.

(from "The Goddess and the Guru"):

As a bright, balmy morning dawned on Wednesday, February 23, 1994 the Maha Kumbha Abhishekam formally began with the rhythmic reverberations of Vedic chants echoing across Devipuram. Following a light breakfast, the fire rituals that would energize the kalasa commenced at 9 a.m. sharp, continued until noon, then recommenced at 3 p.m., never stopping until 8 p.m.

Once again, the presiding priest was Sri Vemakoti Krishnayaji, who had performed both the grand Devi Yagna in 1983 and Sahasrakshi’s Prana-Prathista in 1990. When Guruji invited him to perform the ceremony, Krishnayaji enthusiastically accepted, halving his usual fee and bringing along 10 ritwiks instead of the five Guruji had requested—as well as piles of additional ritual supplies to make the ceremonies as spectacular and comprehensive as possible. Krishnayaji would return to Devipuram again later that year to lead 12 ritwiks in one hundred recitations of the Devi Mahatmyam during that October’s Navratri observances.

Notably tall and regal in bearing, Sri Krishnayaji was “always an imposing sight,” Devi Parvati observed, “with his heavy, 22-karat gold earrings and ruby-encrusted arm bracelets glittering in the sun as he walked to and from the Yagna Shala each day.” Guruji and Amma, however, remained the event’s main attractions—their presence an indispensable requirement at virtually every homa from morning until night.

Throughout that first day, steady streams of visitors kept pouring in until thousands filled Devipuram’s grounds. And though the crowds were constantly straining to see (or preferably touch) Guruji and Amma, the ritual’s energy dynamics simply did not allow that sort of interaction. “Because of the intensity of the power generated by the homas, neither Guruji nor Amma was supposed to touch anyone until the Kumbha Abhishekam was complete,” Devi Parvati explained. To help ensure this level of separation, an ad hoc “Guruji Committee” was formed.

“Our job was to surround Guruji and Amma as they moved to and from the Yagna Shala and other places, and to protect or insulate them a bit from the earnest devotees and pilgrims, who all wanted darshan and to touch Guruji’s feet,” said Devi Parvati, who served on the committee. “It felt a little like being a bodyguard to a rock star!”

Guruji officiating at the Maha Kumbha Abhishekam.

Inside the Sri Meru Nilayam temple itself, the rest of the Khadgamala Devis were worshiped each morning with multiple Sri Chakra Navavarana Pujas performed simultaneously by 108 devotees. Visitors who wished to learn the puja for themselves were invited to sit beside a devotee and follow along. Meanwhile, in the bindu sthanam at the top of the temple, a select group of sadhakas from Aiya’s New York temple sat reciting prayers and hymns to Sri Sahasrakshi Rajarajeswari.

In the afternoons, visitors could attend any of numerous other pujas taking place around Devipuram, or relax to uplifting bhajans performed by Haran Aiya and other talented vocalists. In the evenings, there were classical dance recitals as well as Carnatic instrumental and vocal performances until 11 p.m.

As the second day of the festival dawned, even larger crowds streamed into Devipuram. Keeping this massive influx of visitors fed was a tremendous logistical challenge in itself. “One of the most difficult jobs to orchestrate was serving those thousands of people three meals, coffee and snacks daily,” Devi Parvati noted. But thanks to the towering stacks of donated rice, pulses and vegetables, together with an efficiently organized system of meal vouchers and the help of several hundred volunteers, “it was performed with surprising ease,” she said.

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By Friday, February 25, the day of the Magha full moon and the final day of the abhishekam, the largest crowds yet—estimates generally ranged between 10,000 and 20,000—surged into Devipuram to witness the festival’s culminating event, the ritual bathing of the temple.

Following morning pujas, everyone who had participated in the homas gathered to carry the kalasa and deities from the Yagna Shala back up to the top of the Sri Meru temple. Guruji and Amma led the stately procession, each carrying kalasa, along with Anakapalle Gurugaru, who made a rare public appearance for the event. They were followed by Sri Krishnayaji and his ritwiks. Next came Sri Chaitanyananda Natha (Haran Aiya) and his wife Sakuntala, carrying the temple’s Prathama Meru; then came the rest of the principal participants, each of them bearing one of the metal Khadgamala Devis or other smaller deity figures. Guruji gave Devi Parvati the privilege of carrying Sahasrakshi’s utsava murti, which otherwise rested in the temple’s peak at the main stone deity’s feet.

