Hey everyone! I'm Gotham Chopra
and this is Holy Facts, the show where we
take you on a tour of the weirder side of
religion and spirituality, whether it's
monks walking on knives or sacred fertility
festivals in the streets of Japan. On this
episode, we're hopping in the Holy Facts
minivan and taking a road trip to our favorite
mass-gatherings around the world, from ancient
holy spots in India to the wilds of Southeastern
Illinois. And we're asking ourselves: what
is it about gathering together for a common
purpose that is itself a spiritual experience
for so many? So buckle up and let's hit
the road!
In India, Hindus have been gathering for thousands
of years at the Ganges and Godavari rivers
as part of the Kumbh Mela, a ceremony
where devotees bathe away their sins
in the water. Because nothing cleans your
sins like dirty river water, and it's more
fun if you bring a few hundred thousand friends.
The half-Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six
years, the full-Kumbh Mela every 12 years
and the Maha or Great Kumbh Mela only happens
once every 144 years. It attracted tens of
millions of Hindus when it was last held in
2010. Just a fair warning though, if you do
a search for more videos of the Kumbh Mela,
get ready to see dongs. So. Many. Dongs. But
we hear Ganges water is great for cleaning
your brain off too.
And here in America, we've got our own
quasi-spiritual gatherings, too. Burning Man,
which attracts some 50,000 participants every
year, is a temporary city-slash-art-project-slash-commune-slash-party-slash-everything-in-between
in the Nevada desert. The event has grown
from a spontaneous one-night beach party in
1986 to a massive weeklong event where festival-goers
establish micro-communities, play music, meditate,
create themed installations, commune with
new friends and expand their minds and spirits
through art. Mostly art.
If conceptual art and experimental bartering
systems aren't your thing, but you still
want to commune with your fellow man, journey
further into the heart of the country, to
Cave-in-Rock, Illinois for the Gathering of
the Juggalos. The Gathering is a five-day
outdoor festival for fans of the band The
Insane Clown Posse and features concerts,
carnival rides, and more clown make-up than
seems possible for campers who don't have
access to running water. Juggalos insist the
event isn't just about dressing up like
psycho clowns or dancing shirtless, but rather
about family and friendship and being with
likeminded psycho clowns in a safe, welcoming
environment. Which, if we're being honest,
seems vastly preferable to pyscho clowns wandering
the streets alone.
And that kinship is what we're all
after, isn't it, when we drop everything
to go to the desert or a river or an open
field to dance or sing or bathe ourselves.
Whether it's spiritual or merely spirited,
humans seem to have a basic need to commune
with other likeminded humans and draw strength
and energy from each other and our common
purpose. And isn't that what's at the
heart of all organized religions? Not feeling
so alone in the universe? When you think about
it, these mass-gatherings are just a Sunday
service on a much larger scale.
Have you ever been to a spiritual gathering?
How did it change you? Let us know in the
comments or leave a response video.
