The purpose and significance of pilgrimage - II - Amritvani

May - Jun 2005

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(Translation of a discourse by Poojya Gurudev on "Tirthasevan Ka Mahatva Aur Prayojan ":
Continued from the previous issue)

I was talking about the revival of the ancient tradition of tirthas (revered places of pilgrimage).  Samarth Guru Ramdas had established two thousands Hanuman temples spread across the whole of Maratha Land. These were built as centres of mass awakening and hence tirthas in the true sense. They served a great purpose which is revered in glowing words in the Indian history of those times. We need such efforts once again. The necessity for moral, cultural and spiritual uplifting of the people has become exigent today. Reviving the original system of tirthas is a promising solution in my views. In an attempt to resurrect this noble tradition and keeping in mind today's circumstances, our mission has established two tirthas (two dhams) – Gayatri Tapobhumi at Mathura and Shantikunj at Hardwar: the former for organization and the latter for sadhana and training.  

Adi Shankarcharya had made four dhams for revival of Vedic glory. Our dhams are dedicated for social, cultural, moral and spiritual upliftment of mankind. Associated with these there are two thousand four hundred Gayatri Shaktipithas spread in different corners of India and some more abroad.  Like the Hanuman temples of Guru Ramdas, these Shaktipithas are built to work as centres of mass education. My vision and aspiration is that these should become Gayatri-Tirthas and generate refined talents dedicated to altruistic service, awakening of righteous thinking among the masses resulting in their moral-cultural reformation. This is what tirthas are supposed to do. If you have faith in pilgrimage, you ought to visit and support the growth of such tirthas.

Does that mean that I am discouraging you form pilgrimage in the conventional sense, which is more popular today? No. You should go for pilgrimage; it is good. But tell me where are the "tirthas " today that could be the destination of a true pilgrim? I don't see any. I find that the popular centres of 'conventional' pilgrimage these days have become more like tourist spots.  Sure, historic / religious episodes / events are associated with them; but no signs or memories of the past endeavors of their founders are found to be alive at those places. There are no rishis or Aranyaks there to guide and enlighten the devotees and aspirants in their spiritual search. How can then these places be called tirthas?  

If you really have faith in pilgrimage, you must do one more thing. You should endeavor awakening the dead traditions of tirthas where you go on in your pilgrimage. You should also participate and support such attempts of others whole-heartedly and strengthen their cause collectively.  So that tomorrow, if someone asks you "What is a tirtha? Where is it?" you can tell him about tirthas existing in reality today.  What we mostly see today is that the nominal tirthas are 'equipped' with gorgeous temples that have only become sources of livinghood for the people associated with their maintenance / management. Many a times these so-called priests are seen fighting for power and having greater share in the earnings of the temple and what not…? The dignity, peace, spiritual ambience of real tirthas, is nowhere experienced at these places. The noble objectives and activities of real tirthas are also missing there.      

What sort of pilgrimage and what type of tirtha is it, where you just have a dip in a pond or a river, throw some money (as donation) have a sight of an idol of some God, fulfil some rituals, take a round of the temple, that is all! This is certainly not a pilgrimage center or a tirtha in the true sense.  Dev-darshan and devotional worship could only be a part of it but the real worth of pilgrimage lies in immersing the mind and the inner self in the Gyan-Ganga (nectar spring of divine knowledge) that flows in a real tirtha. Real tirthas bless the pilgrims with noble inspirations, guidance, enlightenment and elevation of thoughts and emotions.  Near total absence of such vibrant tirthas has forced us to establish new tirthas under the banner of our Gayatri Pariwar Mission. You should come forward to help these tirthas in fulfilling their noble objectives. You may also try to establish such tirthas (Gayatri Shaktipithas / Pragya Mandals, etc) at some other places. 

