Have you ever felt a burning desire rise up within you to travel to a particular place, a place that holds some special meaning for you? Perhaps it might be to a house or neighbourhood where you lived as a child?or to the place where you fell in love?.or to a graveyard where your ancestors are buried. Perhaps you have a certain task that must be accomplished ? to seek a cure for an illness of body or mind, to find closure to a painful chapter in your life, to scatter the ashes of a loved one. Your journey might be a passionate spiritual search, looking for answers to the great existential questions of life. It may be a journey of celebration and affirmation, taken at a time in life when a great event has occurred, perhaps marriage or the birth of a baby. All of these special journeys are pilgrimages, transformative journeys of the spirit.Pilgrimages have been called the oldest form of self-remembering and re-discovery. The pilgrim is often called to the journey by an inner yearning that taps into some wellspring of meaning for that person. Think again about your own life. What is it that you hold sacred? Is it a quest for God? Is it music, nature, family heritage? Perhaps it is a certain place in the world, a particular geography that has resonance with you. Whatever it may be, a pilgrimage that attends to what is sacred in your life can be an extraordinary experience. Having said that, such a journey doesn?t necessarily require us to travel to remote corners of the globe or endure weeks of hardship. Even the most ordinary trip can be transformed by mobilizing the power of imagination and by learning to be attentive to the mysterious nature of the journey. We must call upon Kairos, the God of synchronicity, to help us truly learn from these pilgrimages, which are journeys of risk and renewal. As we move out of the comfortable circle of our known world into a world of challenge and mystery, we become pilgrims, traveling on the path of spirit. Joseph Campbell writes about the hero?s journey, that begins with the process of separation from the known world, the journey with all its tests and trials, and then the return. Pilgrimage mirrors this sacred circle?the goal of the journey is to become as whole again as possible. The pilgrim burns with the desire to complete the circle and to return as a changed person.
In my exploration of the path of the pilgrim, I want to recount some wonderful tales of these journeys. William Carlos Williams once said about poetry??the world dies every day for lack of it?. Just as poetry can nourish the spirit, so do stories about pilgrimages. One of the most incredible pilgrims of all time was Ibn Battua who left his home in Morocco in the year 1325. For 29 years he made pilgrimages in Europe, the Middle East, and all the way to China, roaming 75,000 miles. He was possessed of a great longing to learn about other lands and peoples and to record his explorations in a spiritually inspired way. When he finally returned to Morocco, he wrote a book about his travels that remains one of the most extraordinary documents about a journey ever written.
A contemporary pilgrim whose journey was equally remarkable in its own way is the Peace Pilgrim. In 1953, an American woman deeply committed to peace began a pilgrimage that was to last for the rest of her life. For 28 years, this woman who became known simply as the "Peace Pilgrim" walked across America, criss-crossing the continent many times. She made a vow to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." She carried nothing but the most meager of possessions, and refused to accept money. She went without food until it was offered to her. She slept in bus stations or by the side of the road if she was not offered shelter. Whenever the opportunity arose, she spoke to people about her desire to be a witness for peace, to inspire everyone to work towards that goal in whatever way they can.
Pilgrimages are spiritual practices in many cultures, and reading about the incredible diversity of these journeys is fascinating. India is a country rich in pilgrimage routes. My husband and I lived and worked in the foothills of the Himalayas, a land which is held sacred by both Buddhists and Hindus. Every year thousands of devout Hindus make a pilgrimage to remote temples hidden deep in the mountains that mark the 4 sources of the Ganges. When these smaller rivers join, they form a magnificent turquoise waterway that is worshipped as Ganga Ma, the sacred river which sustains millions of human beings both physically and spiritually. For centuries, pilgrims would walk to the sources of the river all the way from Rishikesh along a footpath. Now with the advent of roads these paths have fallen into disuse. I often used to imagine those pilgrimages. How different the scenery must have been for those pilgrims long ago! The hills were once covered in dense Himalayan forest and were home to tiger, leopard, elephant and bear. These animals could be very dangerous to pilgrims, who slept at night in flimsy shelters or in the open. In the early 1920s, a man-eating leopard near the town of Rudraprayag claimed more than 125 human victims in an eight year reign of terror. Yet nothing deterred the pilgrims, who were quite willing to face danger and hardship to reach their goal. Nowadays, roads lead to close to the sources of the river, and it is much easier to make the pilgrimage. There is even a heli-pad near one of the sources?.but I would question if arriving at the source by helicopter constitutes a pilgrimage!
