2025
KUMBHA MELA
“What makes photography
a strange intervention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.”
- John Berger
&
SPACE
[ infinite potential ]
2025
Here is an online portfolio of selected images.
For everyone who contributed to my project,
I will also host a celebratory gathering to come together in person.
Further details will be sent soon!
With Infinite Love & Light,
Su Jānakī Lee
BACKGROUND
duode+cennial = every 12 years
formerly named Allahabad “city of God” | Prāyagraj (Sanskrit: place of sacrifice)
The nature is true sacrifice is based on willing surrender.
When we understand that the layers we shed to reveal our true Nature and Self, are simply the accumulation of stress memories, we can easily let go.
Revealing this enlightened state comes through
Devotion
[ Reverence with Love ]
Our daily meditation practice shows us the way.
This is the highest truth of swaha.
Jan 9th - 16th, 2025
Photographic Expedition
Kumbha Mela
with
Pie Aerts
&
amazing group of international photographers:
- Joyce Mulleners (Netherlands)
- Pie Aerts (Netherlands)
= = = =
SCROLL TO THE END
FOR THE LATEST
POLAROID
UPLOADS
&
The next steps to collect your piece of the Maha Mela
is being organized now.
SAVE THE DATE
March 6th
6 pm - 7pm
Pick-up location TBD
Love & Jai Guru DevA
श्री परमात्मने नमः
śrī paramātmane namaḥ
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have always been attracted to the Metaphysical aspects of life. The intangibles that are of greatest value to the perceiver. In previous work, I captured space (Sanskrit ākāśa) in significant locations of Space|Time. With photography, I used the camera to create evidence of important moments and ephemeral spaces. This project is a venture into the UNKNOWN while activating the SPACE element through Consciousness and cultivating an ancient practice called the Siddhis.
With my daily meditation practice, my understanding of identity, source, and purpose of creative expression has been profoundly reframed. This project marks a transformation from an individualized self to a Universal Self through photography & as a vessel for expression of the Universal Self.
An important aspect of the work is creating a shared experience over space and time. It reflects an awakening of subtle senses and the desire to share my recognition of the divine within us all.
ALL THINGS ARE KNOWN THROUGH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Background in the Arts:
Before I became a Vedic Meditation teacher, I studied photography and art, earning a BFA at the University of Georgia in Athens and Master of Fine Art through a dual degree program at Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in Boston with a full scholarship. During this time immersed in the arts, I was able to explore all the themes that are still very alive within me today. It was the beginning of a deep exploration into Self and human nature, which ultimately led me to Vedic Meditation as a source of direct experience.
Over the past decade, I became more interested in going to the Source of Knowledge and Creative Inspiration, now this is an opportunity to integrate the whole thing. Since 2018, when I surrendered everything I had known until then in favor of a more expansive experience of life, I have been dedicated not only to my own spiritual growth but also to the shepherding of others who are seeking a connection with Source. In this period, art became more of an abstract idea that I experienced through deepening my experience with layers within myself. I’ve always described my life as art. Now I’ve been offered this extraordinary opportunity to create within a unique and ephemeral container of millions of people coming to gather with a shared desire and purpose. This is what the Kumbha Mela means to me.
HUGE Thank You to All Supporters of this project.
SPECIAL THANKS
Becke Buffalo
Joh Jarvis
Rachael Lee
Ann Jones Levine
Emily Taylor
Amy Mitchell Smith
Priscilla Briggs
Carlos and Patrick
Emily Archer
Jamey Hood
Camilla Baker
Laura Schneck
David
Ana Williamson
The Power of Visual Portals
Cloth Paper Dreams
Watch a short video by photographer Greg Davis, a National Geographic photographer.
Kumbha Mela | Historical Significance
A celebration and pilgrimage for all spiritual aspirants in India and beyond. It is an opportunity to gather and create a synergistic energy with all the spiritual leaders, aspirants, devotees, and visitors who come to witness.
The journey culminates in a tradition of mass bathing in the Ganges that has been recorded for more than 2,500 years. This ceremonial bathing is seen as a literal and metaphorical purification.
The Kumbha Mela sites cycle between
Four Cities | Four Sites
Prayagraj : confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati rivers
Nashik : On the Godavari River
Haridwar : On the Ganges River
Ujjain : On the Shipra River
Every 6 years, a half Mela with Purna Melas happens in 12-year cycles, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter). The 2025 Kumbha Mela is a Full Mela which happens every 12 years.
And every 144 years, after 12 Purna (Complete) Kumbh Mela cycles, a Maha Mela.
This year was a Purna Kumbh Mela.
References:
Maclean, K. (2003). Making the Colonial State Work for You: The Modern Beginnings of the Ancient Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The Journal of Asian Studies, 62(3), 873–905. https://doi.org/10.2307/3591863
https://mahakumbh.in/niranjani-akhara-at-kumbh-mela-2025/
https://swamikailashanandgiriji.in/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46015589
https://www.thekumbhmelaindia.com/
&
Case study and research conducted
for the last 12 - year Kumbha Mela
in
2013
Mapping the Ephemeral Mega-City
An Interdisciplinary Project
from
Harvard University
Graduate School of Design
January 12
NIRANJANI AKHARA
śrī śrī 1008 Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri Ji Maharaj
Maharishi Vyasanand Giri (Thom Knoles) initiated into Akhara as Maha Mandaleshwar
becoming
śrī 1008 Maha Mandaleshwar Vyasanand Giri Maharaj
January 13: Prayagraj | Paush Purnima Snan
Paush Purnima Snan is an important bathing day decided by the seers of the 13 Akharas of the country.
January 14 - 15: Bathing time
Makar Sankranti
most significant bathing dates of the entire festival and the biggest religious bathing event in the world.
On the morning of day 6, the second day of Makar Sankranti,
we took a boat to the Triveni Sangam and I took my sacred dips.
SIGNS & SYMBOLS
Tilak - mark worn on the devotee's forehead or other parts of the body to signify connection to their chosen Ishwara
Robert Vane Russell (1873-1915), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
For those who chose a 8x10 C-Print, you can begin looking here:
@Truing_SJ
The full catalog of images is not yet available.
As soon as the film is developed & scanned, I will notify anyone who has chosen larger C-Prints.
Please note:
The color in these Polaroid scans has been enhanced to reflect my full vision of the image.
The originals are more muted and have less contrast. The new Polaroid film also tends to shift blue in colder temperatures. Part of the charm of instant photographs is the subtle imperfections and how they capture a feeling more than a meticulous copy of the moment.
You may choose the original Polaroid or an 8x8 print from these scans.
I’m looking for a place to host a little gathering for you to pick up your photo!
Meanwhile, please choose 3 of your favorites in order of your preference email me.
FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER:
Suggested donation
$108 for each 8x8 framed print
$250 for three 8x8 framed prints
Payment can be sent via Venmo @SJLee
[ NOTE: The framing system is made for easy hanging with a magnetic back that adheres to any surface. I am told that it is surface-friendly and should not harm the wall. It can also be removed and used again if moving to a new location. ]
KM_001 - Original Polaroid SOLD + 8x8 Print (4/4) SOLD OUT
KM_002
KM _003
KM004 Polaroid available + 8x8 (1/4) Sold
