The Power of Story

In an article in National Geographic magazine called KARMA OF THE CROWD ( FEB, 1014) the Kumbh Mela is described.  This is the festival in India where millions of people gather to become spiritually and physically revived. In the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, is a spot where one can drink and bathe the ‘amrit’ the nectar of eternal life. At the last Kumbh Mela 70 million descended on this sacred spot in a festival that lasted 56 days. In spite of below freezing temperatures at night, unheated tents and the river’s ghastly pollution, the mostly elderly pilgrims report being healthy and invigorated from their experience in the makeshift tent cities.  If a non believing westerner, like myself,  would join in this ritual one could only hope that there was a way to get to an emergency room in time to be pumped full of antibiotics. Their strong centuries-old beliefs in the story of sacred waters obviously transcend the scientific realities of their surroundings.

If we want to make any progress to refocus the world in a more positive direction we need a  more powerful story. We can’t even begin to hope that well-assembled facts alone will do the trick. This story needs to transcend current realities and create a world of possibilities. To keep our planet livable into the future we need a story that is as powerful as magical waters that arise out of a pollution saturated river.