Allahabad, Feb 5: Former BBC correspondent Sir Mark Tully performed the Ganga Aarti at the Kumbh Mela today at the invitation of Swami Chidananda Saraswati, founder of Ganga Action Parivar and president of Paramartha Niketan Ashram.
Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati was also present. Mark Tully was impressed with the work done by Swami Chidananda Saraswati through Ganga Action Parivar to clean and preserve the river Ganga.
Having attended aartis previously during his decades of living in India, Tully was familiar with the ceremony. However, he had never actually held the aarti lamp itself.
Today for the first time he had the opportunity to not only witness the aarti but to actually perform the aarti.
After the ceremony, Tully said, the experience was deeply moving and touching.
"It is so beautiful to see how tolerant the Hindus are" , said Tully.
To this, Swami Chidananda Saraswati responded : "Yes. It is also more than tolerance. It is acceptance. One tolerates that which one does not like. With our spiritual tradition, it is not about tolerating other religions and other cultures. It is about accepting them with love."
