Amid war, Russian & Ukrainian saints to join hands at Sangam

Lucknow: Efforts to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war may have been unsuccessful and Russian president Vladmiri Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy may be sworn enemies but the saints from the two warring nations will be praying together for peace at the forthcoming Mahakumbh.

A corridor, termed as ‘’Russia-Ukraine spiritual corridor’’, made from glass and wood, was being constructed at a ‘shivir’ (camp) in the Mahakumbh where the saints from the two countries would be taking part in a ‘Yajna’ (a ritual by fire) along with other seers for world peace.

The ‘yajna’, called ‘Shivshakti Mahayjna’, would witness participation of over one thousand seers and saints from different countries in the world.  The saints from Russia and Ukraine will be offering puja here under one roof.

‘’More than 50 saints from Russia and Ukraine will be staying in wooden cottages across each other in our shivir in the Mahakumbh.....these saints have been baptised by Juna Akhara,’’ said Khappar Baba, a senior seer from the Akhara.

‘’The Sangam (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Sarswati rivers) will be witness to this unique meeting of the saints from the two warring countries....these saints will be living for over a month under the same roof and perform the rituals of Sanatan Dharma,’’ the Baba added.

He said that a woman saint from Japan, Swami Kela Mata, would be supervising the rituals to be performed at the ‘Shivshakti Yajna’.

Incidentally two women saints from Russia and Ukraine-Anand Leela Giri and Elia had earlier arrived in the Mahakumbh and were seen roaming together holding hands of each other and disseminating the message of peace.

‘’Once one becomes a sanyasi (ascetic) and renounces the world, the past does not matter any more.....these two women saints are examples of the same,’’ Khappar Baba said.