Pilgrimages

We homo sapiens are conditioned to believe and act in a particular manner by the society, community, religion, peers or any other extraneous forces. J Krishnamurthy, the philosopher described it as the single biggest culprit for the ills in the society. This 'conditioning' while laying down the rules for a society also ties us down and takes away our most precious freedom. Be that as it may, we are ordinary mortals and would rather be in chains of conditioning than be free in an anarchy.  One of the major conditioning pertains to religion, while spiritualism goes well beyond religion and is not bound by religion but the right tenets of religions  guide you on the path of spiritual pursuits.  Pilgrimages are essential aspects of all religions, so a Moslem must undertake the Haj  to Holy Mecca and Medina, a Jew to Jerusalem, Catholic to the Vatican, Sikh to the Golden Temple, Hindus have many such holy places the Char Dham, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Benares, Prayag, Ujjain, Somnath, Amarnath other Jyotirlingas and so on...These pilgrimages were normally undertaken in the twilight of your life after having fulfilled your duties in the Grihasth Ashram (the phase of life as per Hindu philosophy when after the education at Gurukul one pursued a normal life as  a householder) . But today with improved communication systems, religious tourism forms a major chunk of our ballooning service sector.  People of my generation have been fortunate to have undertaken many of these rather young either with our parents or being in the Army, in our professional assignments having been posted in close vicinity availed of this opportunity.

Initially it was more of curiosity as most of the religious shrines are located at distant exotic places in the hills or close to river or sea shores, but travel itself was exciting so highly enjoyable and a break from the routine. Then gradually  we discovered some places were different, more peaceful, the whole ambience in the Temple or Gurudwara or Math or Mazar filled us up with a different kind of peace and tranquility. One could sit quietly by oneself and meditate for hours and absorb all that was there in our hearts and minds and carry it with us, to revel in it at leisure, try and unravel the mystery behind it all. This peace and tranquility was not just at the famous pligrim centres, it was also there in the Unit Mandir or just a wayside religious shrine away from the hustle and bustle. So Pir Baba Mazar in Kaiyan Bowl was soul nurturing and so was the Shankaracharya temple in Srinagar. Places which are more commercial somehow lose that sanctity and it is difficult for someone like me to be able to focus on the deity, the rituals or the people around make the whole routine very mechanical; sometimes once the obeisance drill is done and one gets some time to ponder over the mysteries sitting by oneself, it is more peaceful. 

We also have preconceived notions about places and Tirupati Balaji was one such temple, I always had this misgiving that He was the rich man's deity being the richest religious shrine and all the bigwigs making a beeline for the special VIP darshan. Despite my reservations I did go there along with my son, which itself is a story as Preeti, my better half was keen on the visit and hence the trip was conceived but she was not destined to go then as my daughter, Ananya went down with Dengue at the last minute and she had to opt out. I had some official commitment tied up and went ahead. Since my darshan was already tied up I asked my son, Abhijat if he was free, being based at Bengaluru he took the night bus and joined me. So is it He who decides when He wants you to come, are we are pawns? May be.. I am sure most of us would have had such experiences. The brahmn muhoortam (Early morning) darshan left me in a trance. The pandit had to shake me up from my meditative reverie.  Another such experience was at the Belur Math in Kolkata. The Almighty has been kind and one has got the opportunity to visit religious places of all hues and colour without any prejudices, so while it was Puri, Rameshwaram, Badrinath or Jyotirlingas at  Kashi Vishwanath, Mahakaal, Omkareshwar, Bhimashankar, Shirdi, Amarnath shrine, Vaishno Mata temple, GoldenTemple, Nizamuddin Aulia's Mazar or Vatican and many many others I think apart from religious tourism they have also helped us grow and evolve as people.

Are pilgrimages only religious in nature? How about Jalianwala Bagh, National War Memorial or some place which is quite remote, The Cellular Jail (Kala Pani) in Port Blair Andamans. I think these places are equally if not more worthy of being referred to as places of worship. We all must bow our heads in reverence to the brave and courageous freedom fighters who laid down their lives for an independent India where we can proudly be ourselves and not slaves of any foreign powers. The recent visit to Andamans and to Cellular Jail, Veer Savarkar's corner cell and the gory details of torturous routine suffered by the inmates was too vivid for any eyes to be dry. The abhorrence felt for the British there is indescribable. A visit to the Cellular Jail I think is a must do for all Indians,  and why just Indians actually even international tourists need to be a given a glimpse of the horrors of Kala Pani, comparable to the Holocaust. My salute to the known and the many unsung heroes who led a remarkable revolutionary's life, each man an institution by himself!