The purpose and practice of pilgrimage

• Pilgrimage


  A religious journey to a sacred place
• Hindu pilgrimages


  • Religious duty
  • Receive blessings and experience spiritual atmosphere
  • Involves hardship or self-denial
  • Focus is on oneness with the divine, not enjoyment
  • Belief that heaven and Earth meet at holy places
• Hindus go on pilgrimages


  To receive blessings and experience the spiritual atmosphere of a holy place
• What happens when pilgrims reach their destination


  1. Bathe in holy waters

  2. Take water home for elderly/sick relatives

  3. Wear special clothes and walk barefoot

  4. Shave heads

  5. Remain celibate to stay focused on God

  6. Offer puja at sacred site

  7. Circumambulate (walk around temple/image saying prayers)
• Varanasi


  • Holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism, played important role in development of Buddhism
  • City on banks of River Ganges
  • Known for its many ghats (embankments made into steps of stone slabs along river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions)
  • Many Hindus cremate their dead on pyres built on the ghats
  • Many pilgrims hope to come to Varanasi to die, as it is believed they have a greater chance of achieving Moksha
• Deities and Varanasi


  • Varanasi has many temples for a variety of different Gods
  • Worship done in Varanasi temples is believed to have greater merit than other temples
  • According to Hindu mythology, Varanasi was founded by Shiva and is therefore an incredibly popular destination for Shaivites
• River Ganges


  • Most religiously significant body of water in the world
  • Considered sacred and spiritually pure as Hindus believe it is embodied by the goddess Ganga
  • Rituals performed at the banks or in its waters will bring fortune and wash away impurity, including bad Karma
  • Sight, name, and touch of the Ganges cleanses one of all sins and taking a dip bestows heavenly blessings
  • Land over which Ganges flows is regarded as hallowed ground
  • Hindus spread cremated ashes of dead loved ones in the river to direct the soul
• The Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in the world
• Why Varanasi is important to Hindus


  • It has many temples for a variety of different Gods
  • Worship done in Varanasi temples is believed to have greater merit
  • According to Hindu mythology, Varanasi was founded by Shiva and is therefore an incredibly popular destination for Shaivites
• Kumbh Mela is an important Hindu pilgrimage