Pilgrimage
[4] Some research has shown that people who engage in pilgrimage walks enjoy biological, psychological, social, and spiritual therapeutic benefits.
[6] Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths of ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan.
[8] In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem (see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals, a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions).
[11] This form of pilgrimage, akin to the concept of "hajj" in Islam, which means "procession," was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, trusting completely in Divine Providence.
In India and Nepal, there are four places of pilgrimage which are tied to the life of Gautama Buddha: Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected Gautama Buddha's life are: Savatthi, Pataliputta, Nalanda, Gaya, Vesali, Sankasia, Kapilavastu, Kosambi, Rajagaha.
[16] Beginning in 1894, Christian ministers under the direction of Charles Taze Russell were appointed to travel to and work with local Bible Students congregations for a few days at a time; within a few years appointments were extended internationally, formally designated as "pilgrims", and scheduled for twice-yearly, week-long visits at each local congregation.
[17][18] International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended.
To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.
They go to Rome, the city of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, and also to Compostela, which, associated with the memory of Saint James, has welcomed pilgrims from throughout the world who desire to strengthen their spirit with the Apostle's witness of faith and love.
[22]Pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with the apostles, saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
The Catholic priest Frank Fahey writes that a pilgrim is "always in danger of becoming a tourist" and vice versa, and describes pilgrimages as journeys containing "faith expectancy", a search for wholeness, that are often solitary and employing silence to create an internal sacred space.
[23] According to Karel Werner's Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, "most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with legendary events from the lives of various gods....
Hindu pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities (Varanasi, Badrinath); rivers (the Ganges, the Yamuna); mountains (several Himalayan peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists); caves (such as the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); temples; festivals, such as the peripatetic Kumbh Mela, in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history;[29] or the tombs and dwelling places of saints (Alandi, Shirdi).
Ziyarat generally refers to the act of visiting holy places such as tombs or shrines, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and other revered figures like legal scholars and Sufi saints.
[38][39] Unlike Hajj, which is obligatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able,[40] or Umrah, which is highly recommended but not mandatory,[41] Ziyarat involves visits to a variety of sacred and historically significant locations beyond Mecca.
About four million pilgrims participate annually to celebrate the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mouride brotherhood, who established the order in 1883.
[44] While ziyarat is viewed as permissible and spiritually enriching by most Sunni and Shia traditions, some fundamentalist movements, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, discourage or oppose it.
These movements are characterized by a strict, literalist interpretation of Islam and opposition to practices they consider innovations, such as shrine visitation.
Imam Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by Yazid I's army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE).
Arba'een or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions.
[54][55] There are numerous lesser Jewish pilgrimage destinations, mainly tombs of tzadikim, throughout Israel and Palestine and all over the world, including: Hebron; Bethlehem; Mount Meron; Netivot; Uman, Ukraine; Silistra, Bulgaria; Damanhur, Egypt; and many others.
[66] In India the cathedral fire temple that houses the Iranshah Atash Behram, located in the small town of Udvada in the west coast province of Gujarat, is a pilgrimage destination.
Destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp, Gettysburg Battlefield or the Ernest Hemingway House.
In the words of adventurer-author Jon Krakauer in his book Into The Wild, Christopher McCandless was "a pilgrim perhaps" to Alaska in search of spiritual bliss.
