Lesson 7: Important Pilgrimage Spots.

This lesson acquaints the student with the importance of pilgrimage to the average Hindu and also includes a number of important pilgrimage centers that Hindus regularly visit. The lesson ends with one test.

Introduction with Temple Architecture.

To the Hindu pilgrimage is gaining Darshan (view or look) of a god or goddess or even a holy person or saint who may be dead or still living. Just as with devotees from other religions, pilgrimage has a special significance for Hindus. Just as it is the aim of every Muslim to visit Mecca at least once in a lifetime so does the Hindu have to travel to certain pilgrimage places in order to gain Moksha – salvation. Since Hinduism allows personal inclinations to rule worship such pilgrimage places may vary with individuals yet it is certain that pilgrimage is as important and essential to Hinduism as to other religions.

In Hinduism it is not only the pilgrim who is acquiring heavenly merits but those who help the pilgrim in his or her aims also gain credit. Thus, from ancient times, when pilgrimage through the uninhabited wild parts of the country could be a risky affair, pilgrims have always been held in high esteem by others. Kings and rich people built special rest-houses along highways for pilgrims and, at the pilgrimage places, there were special lodging houses called Dharamshalas (religious shelters) where pilgrims could stay as well as eat without paying anything at all or maybe a pittance. Such dharamshalas were provided for by either kings or rich persons with an eye to earning heavenly merits. What is very exciting is that this custom has not ceased in recent times. Dharamshalas are still being built and maintained at prominent pilgrimage places by the rich and wealthy to aid pilgrims in their high-minded purpose.

Yet the scriptural knowledge is more subtle than all this overt expression of faith. In the Mahabharata, Yudhisthir, the eldest Pandava brother, asks his Guru (teacher) what Tirtha is? (The word “Tirtha” is synonymous with pilgrimage to the common Hindu but the Mahabharata explains it as “Sacred water”.). Bhishma, the Guru, replies very subtly that all Tirthas are with merit and the sacred waters cleanse men with wisdom but one should bathe in the waters of the Lake Manash (This is a high-altitude lake in what is now Chinese-administered Tibet) which is unfathomable and which has Truth for its waters and Understanding for its container. This singular piece of advice means, in interpretation, that the soul must be pure and absolute in truth and have depth for its understanding so that one can bathe in the depths of a pure soul to achieve Moksha. Thus, scripture-wise, no Hindu is ever recommended to any particular earthly pilgrimage place.

Yet this lesson in the scriptures may be a little difficult to adhere to by common people leading ordinary lives. Such persons may feel the need for more overt expressions of their faith and so pilgrimage occupies a prominent place in Hinduism where the concept – Dharma is Karma or Religion is Morally-correct Action – incorporates pilgrimage which is seen as an action which is essential and morally-correct. Thus, a sinner seeking purification will be advised to go on arduous pilgrimages to acquit his or her soul from earthly errors and gain Moksha or salvation. Hinduism preaches humility and the common Hindu humbly acknowledges that his or her soul is not worthy to be called a Tirtha and subsequently he or she undertakes arduous journeys to places where such pure souls reside. Also, like many other religions, Hinduism is esoteric and impracticably high-minded in its pure principles and requires symbolisms to sustain simple devotees who either cannot understand its purity or cannot adhere to it in its pristine state.

In Hinduism there are single pilgrimage places as well as sets of pilgrimage places like the 12 Jyotirlingas, the 4 Dhams, the 52 Shaktipeeths and others. It is often not essential to visit all the places in a set and, also, the importance of the different sets vary from person to person as Hinduism favors personal beliefs. Still, probably of all the sets, the pilgrimage to the 4 Dhams is considered the most important and all the Dhams have to be visited within a lifetime to gain Moksha.

I have not tried to include almost all the important pilgrimage places in Hinduism as this is a gargantuan task and beyond the scope of this course. Thus, I have set in as many sites as possible to give the student the basic idea of what type of pilgrimage sites are favored by Hindus.

Temple Architecture:

Since the focus of Tirthas is usually temples it is necessary to know a little about such architectural monuments. India is a large country and, over the centuries, many styles of architecture have developed in different parts of the country. Nevertheless, there are certain features in temple architecture related to worship of the deities within that is common to temples all over India. In fact, these commonalities are universal and all Hindu temples all over the world, whether in Bali or Cambodia or any other place, have these incorporated into the architecture.

These commonalities are:

• Before the temple is actually built a special ceremony to bless the temple-ground takes place. It’s called Garba Dhana, literally impregnating the womb. Special ceremonial objects are buried in the ground underneath where the main chamber of the temple would be.

• Above the spot where the Garba Dhana ceremonial objects have been buried the Vimana, basic sanctuary of the temple, is built. The Vimana contains the Garba Griha, the womb house. This is the holiest part of the temple as the deity resides within it. Pilgrims do Parikrama, circumnavigation, around the Garba Griha. They walk seven times around the holy sanctum to signify the seven worlds of which the universe is made up. Hindu laity is not allowed inside the Garba Griha which is the exclusive domain of the priests.

• Above the Vimana is the Shikara, a tall tapering tower usually built of stone. More architecturally-advanced temples in India and elsewhere have very tall Shikaras carved out of a single rock. Above the Shikara may be placed a Dwaz, a flagstaff from which a flag particularly signifying the presence of the deity inside flies.

• Attached to the Vimana, or often inside it as in later styles of temple architecture, is the Mandapa, a pillared hall in which pilgrims congregate to view the deity. In cases where the Mandapa is placed outside the Vimana a special structure called Antarala, vestibule, is built to connect the Mandapa to the Vimana.

• Almost all temples have intricate carvings on both the outside and inside except the inner sanctum – the Garba Griha. Other than this there is a very significant type of architectural feature found in many Hindu temples. This is the Mithuna sculpture - men, women, gods, goddesses and other mythical creatures passionately entwined in a bewildering range of sexual postures. There are several theories on why something so frivolous is placed in a place as holy as a temple. One of them is that the Mithunas protect the temple from lightening strikes by appeasing Indra, the God of storms. Another is that the Mithunas signify sensual complicity which indulges Maya which enmeshes the soul within the material world. Thus, the Mithunas serve the practical purpose of deterring common householders overcome by the spiritual ambience of the temple from relinquishing the worldly life for that of an ascetic by accepting Sanyash, asceticism. In this manner the continuance of the human race is assured, for if all persons became ascetics there would be no-one to breed and raise children within a family.

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