Hinduism, the third largest religion in the world, has no single religious leader or liturgy. There are various ideas about the origins of the term “Hindu.” Whether it originated from early Indus-Valley texts or Persian corruption of the word “Sindu,” a name for the Indus River, it became the term the British Empire ascribed to all inhabitants of India. Since the early 19th century, it has been used as a blanket term for the "polytheism of India," attempting to encompass the myriad spiritual practices, beliefs and rituals that exist across India. In reality, what Western culture has come to call Hinduism is a collection of beliefs and practices that vary widely, with concepts of God and/or gods and goddesses ranging from panentheism, pantheism, monotheism, polytheism to atheism.

The Kumbh Mela is the most widely attended spiritual event in the world. Attendance in 2007 reached approximately 70 million. According to the Hindu myth of “churning the ocean milk,” as the world came into being the Gods and the demons fought over the ocean. Lord Dhanvantari emerged from the ocean into the sky carrying a pot of amrita or precious nectar. In the battle to take possession of the pot, drops of nectar fell to earth in four places. Today, Kumbh Mela is observed at specific sites at four sacred rivers: Haridwar along the Ganges River, Ujjain by the Kshipra River, Nasik by the Godavari River and Allahabad near the confluence of three rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mystical Saraswati. The Kumbh Mela occurs every four years within a twelve-year cycle, rotating among the aforementioned sites. Diverse groups of pilgrims from various social, economic and spiritual backgrounds camp at the sites for up to 41 days, taking meals, seeing performances and seeking the teachings of sadhus, or religious ascetics.

Sadhus have renunciated society in their desire to achieve, through meditation and contemplation, moksha, the fourth and final goal of Hindu life, escaping the cycle of birth. Many sadhus begin as ordinary individuals who attend school, start a career and have a family. Once these worldly goals are achieved, some individuals separate themselves to live in isolation or within an ashram under the guidance of a guru to attain spiritual enlightenment.

It is at the Maha Kumbh Mela, held once every twelve years in Allahabad, where the greatest numbers of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges for the purpose of purification. A principal concept of Hinduism is that moral consequences are associated with every act, resulting in the moral law of cause and effect. Accordingly, some actions or karma bring about higher rebirth while other actions bring about lower rebirth. Pilgrims believe ritual bathing at specified times will wash away karma, and ultimately lead to moksha.

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