After Pradeep and I got married, we made a pilgrimage to one of the sources of the river. A hair-raising journey by car took us into the high reaches of the foothills. Then we walked for two days to reach Gangotri, where a massive glacier the Ganges flows from a glacier. Here we made vows to each other about how we would live our lives. It was a journey of affirmation and commitment, made sacred by the spiritual resonance of the area. In this place, we felt a mysterious connection to all those pilgrims over the centuries who had gone before us.
The most famous pilgrimage in India is without doubt the extraordinary festival called the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering on earth. People come to one of four sacred sites along the course of the Ganges, the location rotating between sites every four years. The pilgrims speak different languages, observe different customs, wear different types of clothing, but they meet to immerse themselves in the sacred water of the Ganges river, the mother goddess Ganga. By bathing in the river, pilgrims believe that a great spiritual energy is generated and besides personal purification, the act of bathing contributes to the evolution of collective spiritual consciousness.
In 1986, my husband and I were living in Rishikesh, India, in a Hindu spiritual community known as Sivananda Ashram. The spiritual leader of the ashram, Swami Chidananda, is one of the most revered Hindu saints alive today. That year the Kumbh Mela was to be held in Hardwar, the sacred town not far from where we lived. Pradeep and I were invited to be a part of the contingent of people from Sivananda ashram who would be attending the Mela. As one of the most significant ashram communities in the area, Sivananda Ashram had an elaborate tent complex set up in a prime position on the mela grounds. On the first day of the mela, Sivananda ashram residents joined a huge procession along with members of all the other spiritual groups. As the procession wound its way through the enormous crowds, the faithful would throw flowers at the feet of the people in the procession and would attempt to touch their feet. Pradeep and I, as members of this procession, were the recipients of a great deal of worshipful attention?It was truly a unique experience-I am sure it is the only time I will ever be the object of worship!
The Mela grounds becomes a complete tent city, ready to accommodate the millions of visitors ? about 40 million people attend! Religious teachers give talks, trade exhibits market wares, artists, craftsman, entertainers, swamis, astrologers, fortune tellers and beggars all vie for attention. It is quite a scene!
Let me turn to the journeys of pilgrims from other cultures and countries?see if you can ideintify where these people are going?.
1. A Muslim man from Indonesia spends several days in fasting and prayer. He then shaves his head in preparation for his journey. His sacred destination is thousands of miles from his home. He takes a flight to an airport used solely by pilgrims, and joins hundreds of thousands of other men and women from around the world in an arduous walk through desert country to reach the sacred shrine. Wearing a white pilgrim?s robe, he circles the great mosque seven times before prostrating in prayer. The journey is the fulfillment of a lifetime dream?Where is this man? Mecca?.
2.. A middle aged woman with severe crippling arthritis leaves her home in northern Ontario, and travels for two days on a pilgrimage in search of healing. At the shrine, she worships an ancient image of St Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary. She is one of more than a million people who travel to this famous pilgrimage spot every year? Where did she go? Ste. Anne de Beaupre
3. A young man from the Zuni nation in southwest United States travels with many members of his community up a sacred mountain. It is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. On this mountain, the young man dresses himself in a magnificent costume representing an animal, and he and his fellow pilgrims perform prayers and dances to worship the Creator of Life, and to pray for growth of the corn. Where is this young man? ?.Corn mountain, New Mexico
4. People come at many different times of the year to this sacred place in Japan. They come to see maple and gingko trees in their spectacular autumn colours, to contemplate both the beauty and the evanescence of nature. They also may visit the famous temple shrine to the deity Kannon. An archery contest is held each year near this temple, using arrows to carry their prayers and invocations. Where are they? Kyoto.
