Find Peace With The Pilgrimage Tours Of India

By Author: Noshir Lavangia
Total Articles: 430
Comment this article

Pilgrimage tours are a marriage between two vital rudiments of travel. One being tourism, the industry of which makes the act of travelling an easy pleasure, and the second being what it is that pilgrims seek out to achieve: a cleansing experience, both corporeal and intellectual.

Most people, especially travellers themselves, are aware of the therapeutic properties of travel. In that sense, all travel is equal to pilgrimage. Though, in a country like India where numerous religions co-exist, an authentic pilgrimage experience can be exponentially more enriching than a casual vacation. Here are three pilgrimages to highlight in your India tour schedule:

The Char Dham Yatra
Possibly the most well-known pilgrimage tour in India, the Char Dham Yatra consists of not one, but four different pilgrimages. ‘Char Dham’ literally means ‘four seats’, referring to the four destinations of the Yatra: the towns of Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameswaram and Jaggannath Puri. The pilgrimage usually begins in Puri before continuing across the country in a clockwise movement. Devout Hindus aspire, much like the relationship ...
... between Mecca and devout Muslims, to embark on this sacred journey at least once in their lifetime, if not more. The Char Dham Yatra should not, however, be confused with the ‘Chota Char Dham’, which refers to the caves of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri in the Himalayas; a highly revered pilgrimage in itself.

Shri Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir
Just the statistics of the Shirdi pilgrimage are staggering. Approximately 20,000 people a day are said to pay their respects to Sai Baba of Shirdi, and the number escalates to about 1,00,000 people a day on festive occasions, most notably Diwali. While the Sai Baba was not himself aligned with any religion, he interpreted both Hindu and Muslim scriptures. Pilgrims can also choose to visit the town of Shani Shignapur, a few kilometres away from Shirdi, which is believed to be the place of Sai Baba’s birth even though there is no recorded evidence to prove that he was born there.

The Mahabodhi Temple
The Mahabodhi Temple means ‘The Temple of Great Awakening’, and in this case refers to the enlightenment of Gautam Buddha. Revered as an exemplifying icon of Dravidian architecture, the temple is believed to have been constructed under the sanction of Lord Asoka to commemorate the ‘navel of the Earth’, where Siddhartha Gautam gained access to the truths of the world through harsh meditation. Located in the temple complex is the ‘Bodhi tree’, an old fig tree under which the Buddha underwent his Great Awakening. The structure of the temple, as it stands today, was constructed between 5th and 6th century AD, while Asoka’s original shrine was built around 250 BC.

It would be a gigantic task to catalogue all the possible pilgrimage tours that India is home to and surely, several more India tours would be required to exhaust the list. Nevertheless, do not let the intimidating numbers keep you back. Here’s hoping every pilgrim (and traveller) finds whatever they are looking for.
___________________________________________________________________________

Ninad Chaudhari works as a Web UI Designer / Developer with Cox & Kings. In his spare time, Ninad is an ardent photographer and goes on various India tours, which allow him time to pursue his passion. His albums are replete with pictures of pilgrimage tours.