I would like every Gayatri-Tirtha (Shaktipithas) to conduct training programmes for upliftment of the masses. Apart from sadhana sessions, there should also be specifically designed programmes for literacy and education of children, young men, women, and the elderly who have been deprived of proper schooling. There should be classes for practice of yoga-asanas and prañayams. Centres for natural healing through Ayurvedic herbal medicines (JaDi-buti Chikitsa Kendras) should also be associated with these tirthas. In the evenings there should be inspiring Katha-vachana activities in which people are taught and motivated to improve their lives through storytelling. These may also be supplemented with good cultural programmes organized around moral themes. The Gayatri-Tirthas should motivate collective efforts of the local parijans and conduct constructive programmes on multiple fronts of social reformation and welfare.  Karyakartas (voluntary teachers and doctors etc) who will conduct these activities will be trained in Shantikunj.    

When you go for a pilgrimage to a real tirtha, you will also pave the path for many others to follow; that means many others in your contact would also go there – after listening about your experiences – to benefit from the vibrations and activities there. If one wants to go for pilgrimage, he should know which and where are the real tirthas? Where to go? Whom to meet? What to do there? If one wants to go just for outing, one can go anywhere. That way some tourists go abroad. Some go for holidays in the hill stations or to mega-cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata? Or may go to popular tourist spots in Agara, Udaipur, etc. So you may also go to the popular dhams like many others go. What difference does it make?  Those to whom it makes a difference must go to real tirthas. The tirthas therefore need to be given new life, or new tirthas with vibrant spiritual energy need to be created.

We (Gayatri Pariwar Mission) have humbly attempted to proceed in this direction. You could also join us to march ahead together with us. We have put some efforts. You may also cooperate in it, help in it. Mandhata had provided all resources for materialization of Adi Shankaracharya's vision and pledge of establishing the four dhams.  You may not be wealthy or resourceful like Mandhata, but you can certainly contribute something – in terms of your time and effort, for example, if you have the will to build or to help someone build or expand the real tirthas. You may not have money but you can collect small donations from many of your neighbors, your relatives and friends by apprising them of the noble purpose for which it will be used.   Guiding and helping others in their true pilgrimage, is also a great service.  So if you can help establishing or renovating real tirthas as Mandhata did, you must do that wholeheartedly.   

Queen Ahilyabai had renovated temples in a big way. You should also do something to help renovation of the tirthas. Not only renovate the building or structure, but more importantly to put life in them; revive their original energetic ambience. At Ahilyabai's time there must have been life in those temples, so only renovation was sufficient. Now most of the temples and the tirtha-dhams are almost dead. If there are no living traces of the original, what will one renovate? One will have to construct a new one to serve the same purpose.  There is one more way of reviving the lost tradition of pilgrimage.  Prayïchit – penance and reparation to heal the past sins – used to be an integral part of pilgrimage in the ancient times.  So you may consider the troubles, the hardships, the extra efforts you would be required to bear while contributing towards the making or expansion of a true tirtha, as part of your prayaïchit.      

There is one way of this process of prayaïchit, which will also serve the dual purpose of expiation and altruistic service.  We need dedicated purohits and parivrajaks at the Gayatri Shaktipithas who could enlighten, vibrate the surroundings and awaken the ambience, wherever they go. We need such spiritually energized (prañavana) sadhakas devoted to true knowledge, cultural renaissance and selfless service. Today it is almost impossible to find such parivrajaks or purohits anywhere.  The same would be true in case of the increasing numbers of our Gayatri Shaktipithas. Most often, what we can find is a 'Pandit' or 'Panda' type of volunteer who could conduct regular puja (worship rituals) in the temple and sing the devotional prayers (aratis). Getting volunteers to maintain cleanliness or do physical labor etc is not a problem in the Shaktipithas. Scarcity is that of dedicated sadhaks. The Pandits or Pandas and other workers cannot generate the awakening that is required at a real tirtha. Creating an enlivened, energized ambience of a real tirtha is not possible for everyone. Prañvana Parivrajaks alone can fulfill this task. We need more and more of them. 

