Spiritual Places in India - India Pilgrimage Tourism

Not many first-timers consider India pilgrimage travel, but it can really give you an insight into the soul of the country. Spirituality is really part of everyday Indian life, so visiting pilgrimage sites can make a real difference to the quality of your visit, and maybe even change your life.

There are a few factors which will affect if, where and how you might consider a pilgrimage in India. Firstly, it will be influenced by your traveling companions; if all they can think about is lying on a beach in Goa having a massage and sipping lime sodas, you may need to think twice. Also, some sites are perennial; some are more festival-oriented, so it will depend when you're going too.

Here are a few India pilgrimage travel sites I've visited, which will give you a taste of the different kinds of experiences available:

Shivaratri (Shiva's Birthday) in Kathmandu:

Ok, so it's not in India, but all the Indian sadhus came up for it and so could you (you'd need a visa for Nepal, but you can go up by bus or fly).

Shivaratri is a Hindu celebration and only strict Hindus were allowed inside the temple proper, but we were allowed in the compound area and I even got some very cool happy snaps of all the sadhus (they let us hang out with them while they drank chai and smoked interesting substances--yes that's a cloud of happy smoke in the picture).

One bizarre thing I saw was that the modern age has influenced the process of giving offerings. What used to happen was that pilgrims bought offerings on a large leaf, which they then threw into the river as an offering. But what happens when it's now given to them in plastic bags yes, the whole thing goes in the river, plastic and all! That was in 2002, and I think there have been moves to ban plastic bags in Kathmandu since, but I haven't been back to check.

While the atmosphere was pretty amazing, I still believe I had more of a spiritual experience when I observed a funeral at the Ghats across from the Shiva temple. I watched from across the river (not too close as to intrude, but close enough to be moved by the experience). I'd never seen anyone cremated on a pyre before; it was an incredibly intense ritual. I even shed a tear or two, from an appreciation of shared humanity and the transience of life.

The funny part was that as a foreigner, even my attempt at unobtrusive presence was noted, and someone was dispatched from the funeral to question mewho was I to the deceased? Why was I crying, did I know them? She reminded me that I wasn't allowed on the other bank (no women allowed for some reason, my Nepali was too poor to figure out what was said). I hadn't been doing anything brash, I would never have dreamed of taking a photo for instance. It's was just me sitting on the other river bank, but it was enough to pique their curiosity.

Travel Tip:

When at a Pilgrimage site, be very sensitive to the importance of the ritual. Do not draw attention to yourself with loud talking, pointing etc. Try to blend in, be discreet, dress appropriately and be respectful. Above all, never take photos of funeral pyres, it's incredibly bad formimagine a tourist coming into a Church and taking photos of the casket during the ceremonythat's what it amounts to.

Sarnath (outside Varanasi):

This is the site where Buddha gave his first lecture to his disciples. The site itself is really more of a memorial than anything spectacular to see, though the Jain temple next door was also interesting. There was a guy who was basically there to answer anyone's questions on Jainism, so you could go in, enjoy the cool of the temple (compared to the Varanasi heat outside) and have a conversation with a very enthusiastic Jain.

Sarnath has a few memorial items, plaques, a large bell and apparently a descendant from the original Bodhi tree. I say 'apparently' because there's definitely a tree, I guess it is a matter of faith that it is a descendant tree, since there's a story there of it being taken to Africa for safekeeping and then it's descendant tree eventually was sent back or something (I really should've paid more attention to the guide!!).

Church of the Bom (good/infant) Jesus, near Panaji (Panjim) in Goa

Of course with the name Jesus in the title, it's going to be a Christian (specifically Catholic) pilgrimage site, where the body of St. Francis Xavier is enshrined in a glass case high up to one side of the church. There's a pretty gross story about why it's up so high apparently when they used to display the body openly, pilgrims couldn't resist taking pieces home, and one lady bit off his toe---eww! So the body's up high and is brought out only every 10 years. Kara and I visited a few days before this last happened in 2003 or 2004 (memory fuzzy!), so we missed it unfortunately.

Though we were glad for one reason, we were able to get somewhere to stay. I suspect the place would have been inundated during the major festival, given the preparations that were going on when we were there all the bridges being painted, marquis from here to eternity being erected and a general sprucing up of the whole place. One of the weird/funniest things I've ever seen was the incredibly tacky religious souveniers (skeletons of Francis Xavier as candles, key rings etc) a little macabre for my taste, I have to say.

For those like us who weren't there for the ten year display, you can still take photos in the church, but basically it amounts to holding your camera hopefully in the air while balancing on your tiptoes and trying to avoid other people's camera waving arms in your view frame, so basically all my shots are pretty below average. But there is a photo exhibition in the vestibule which shows in photographs of his body, which hasn't decomposed, and tells you the story.

Rishikesh

It's weird, but of all the pilgrimage sites I've been to, I'd say that none of them except Rishikesh really made me feel any different. And for me it had to do with the landscape. There's something about the geographical intensity of Rishikesh that really appealed to me. I think I was only there for one or two nights, but I'd really like to go back. I know when I start running Dru yoga retreats, they'll be in Rishikesh. This religious site of India famous for "Yoga Capital of The Word" also known for gateway to heaven because this p\lace is starting point to Chardham Yatra of Himalayas (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri & Yamunotri).

Ok, back to the landscape: it's right where the Ganges comes out of the mountains, so you have the mountains nestling at the back of the city, then the powerful surge (currents are full-on, or at least they were when I was there they even do white-water rafting) of the Ganges seems to energise the place (all those negative ions from the tumultuous water, I guess). It's really invigorating and intense in a good way.

So it was the place that pulled me. But Rishikesh is 'Ashram-central' in India, you pretty much couldn't throw an incense stick there without hitting a guru or two, so if you feel like hanging out in an Ashram (a place where you live with a guru as a disciple) for a few months, that'd be my pick of locations.

Dharamsala

One pilgrimage I'd like to do is to visit the Dalai Lama up in Dharamshala. I haven't visited that part of India yet at all (I need more lifetimes to get to see everything, so I'm not ready for enlightenment just yet!). This is the pilgrimage first-timers to India would be most likely to do, as the Dalai Lama has such a huge following (and rightly so), all over the world. He lives in India as he is exiled from his homeland, Tibet. 

Travel Tip: Consider a Pilgrimage Tour

If you're already knowledgeable about pilgrimages and you know which one you want to go on, there is a site which can help organize a pilgrimage tour for you. They don't advertise any prices on their website, so it appears that they quote individually based on your needs.

Travel Tip: There are all kinds of Pilgrims

If you adhere to the one true religion of India, then you should consider a really hard core pilgrimage: a cricket tour to India. Just Google that to find what's available from your country. Seeing test cricket with the crowds that only India can pull makes for a truly amazing experience!