Hindu pilgrimages: The contemporary scene

Abstract

A Tirtha yatra, Hindu pilgrimage, is a liminal process that establishes participation in the spiritual realm. It is also undertaken as a social duty, a rite of passage and mode of supplication and engages with sacred landscapes that are partly defined by sacred symbols, cosmographic and astrological alignments, traditions, festivals, and the belief that these places are spiritual crossing-places into the transcendent realms of the divine. Hindu holy tirthas topographically may be classified into three groups: (i) water-sites usually associated with sacred immersion on auspicious occasions, (ii) shrines dedicated to particular deities, which are visited by pilgrims of particular sects or with particular needs, and (iii) kshetra, sacred lands, usually defined by a cosmic mandala, travelling along which brings special merit. We explore the Hindu pilgrimage experience and some key pilgrimage destinations including the Kumbha Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, Varanasi’s Panchakroshi Yatra and the Vraj Parikrama. We also look at the growth of new pilgrimage sites both in India and among the diaspora. With the growth of global tourism and increasing interest in both œseeing culture in the mirror of history and tradition, the survival and continuity of pilgrimage ceremonies that preserve centuries-old human interactions with the earth and its mystic powers are projected in the frames of heritage and eco-tourism. Recognizing the growing complexity of Hindu pilgrimage motivations, we propose a five-layer typology that recognizes: tourists, pilgrims of duty, pilgrims of need, pilgrims of hope and pilgrims of union. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015.