5. A small group of Buddhists from the mountain kingdom of Sikkim make an arduous journey by bus, truck and jeep into a country far from their borders. They must overcome many obstacles to reach the beginning of their pilgrimage, including a difficult border crossing. Their troubles ease when they see their goal in the distance, a striking pyramidal mountain, 22000 ft high, source of 4 great rivers. Carrying prayer wheels that radiate sacred prayers as they spin, the pilgrims complete a ritual trip around the base of the mountain. They are joined by devotees of three other religions who all hold this mountain sacred. Where are they? Mount Kailas in Tibet
6. This young woman joins several close friends to begin an arduous walk that will take them more than five hundred miles, from the heights of the Pyrenees mountains to the wild landscape of Galicia on the Iberian peninsula. She is walking a pilgrim route that has been in use by for more than a thousand years. At her destination, she will worship the relics of a famous Christian saint. Where is she? Santiago de Compostela, Spain
These famous pilgrimages are inspiring and astonishing, but most of us are not likely to embark on such journeys. But there are pilgrims all around us, who set off on paths of the spirit that speak more easily to us. I have a patient in my practice who recounted to me a lovely tale of a pilgrimage, which she said I was welcome to share with you. Yvonne had studied opera as a young child in England, and had considerable talent. However, due to financial strain in the family she was unable to continue her musical education as long as she would have liked. She adored the operatic music of Puccini and had committed much of the music to memory. A few years ago, her husband had died and she found herself in a dark place of grief and emptiness. The idea came to her to go on a pilgrimage to Lucca in Italy, the town where Pucchini lived and worked. She went on this with her cousin, also a musician. At the Villa del Lago, Puccini?s most beloved residence, Yvonne and her sister were among the only visitors that cold fall day. Overcome by emotion at reaching this spot, Yvonne began to sing Nessum dorma (None shall sleep) from Puccini?s last opera Turandot. An elderly woman appeared from a side door and stood watching them with a gentle smile on her face?Later this woman introduced herself to them?she was Pucchini?s granddaughter, the last surviving member of his family. Yvonne describes her pilgrimage as a way of opening her soul and renewing the deepest parts of herself.
How do we prepare ourselves for a pilgrimage? First of all, the preparation involves an act of the imagination. What is it that calls us? How can we respond to that call in a journey that does justice to the call? For many people a search for one?s ancestral roots is a pilgrimage of great meaning. Others make pilgrimages to fulfill a vow. Phil Cousineau had always planned to travel to the ancient temple of Angkor Wat with his father. However, his father died before this could be done. Shortly after his father?s death, Phil vowed to take the journey for both of them?Others may travel to places where relatives lived and died?every year thousands of people make pilgrimages to the graveyards of WW1 in France.
Perhaps you have decided that you want to travel to the place where your ancestors came from, in a remote part of another country. To prepare yourself, you might begin by studying letters, documents and photos of your ancestors, absorbing images of the geography of the area, reading about the country?s history.. Once you have decided how long you have to travel you can choose the way you will go. Let the journey be a mindful one?travel at least part of the way on foot if possible. Travel becomes sacred by the depth of contemplation involved in the journey.
As you leave on your pilgrimage, a small ritual of leave-taking can mark the beginning of your sacred journey. You might want to offer a prayer, light a candle, or gather some friends to wish you well.
Who will accompany you on your journey? Choose your companions carefully, since on a pilgrimage, companions are important. If you are traveling on a route where you?ll encounter other pilgrims, you may experience a sense of communitas- a deep connection with those kindred spirits who are also committing themselves to the journey.
As you travel, remember the attitude of the true pilgrim - be open, aware, humble, and mindful. Buddhist pilgrims follow what they call ?the 5 excellent practices of pilgrimage?. These are:
- practice the arts of attention and listening
- practice renewing yourself everyday
- practice meandering towards the centre of every place
- practice the ritual of reading sacred texts
- practice gratitude and praise singing
Travel as lightly as possible?rid yourself of material burdens so that your steps will be easier. You may want to take with you a few special items - a walking stick, a handwoven bag, a book or journal?Once you?ve begun your journey, be aware of the possibilities for mystery and meaning. Phil Cousineau writes: ?The pilgrim is a poetic traveler, one who believes that there is poetry on the road, at the heart of everything. Soulful travel is the art of finding beauty even in ruins, even in inclement weather, even in foul moods. Like art, pilgrimage cannot wait for the right mood to appear. Like poetry, pilgrimage is beyond time and space?"
