At India's Maha Kumbh Mela festival that is held every twelve years at Hardwar on the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh, millions of Hindus from all parts of the country congregate for an entire month. It's a rare gathering of spiritual Masters, many of whom venture down from the Himalayas only on this occasion, so pilgrims go with questions and all kinds of offerings for them. Perhaps not surprisingly, Supreme Master Ching Hai's visit caused quite a stir. "When I was at the Kumbh Mela, many people followed me. In India, if a woman goes out alone, people would throw stones at her, thinking that she is a bad woman. However, although I was traveling alone, people bowed to me and offered spices, coconuts, flowers and food to me. They even gave me the best tent, the kind usually reserved for great Masters. They let me use a big tent all by myself while some other Masters had to squeeze into one tent."

"There was nothing about me that would attract attention. I didn't nail myself or grow a beard; nor did I blacken myself with ash; nor was I as lean as a skeleton. You recognized saints the moment you saw them. They had been exposed to the sun all day long, so most of them were dark. They grew a beard because they didn't have the time to shave. They had long hair too. You could immediately recognize that they were enlightened Masters or Saints. I didn't look like one at all."