those following in the procession

Is anyone other than Sasha reading this blog? If so do write in a comment....
These are some more random images of the procession... the longest and biggest is of the Juna akhada.......... here is a naga baba on a donkey or something like that... I dont know if i have mentioned it before but there is something special about the naga babas, and they are the ones who have totaly turned their back onto social convention and norms so that there is a fire in their eyes ... i did not talk to anyone, find that i am generally quite shy in these circumstances and not going and talking to anyone ... mainly what do i ask them? or anyone for that matter? One knows that they are going through sadhana of different kinds.... chanting, yoga, meditation, doing some act or the other for centuries (like the guy who has been holding up his hand for 10 years... cant at all figure out things like this at all...but they are there...standing for 10 years or whatever... i guess it removes all other aims from your mind.... i am keeping my hand up for ten years... yeh.... i shalla cheive godhood or pece or something doing this... well i dont wanto even think about it or try... but tomorrow (ie. 19th) shall be going to hardwar with a 25 year old Phd student from BHU, a devotee of Radha and shall hopefully use him to interview).....

they came on top of vans, tractors, bullock carts.... i think this is avdeshanand mahamandaleshwar juna akhada... two women have been appointed in senior positions here creating news ... saw them in the procession...

this is shoham baba... indian but i beleive settled in holland... the more traditional see him as fake baba, cause he has a massive foreign following plus he talk about global warming and planting trees.... however for me something clicked... especially after meeting all these babas and sadhavis who are shutting themslves in rooms and only doing sadhana ... and who are obsessed with cant eat from outside, cant give hug, energy diminishes etc...Something clicked. Finally.
I was happy to see the Naga baba, to see Sohams group and Pilot baba. They are infusing a much needed element into spirituality, and one based in our traditions,
Vedanta was always one with nature, and Sohams devotees handing out a tree sapling was very much in our tradition, where one of the deeds which are mentioned that must be done is plant trees. And look after waters…. What have we done with looking after our rivers…and this is being done in a country which is filled with Hindus…… how stong is their belief that they believe the ganga is pure when even at hardwar the pollution levels are not tolerable.
These are matters that our spiritual leaders should be telling the masses about. Ramdeo is taking yoga to the villages, Swami Vasudev has had his followers plant and look after over a million trees. He also has started rural Olympics and has sports at the village training for the competition.
Also athe arts and crafts. The integration of spirituality and art….. the magnificent temples and paintings, the dance and singing that occurred…… there were temple dances gone ffrom the temple and to a performance stage……

people carrying posters of pilot baba and soham ;both from juna akhada.... traditionalists dont like pilot baba also... again cause he has a lovely setup here , foreign architects having constructed a dome, and integrates music, and art... will be going to see thm hopefully tomorrow

one more baba

lion and dancers of soham baba

the marriage bands playing before each baba... the bands carry their names sometimes bigger than the babas names and its trumpets etc.... cant understand why marriage bands....

this very active girl woman was telling everyone to shout bholenath... bol bol hiv om... she reminded me of cousin mala....

dancers of Soham processsion

vivekanand[uri juna akhad... again all these names may be wrong.... but me thinks that thisi s enough on the procession theough there is many more sants coming behind...

however except for the naga babas and the juna akhada and a little of avahan akhada, there is not much activity and there is like just people walking... someone said that they actually got peole to walk with them since there were no devotees... then came empty chairs on top of some vehicle or the other..... babs who did not come ?

Various sants are there.... like ramdeo, asaram baba, i think also sri sri but they arenot part of the procession.... maybe this is only for akhada and gurus from those akhadas?????