A Hindu Pilgrimage
earth.
Siva caught Ganga in his tangled hair to break her fall, and from his head she flowed down through the Himalayas, so legend goes. And this is why in Hindu hymns, the Ganga is praised as a liquid form of Siva's divine energy. The Ganges is the holiest river of all , where all
Hindus desire to bathe in this river, for it is believed by Hindus to wash away all their sins.
No sin is too heinous, and no character too black to be washed away by the waters of the Ganges. Essentially, all water used in rituals by
Hindus is symbollically transformed into sacred water by summoning the presence of Ganga and other sacred rivers. Every great river is supposed to hold the divine essence, and its waters held to cleanse people from all moral guilt and contamination. On the whole, pilgrimages are very significant to Hindus due to being able to, by and large, eradicate all their sins and wrong doing by bathing in the water of holy rivers.
There are difficulties that have to be endured when undertaking a pilgrimage, however, Hindus believe it is well worth it. As an extreme example, for hundreds of years some tirthas were the final goal of many pilgrims, who committed suicide there in order to be released from the cycle of rebirths. Hinduism generally considers suicide a crime, but at certain places, it can become an act of liberation, though this is not the norm for pilgrims.( Klostermaier , K , 1989 , p 312 )
A Hindu pilgrim may journey barefoot, dress scantily in cold weather, and fast, which is all very distressing, but the idea is that the pilgrims have to forget being comfortable , where through their suffering they will be able to realise and understand other less fortunate and oppressed peoples' suffering aswell. In this sense, pilgrimages enable pilgrims, especially the very powerful and rich to relate to the very poor, sick, and needy-bringing them closer together.
Pilgrimages also have a unifying effect in terms of bringing together
Hindus, not only from around India, but from all around the world. The journey of a pilgrimage gives Hindus an opportunity to come together, and to relate to one another as well as strengthen their faith. Through the contact between Hindus resulting from journeys to pilgrimage sites, faith can be made stronger due to being around and in touch with those who seek the same goal- the release from the cycle of death and re-birth.
Pilgrimages are also associated with myths where there are many tirthas associated with the great events of the mythological tradition. The tirtha is the counterpart of the avatara, the word used to describe the divine descents of the gods. Avatara means, to cross down precisely at those places where the gods have crossed down into this world, where avataras are the tirthas - places where earthly pilgrims are able to make their spiritual crossings. (Eck, D, 1985, PP 67 - 68) .The essay now will focuss on the opposite perspective - [next page]