Tirthayatra

(“Journey to a tirtha”) The general term
denoting religious pilgrimage, which is
seen as an act generating considerable
religious merit (punya). The major focus
of such travel was a visit to a “crossing
place” (tirtha), a sacred site or person
through which one could more easily
communicate with the worlds beyond.
One of the major themes in the traditional pilgrimage literature was the
inherent holiness of whatever place was
being described at that time, which
was invariably described as bringing
699
Tirthayatra
incalculable benefits, even for actions
performed unknowingly or in jest. A second and seemingly contradictory theme
was the stress on the inner state of the
pilgrims themselves and the warning
that they would gain no benefits unless
they were serious about their visit. In its
ideal, pilgrimage to the holy places was
not a pleasure tour but a vehicle for spiritual development, through bathing
(snana) in holy rivers, visiting and worshiping powerful deities, enduring
hardships, making offerings to the
ancestors, gift-giving, and living a sober,
disciplined life.
In fact, the traditional literature
affirms both sides of this tension—the
need for individual commitment and
the inherent sanctity of the places themselves—although the emphasis may
shift depending on the needs of the
moment. One explanation, combining
both of these themes, is that these holy
places amplified the effects of all of one’s
actions there, whether good or bad.
Pilgrims were thus encouraged to
benefit from performing meritorious
actions but warned of the heightened
consequences from evil deeds, which
were much more severe than normal.
In earlier times pilgrimage required a
large investment of time and money.
People would often spend months or
years on pilgrimage, usually visiting a
series of pilgrimage places. This was
seen as a religiously meritorious use of
one’s money, a notion still current in
contemporary times. For most people,
such an opportunity would come only
once in their lifetime, generally in their
later years, and this long-awaited fulfillment must have heightened their experience. The advent of railroad travel in
the late 1800s largely reshaped this pattern, although it persisted in the
Himalayas until well into the twentieth
century. With the advent of railroad travel,
people were able to visit places with
relative ease and speed. This convenience encouraged multiple visits, but
also ones in which the person stopped
at fewer places on the way.
The most recent change in pilgrimage patterns has come with the development of tourism, which is being
marketed by state governments as a way
to generate income for the local people.
It cannot be denied that “seeing the
sights” has always been a part of pilgrimage, which provided a religiously
sanctioned motive for travel. Yet the
ideal, then as now, was that this journey
should not be undertaken merely for
enjoyment, but for serious purposes.
Some contemporary Hindus worry that
the growth of tourism has commercialized the sanctity of their holy places;
other more sanguine souls consider the
stress on tourism simply a stronger
manifestation of trends that have always
existed, which will have no effect on the
truly pious.