Q: Gurudev, currently the Kumbh Mela (a mass Hindu pilgrimage fair) is going on. Is it necessary to attend the Kumbh Mela once every 12 years? What is the significance of the Kumbh Mela?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, many people do attend the Kumbh Mela.
Recently, you may have seen, there are many of these cultural fairs or expos; in the same way the Kumbh Mela was the spiritual expo of those days.
In those days, organizing this every year turned out to be very expensive and also tiring, as people had to walk many miles to attend it, so they changed it to once every 12 years.
This was also done in accordance with the revolution of Brihaspati (the planet Jupiter) around the Sun, which takes 12 years. So on the basis of this, the Kumbh Mela was held once every 12 years, and all people would to come for this. Saints, wise sages, house-holders and even children come together and they all sit and discuss about God, the holy scriptures, and do Satsang.

Wherever there is Satsang, or discussion of knowledge, that is no less than a Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh (meaning pot or pitcher) and it represents completeness. So all those who felt complete and content would gather together at the Kumbh Mela. When you experience that fullness and contentment within yourself, you too would become like a kumbh – a pot full with contentment and joy.

http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/what-sri-sri-said-today