This kalpa-sadhana of kayakalpa chikitsa aims at chiseled refinement of the participants and to transform the true sadhakas among them into Prañvana Parivrajaks – of whom I am talking about. You all have come here to participate in this kalpa-sadhana because you have the seed, the potential and the energy of becoming such elevated sadhakas.  Otherwise, why would you have come here? Why would you have chosen to bear the hardship of the ascetic training here? Most often people don't go to the shrines. If at all, they would go there only to get the free prasad and grace of God. Who likes to starve in fasting or to lose comforts? Who finds time for service, leaving aside his own interests? But you have gladly opted for the hard way. You seem to have been gifted with an elevated life-force, an aspiration for spiritual quest, sincerity and several other noble qualities. If it is true, then, after this sadhana, the best place for you to offer your services or to proceed with your prayaschit and spiritual ascent is –– a Shaktipitha, where you will have an opportunity to create a lively, radiant ambience of a tirtha.  

The term "Parivrajak" is used for someone who keeps roaming from one place to other to spread the light of knowledge, to offer his services for the welfare of all living beings, and to also continue his/her search for the ultimate Truth. You can go to a Shaktipeetha near your present place of living, dedicate your services, your talents your efforts there to generate awakening, to motivate the people and initiate the activities of moral and social upliftment. You should also simultaneously continue your sadhana of further refinement and attainment of true knowledge. This will be an excellent accomplishment of your prayaïchita. If you are prepared and take a few steps forward to do that, I would say – you have fathomed the true meaning and purpose of pilgrimage and have undertaken a pilgrimage indeed. 

What more you can do to revive the preeminent glory of the Vedic Culture of a tirtha?  It is my earnest effort to expand this noble tradition in India and abroad. That is what I initiated under the banner of our mission. You may cooperate in that. I am sure with your support and cooperation, we will be able to achieve great goals. Then, the paeans of angelic beatitudes of tirthas and pilgrimage, as sung in the Shastric scriptures, would become a reality in our own times as well.  Your cooperation could be in both ways –contributing your time and efforts and donating your resources as per your capacity, for fulfilling this noble objective. 

Dana-Puñya (charity and altruistic service, auspicious work) is described as essential components of pilgrimage. That is why there has been a tradition of offering meals to the hermits (Brahmin-bhoja), distributing alms in the tirtha and organizing Bhagvat Katha, Kirtan, etc after returning home from a pilgrimage. What is the best way of dana? In simplest terms it is the donation of your time and efforts towards enlightening welfare activities.  Those who cannot devote their time may give monetary and other resources. Those who can donate both would be doubly blessed. Those who cannot afford giving monetary resources can collect it from others in their contact. Those who cannot give their time can arrange to send some other deserving volunteers; sometimes, they could also make donations for meeting the expenditure on the board and lodging of Mission volunteers visiting their area. This way, each one of you can contribute to our mission of resurrecting the dignity of pilgrimage and associated moral and social upliftment activities. 

There are many parijans (members) in our Gayatri Pariwar who voluntarily donate their time, talents and other potentials, but, as they don't have any source of income now, they need monetary help for their own sustenance; some also need partial or full support for modest sustenance of their families. There are some, who have come with substantial resources or support for a simple living here at Shantikunj or in a Shaktipeetha. But they are very few in numbers. Limitations of resources is one of the reasons that despite having a large number of able, social workers in our mission who have volunteered to give their services and sacrifice their time, we are not able to accommodate them.  Monetary support from those who appreciate great aims of the mission, who feel for it and know its authenticity – is required to expand the number of dedicated talents who would be the torchbearers of this divine mission.  If you cut some of your expenses and comforts, you can easily contribute towards meeting the bare minimum necessities of these true devotees, who donate their entire life for selfless service and enlightenment of others.  What could be a better mode of prayaïchita and Brahmin-bhoja in your life-pilgrimage?

I would like to stress that worshiping in specific shrines, taking a plunge into specific rivers or ponds, or drinking panchamrita (oblation ritual) are not essential requisites of a true pilgrimage. You should try to see and understand the truth of pilgrimage and come forward to perform your duties as a pilgrim.  Cultivate some generosity, think of offering your services to the human society. Think of inner refinement. March ahead to accomplish what is necessary for a true pilgrimage. You cannot expect the divine beatitudes of pilgrimage without completing the process of prayaïchita.  I have shown you the path. It is upto you to follow it and attain all that a true pilgrim deserves to be blessed with.    

||OM SHANTI||


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