There was a time when pilgrimages were not for comfort-loving travellers. But with the advent of modern transportation and the hospitality industry, seeking salvation has become a much easier mission today, provided you have a decent kitty to enjoy those expensive options. Starting with helicopter services to temples tucked away in the mighty Himalayas and in southern India, e-donations and e-prasad and e-aarti, the salvation journey has become much more comfortable too.

So we were hardly surprised to read that the 2013 edition of the Kumbh Mela will also get a healthy dose of such worldly comforts and pleasures. According to a news report, the 2013 edition of the world famous spiritual jamboree, when at least eight crore people are expected to land up in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, will also have a few hundred Swiss cottages for weary and rich participants. These cottages will be equipped with geysers, toilets and all other amenities that a hotel would usually provide. The snug tents will cost around Rs. 6,000 per night and they would be located barely a few metres from the confluence of three rivers - all that the pilgrims will have to do is walk out of their luxury spaces to take that all-important dip. And therein lies a wonderful, delicious irony: even after paying so much for comfort and exclusivity, the residents of the Swiss tents would still have to take a dip in the same river, along with the same unwashed masses that they are so keen to avoid.

That's not all; the cocooned brigade will miss out on everything that the Kumbh Mela is known for: different kinds of people from all across the world, round-the-clock action and a riot of colour and ideas - some absolutely vague but entertaining nonetheless. The best part is that the mega mela still retains a lot of its old-world charm. It has never been packaged like, for example, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, but it still manages to attract thousands of people from across the world. And missing out on all that fun will be absolutely sacrilegious.

Adi Shankara (Sanskrit: आदि शङ्करः (788 - 820), also known as Sankara Bhagavatpadacarya and Adi Sankaracarya was an Indian philosopher from Kaladi in present day Eranakulam district, Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedanta. His teachings are based on the unity of the atman and brahman non-dual brahman, in which brahman is viewed as nirguna brahman, brahman without attributes.

Shankara travelled across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy through discourses and debates with other thinkers. He is reputed to have founded four mathas ("monasteries"), which helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta of which he is known as the greatest revivalist. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship.

His works in Sanskrit concern themselves with establishing the doctrine of advaita (nondualism). He also established the importance of monastic life as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra, in a time when the Mimamsa school established strict ritualism and ridiculed monasticism. Shankara represented his works as elaborating on ideas found in the Upanishads, and he wrote copious commentaries on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutra, principal upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) in support of his thesis. The main opponent in his work is the Mimamsa school of thought, though he also offers arguments against the views of some other schools like Samkhya and certain schools of Buddhism.

The monastic structure of Sanatana Dharma is complex and organic, most monks belong to a parampara (lineage) or a monastic order. The Akhara vary in theology as well as size and influence; most are Smarta in practice, but three are considered Vaishnavite and a few are Saivite. There is plenty of respectful acceptances for different points of view among the groups and no dominance exists. Other large exist outside the Akharas, such as the Swaminarayan fellowship, the RamaKrishna Order and the Nathas of South India. Within each Akhara, most sannyasins are also associated with one of the dashanami lineages. Adi Shankara, who originated the dashanami system and did much to revitalize and improve the system of monastic orders.
Sadhus are in two broad categories, those who love in monastic communities and those who wander or live in solitude. The socially engaged Juna Akhara (The Juna Akhara is the largest of the thirteen akharas consisting of over 500,000 sadhus and five million sanyassis) consists of both types and is host to thousands of naga sadhus and maunis who strive to uplift the world by their silent existence, anonymously blessing society from secluded caves. Their lack of involvement maintains certain fluidity in the monastic order; these outlying branches of the family prevent the Acharya from becoming too central to the structure. During the monumental Kumbha Melas, the mountain dwelling Sadhus join their brothers of the same Akhara in a surprisingly harmonious weave, populating vast areas under colorful tents and new sannyasins are initiated by the Acharaya Mahamandaleshwar, usually by the thousands in a powerful event.  

Sringeri, is a hill town and taluk headquarters located in Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, is the site of the first maţha established by Adi Shankaracharya, Hindu theologian and exponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, in the 8th century C.E. It is located on the banks of the river Tunga. It is also referred to as Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada peetam. Following the tradition initiated by Adi Shankaracharya, the maţha is incharge of the Yajur Veda (the Krishna (Black) Yajurveda is more prevalent in South India, over which the maţha has authority in the Smarta tradition).The head of the matha is called Jagadguru (teacher of the world) and also carries the Shankaracharya name as a title.