Pilgrimage -But Why?

Sanathana Dharma ,has been in existence from time immemorial and from its scriptures, we understand that not one place ,but many places are considered as holy sites for Pilgrimage for the followers of Sanathana Dharma and in fact each of these places are mystical in their own sense , with their own uniqueness , splendour and charm.

From the Himalayas to the Cape Comorin(Kanya Kumari) , if you consider only India( The realms of Sanathana Dharma encompasses China,Tibet,Nepal,Srilanka and if you are keen follower of history , you will understand that the “Sanathana Dharma” extended from Present day Afghanistan to Vietnam at one point of time), there are holy sites spread across this holy land ( karma Bhoomi –It’s the other name for Bharatha Kandae) and each one has its own purpose in the path of salvation of Human Kind.

Up North, Mount Kailsh, Pashupathinath temple are situated at one of the most inhospitable terrains and then comes temples like Parthasarathy temple, down south which is situated at one of the most hospitable terrain and the access to the place is quite simple .Lets name some of the abode in mountains.Vellaiyangiri, Chaturagiri, Tirupathi, Paruvathaa Malai, Pasupathinath Temple and Of course Manasarovar and Mount kailash. The places near the mountains Haridwar,Kasi,Badrinath, kedarinath.The sites beyond the sea like Rameshwaram .In fact most of the rivers are considered sacred like Ganga, Yamuna , Saraswathi, Krishna , Cauvery and the spot of confluence of the rivers .Then the sites at the boundaries of this holy land like KanyaKumari,Tannot Mata.Then the Temple towns of Kumabakonnam , Madurai, Srivilliputtur, Puri are renowned too.All these sites were through thick forest as well and it was quite treacherous to reach all these places.

It’s astounding our ancestors were able to visit all these places without the modern machinery and they lived to tell tales .It’s no mortal feat to reach mount Kailash as well to visit Rameshwaram in those days but yet our forefathers did!

The question is why is that different kinds of terrain, geography, demography were chosen as holy sites?? And why did they go through all this exotic pilgrimage? Is it only for religion??This is not the case with any other faiths in the world and every place throws us a challenge while visiting them. We should wonder, why that the Holy places associated with this esteemed Dharmic religion ranges from the most hazardous mountains encompassing rivers to the most serene of the lands.

Man, from time immemorial would become habituated with his usual life; he would be comfortable with the surroundings around his home! So when would he or she visit the vast world around him and understand life is so much more than his usual grind??

Those places tested the beings and our inner-self to the most, right from the physical endurance to the mental stamina on how to cover the distance? How to climb the hazardous mountain? How to breathe when there is less of Oxygen? How to cross a furious river??, Those journeys thought him the will to control himself , make him have faith and to make him march towards his goal , the complete control over his senses and to make him understand there is so much of nature around us , to inspire him his inner -self to live with nature, with absolute self control , to become one with nature .The Physical endurance would shape his body and mind as well , there is always a struggle to reach a goal but when he reaches it , he would find absolute bliss.

To make him understand , there are lot of different people in the world , from different strata of society but when they travel to these places , all the different minds become one , their struggles are the same ,they shared their strength ,they shared their faith and most of all they shared their humanity and together they reached their goals.They were though to respect each other live harmoniously as a society .All men and women in this world are equal and by undergoing these journeys they realize that the purpose of the inner-self and the life is not only to keep them well , but Keep the world around us well and to make everyone realize their inner-self to attain salvation.