Hindu Pilgrimage Essay Research Paper The following

Hindu Pilgrimage Essay, Research Paper

The following essay addresses that of the Hindu pilgrimage as to why

pilgrimage is an important aspect of Hindu religion. Firstly, the essay

focusses on points which support pilgrimage as a fundamental and key

aspect of the Hindu community.

Secondly, a perspective denying pilgrimages have any significant role

for Hindu and their religion is discussed. It does seem though, to me,

that without the aspect of pilgrimage, the Hindu religion would still

function quite noramally because although the pilgrimage sites give

darsan, they do not seem to be able to assist people with their day to

day problems, whereas holy men do.

First though we need to know exactly what darsan means to Hindus.

Darsan means seeing in Hindu religion and when people go to a temple,

they say they do not go to worship but rather for darsan – they go to

see the image of the deity. The pinacle act of Hindu worship, is to

stand in the presence of the deity and to look upon the image with their

eyes, so as to see and be seen by the deity. The deity is believed to

actually be within the image, and beholding the deity image is a form of

worship where through the eyes one gains blessings.

A pilgrimage is a religious journey; people undertake pilgrimages so

they can worship at special places which are connected to their

religion. Journeying to holy places of pilgrimage are generally carried

out as acts of faith and devotion in accummulating religious merit or to

atone for sins. Pilgrimages are also regarded by Hindus as a religious

duty from which darsan can be attained.

There are thousands of pilgrimage sites – tirthas (sacred, fords or

crossings) in India, where many places of pilgrimage are renowned for

their divine images. And it is the darsan of these divine images that

are sought , because the darsan is believed by Hindus to be far greater

and significant than that which can be granted and given by holy men

i.e. sadhus. It entails then, that holy places of pilgrimages are an

extension of additional darsan, of which can be given and received by

travelling on a pilgrimage.

For example, pilgrims go to the sacred hill of Tirupati for the darsan

of

Sri Venkatesvara, an ancient icon believed to be a form of Visnu.

According to legend, the Lord came to bless a particular devotee who was

faithful in his duties towards his parents. The devotee took no time

out from his duties to greet the Lord properly, and so threw a brick

for him to stand on which impressed Krsna, and so Krsna has stood there

ever since.

It is important, however, to understand that Hindus do not only travel

as pilgrims for the darsan of divine images but also seek thedarsan of

the pilgrimage places themselves, which are believed to be the natural

places of where gods have dwelled. For instance, the river Ganga also

known as the Ganges is said to have flowed in heaven before she agreed

to come to earth.

Siva caught Ganga in his tangled hair to break her fall, and from his

head she flowed down through the Himalayas, so legend goes. And this is

why in Hindu hymns, the Ganga is praised as a liquid form of Siva’s

divine energy. The Ganges is the holiest river of all , where all

Hindus desire to bathe in this river, for it is believed by Hindus to

wash away all their sins.

No sin is too heinous, and no character too black to be washed away by

the waters of the Ganges. Essentially, all water used in rituals by

Hindus is symbollically transformed into sacred water by summoning the

presence of Ganga and other sacred rivers. Every great river is

supposed to hold the divine essence, and its waters held to cleanse

people from all moral guilt and contamination. On the whole,

pilgrimages are very significant to Hindus due to being able to, by and

large, eradicate all their sins and wrong doing by bathing in the water

of holy rivers.

There are difficulties that have to be endured when undertaking a

pilgrimage, however, Hindus believe it is well worth it. As an extreme

example, for hundreds of years some tirthas were the final goal of many

pilgrims, who committed suicide there in order to be released from the

cycle of rebirths. Hinduism generally considers suicide a crime, but at

certain places, it can become an act of liberation, though this is not

the norm for pilgrims.( Klostermaier , K , 1989 , p 312 )

A Hindu pilgrim may journey barefoot, dress scantily in cold weather,

and fast, which is all very distressing, but the idea is that the

pilgrims have to forget being comfortable , where through their

suffering they will be able to realise and understand other less

fortunate and oppressed peoples’ suffering aswell. In this sense,

pilgrimages enable pilgrims, especially the very powerful and rich to

relate to t

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