(RNS) — The Maha Kumbh Mela of 2025 — the Hindu festival marking a full orbital revolution of Jupiter around the sun, occurring once every 144 years — drew an estimated 660 million pilgrims to Prayagraj, India, from around the world, making it among the largest gatherings of people in history.
Yakub Mathew, an Indian Christian and longtime New York City financial adviser, was among those making the pilgrimage, which took place over six weeks in January and February. With 18 of his friends and his wife, Mathew celebrated his 60th birthday at the Kumbh’s site of Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the three holiest rivers in Prayagraj.
With the help of those religiously diverse friends — including renowned spiritual leader Sadhguru; Bollywood actor Anupam Kher; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop emeritus of Bombay; and Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician and thought leader — Mathew compiled “Seeking The Infinite,” a 250-page coffee table book of photos and essays that share the story of the Kumbh from their various faith perspectives, released Nov. 16. Mathew, who works as managing director at Wells Fargo Advisors, told RNS that the book and the Kumbh itself were “a divine sort of grace.”
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to be at the Kumbh? What was it like?
I am not a writer, but an accidental author. I had no plan to go to any Kumbh. I am a banker in New York who has no time even to spend traveling too much. But having said that, some things are destined to be. It was my 60th birthday, and I just happened to mention to my wife that I wanted to spend my landmark birthday where the gods are. And she said, ‘Where are the gods?’ I said, ‘My Hindu brothers say it’s at Prayagraj, where the three rivers meet.’
They say in the Hindu mythology, only when the calling comes, you can go. Usually when you go to (holy places like) Mecca, Medina, it’s a lifetime sort of fulfillment. To go with 19 people as my guests and hosting them is a very brave move. I had no expectations. But once we came to where we were staying, (the Kumbh) was beyond imagination. The sort of service, the food, the accommodation, energy, the surroundings, the view of millions of people — all the time having those prayers and songs, the air is full of ethereal energy and sounds and people. It was something unimaginable and unexplainable.
The Maha Kumbh happens once in 144 years. Otherwise, the Kumbh happens every 12 years. People write thousands of books on the Kumbh, but nobody’s written a multi-faith book. So I took the Kumbh as a sort of a manifestation and used its energy to create something which became multi-faith and a unifying factor amongst people.
Where does the title ‘Seeking The Infinite’ come from?
(At the Kumbh), the (pilgrims) are going in (the water) so that they don’t have a rebirth, and that they get moksha, meaning salvation. Every Abrahamic religion has salvation. Christians have salvation, the Muslims have Jannah and paradise, all these sort of beautiful things which we have been taught. What are these people trying to do? They’re seeking the infinite. And this infinite is something beyond the obvious and beyond oneself. I was standing there and looking at (the pilgrims in the river) and absorbing the energy, the people, the sounds and sights, and the setting sun — it’s beautiful on the Ganges. I closed my eyes, absorbing everything. I emptied my mind. And then I came out and again started absorbing this energy and seeing these people as if they’re in bliss.
I made these 19 ordinary people write about what they felt about it. I have friends who are thought leaders, world leaders, saints, Sufis, billionaires, actors and cricketers. So I said, ‘You must try and tell me, what is this infinity?’
All of them were from different sorts of ways of life, different faiths. But all were bound by this one thing: that in the end, the infinite is something to be discovered. And in that discovery, you evolve and you inhale it, and you basically realize it’s all about consciousness. It’s all about the inner sort of journey.
Can you talk about how your upbringing in India shaped your beliefs?
India is a civilization. It’s not something which happened 300 years ago — it happened five to 6,000 years ago. Many, many saints have come and gone. It’s a land of gurus, mystics and history. When we grew up there, we understood the godliness in our parents and in different aspects of life. I happen to be a Syrian Christian, and we are largely in Kerala. I lived a very open, spiritual life encompassing all religions.
My mother was a widow and then a cancer patient at a very young age. In that home, the who’s who of the spiritual world came so that we had a good foundation. It was just always a thing to be aware in that house, that goodness, integrity, truth, kindness and love must prevail.
The first person who came was a master called Jiddu Krishnamurti. Then came Mother Teresa. Mother (Teresa) became a friend, a family member, and through her I understood the power of love through the power of giving until it hurts. It was a very beautiful childhood.
I left India 40 years ago, sought my life in finance, and I’m still very much engaged in banking in New York City that will go on until my last day. I love that job. But the other part is when God blessed me so much, those thoughts of sharing your abundance led to a lot of good actions towards people.
Did the Kumbh influence how you view religion?
Once in 144 years, there is this alignment. Nobody (alive) has seen it before. None of us will see it again. But that is all symbolic. The message the Kumbh gave (is) that is what we have to inculcate into our daily life. That message is basically what I’ve written in the book: the inner journey, the meaning of the Kumbh, which talks about realization, evolvement and consciousness. In that consciousness, we are one, and we are one with the cosmos, one with the universe and one with each other. All of us have some part of another person. When we see us in others, we make a better world.
We all start with good intentions. So many great religions have been created to create better people. It’s fascinating how all this started to create human beings to be something beyond animals, to be accountable. But in the end of it, it has become a source of control of resources, a source of power, and that has created, ‘My religion is better than your religion.’ The deaths and havoc organized religion has created is worse than anything imaginable as far as wars and other things which have happened. Which religion says killing people is good? None, but it has resulted in that. So when you see all these things, all one can say is that one must be able to either use religion to become spiritual, or one must be spiritual to enhance one’s journey — to be tolerant, realized and conscious. One must not be divisive.
What do you hope people take away from the book?
It’s a catalyst to a thinking process. There is a writing by a pediatric cardiac surgeon. He has written (about moments) when he operates on an infant child whose heart is the size of a walnut. And in spite of all the technology now, he says that in that moment, he prays to the infinite to understand what to do next.
It’s more than just a book with brilliant writing and fantastic pictures. It’s a book of poetry and art, but it’s a manifestation, a visualization, of something beyond. The Kumbh was a visit I’ll never forget in this lifetime. This book brings out the victory of India’s spirituality globally and sends this message of a deep culture of multi-faith and diversity into a divided world. It is like a soft power and a victory of Indian spirituality across the globe.