Main content

Pilgrimage

Hindu pilgrimages are many and varied. Simran and Vraj describe their experiences and the rituals and 鈥榖ig crowd鈥 experiences of prayer and the presence of god.

The clip begins showing the most famous Hindu pilgrimage, the Kumbh Mela. It takes place in India, in the River Ganges. Up to 40 million people come to be purified in the water. That鈥檚 five times the people living in London. There are many smaller pilgrimages too. Hema describes the experience: 鈥渢he atmosphere is so fantastic everybody is so high on energy and it feels like your opening the doors to heaven and entering heaven itself.鈥
A pilgrimage is a journey people take to get closer to God. Hindus try to do at least one pilgrimage in their lifetime. Rivers, mountains and temples linked to different gods and goddesses, are all popular places to visit. Simran and her friend describe their own pilgrimages, and emphasise the emotional impact: Four quotes sum it up.
鈥淚t was a beautiful day, the sun was shining on the temple and it was really bright I couldn鈥檛 see I had to keep my eyes squinted. I felt really close to God and I thought to myself 鈥榳ow鈥 we should pray every day to the sun god to give us light and make the day beautiful.鈥
鈥淚 went to Ambaji when I was about ten. It鈥檚 like a big mountain you have to climb about a thousand steps, tiring and so hot, it鈥檚 so satisfying when you see Ambaji ma.鈥
鈥淧ilgrimage isn鈥檛 just a holiday, it鈥檚 a spiritual experience.鈥
鈥淲hen you come back - um it鈥檚 how you鈥檙e treated, my parents they treated us like kings and queens, they would bow to our feet. They say that you've been to heaven and you've come back. You become compassionate towards people you start understanding people around you, you start respecting ways of life and understanding their values.鈥

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes

More clips from Hinduism

More clips from My Life, My Religion