Hindu Pilgrimages and Contemporary Scenario
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Rana P. B. Singh [1]
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[1] Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
India
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- Localización: Destination branding heritage and authenticity / Rubén Camilo Lois González (ed. lit.), Francisco Dias (ed. lit.), Xosé Manuel Santos Solla (ed. lit.), Pilar Taboada De Zuñiga (ed. lit.), Joao Paulo Conceição Silva Jorge (ed. lit.), 2012, ISBN 978-84-695-3961-3, págs. 1002-1017
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Among the ancient epics, the Mahabharata, dated ca 8th century BCE, is the first source of Hindu pilgrimages (tirtha-yatra). According to Hindu tradition, a pilgrimage journey is a sacramental process which has two aspects. It is a spatial symbol of the progressive participation of a person in the realm of spiritual sphere (say faithscape); and also it theoretically establishes, actually and psychically, a two-way relationship between a pilgrim and divine being (God) thus forming a spirituosphere. According to ancient mythology and the Hindu mindset still the most popular sacred place is Kashi (Banaras), eulogised as one of the three ladders to the heaven; the others are Allahabad and Gaya. These three together form ‘bridge to the heaven’. Millions of Hindu adherents travel throughout India and from abroad each year to participate in enormous festivals, pilgrimage circuits, and ritual cleansings. With the growth of global tourism and a widespread interest in seeing culture in the mirror of history and tradition, the protection and maintenance of sacred sites and the survival and continuity of pilgrimage ceremonies that preserve centuries-old human interactions with the earth and its mystic powers are projected in the frames of heritage tourism and ecotourism. Tourism, pilgrimage and heritage are together framing the contemporary scene sustainable religious tourism, aiming that it would provide solace, peace, awakening for co-existential understanding and a path for making this world more peaceful, happy and humane. As globalization accelerates, the expansion of pilgrimage tourism has encouraged ‘heritage-making’ under the umbrella of the Green Pilgrim Cities Initiative (GPCI); four holy cities, viz. Dwarka, Somnath, Ambaji (in Gujarat), and Amritsar (in Punjab) are part of this initiative; while Varanasi (UP) is in the process of nomination.