“The crowd had to be restricted to ensure that the temple structure would not become overloaded,” said Sundhara, who was also part of the procession. “Guruji and Amma, Gurugaru, the ritwiks, Haran Aiya and Amma, all sat in a circle around the main sanctum at the top, while Guruji invoked life into each level of the temple—it was just enthralling!”

Having reached Sahasrakshi’s home at the top of the temple, members of the procession mounted a specially constructed scaffold one by one, carrying their kalasa even further upward to the very tip of the bindu. There Guruji stacked the nine pots into a conical tower, which he then—with the help of other officiants—hoisted onto his head, to create what Devi Parvati termed “an antenna for the energy generated in the temple to move through,” and momentarily bring the full height of the structure to 63 feet.

At that very moment a streak of bright white light—some say it looked like a Shiva lingam—flashed across the cloudless blue sky, momentarily engulfing those at the top of the temple, and then streaked away again. The vast crowd reacted with a collective gasp; a Times of India photographer, Mickey Menon of Bombay, happened to catch the sequence on film. Later published with the caption, “Unexplained light drenching the dome and those on it at the precise moment of the Maha Kumbha Abhishekam,” the images gave birth to yet another mystical tale surrounding Devipuram and its founder.

Guruji balances nine brass kalasa atop his head immediately preceding the light phenomenon.

Inevitably, despite the thousands of eyewitnesses, some have since claimed that the photos must either be altered fakes or else reflect some sort of glare-induced anomaly in their exposure. Both possibilities, however, seem unlikely.

Strange light phenomenon captured by Times of India photographer Mickey Menon during the Maha Kumbha Abhishekam of Devipuram on February 25, 1994.

The light vanishes into the distance.

“If you look carefully at the photos, the white light is cloud-like and parts of it are transparent, going right through the spire on top of the Meru,” said William Thomas, a design professor in Rotterdam who was present at the event. “In my opinion, this is not a photographic artifact but a real, phenomenal sight. I was there to witness it. You can also see it coming and going through the set of photos. It’s really remarkable.”

It’s worth noting that many people on the Meru itself did not see the light effect. Haran Aiya, for example, says he did not; Guruji said he did. Devi Parvati did not see the light, but noted that—with or without mysterious phenomena—it was “a most exciting and powerful sight” just to see Guruji standing with the kalasa atop his head as “the crowds roared with delight.”

Guruji said he barely heard the cheers. “I forgot myself in the moment,” he said. “I was just contemplating the light beam that had bathed the kalasa. I just sort of let myself merge into the happiness of that light.”

Sri Krishnayaji and his ritwiks, meanwhile, showered red flowers over the pots, over the top of the temple, and then over Guruji, Amma, Sri Chaitanyananda Natha and Amma—and then doused all of them in the turmeric-dyed water from the kalasa. “Guruji’s beard and hair were yellow for days afterwards!” Devi Parvati laughingly recalled.

The ceremony now complete, all participants descended from the scaffolding and entered the sanctum sanctorum for a final round of prayers to thank Sri Sahasrakshi Rajarajeswari for the successful completion of the abhishekam.

And with that, the Sri Meru Nilayam temple was officially opened to the public.

“Everyone was ecstatic and filled with divine energy,” Devi Parvati said. “As we withdrew from the sanctum, we could see and hear the countless thousands of pilgrims all around the temple, applauding and shouting, crying and laughing, all of them happy that they had witnessed and participated in such a unique and inspiring event. Throughout the day, the lines of pilgrims waiting to receive the blessings of Sri Sahasrakshi Rajarajeswari never dwindled, as thousands upon thousands of people moved through the Sri Meru Nilayam for a quick glimpse and darshan of her radiant murti in the bindu sthanam.”