Re-examining Ecological Aspects of Vrindavan Pilgrimage

Abstract

Pilgrimage is a journey made to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion. A prominent and creative activity in many religions, it is one of the oldest forms of travel. Pilgrimage is already a statement or action of flows of faith through travel within, beyond and across borders. It shows how beliefs can be moved, altered and managed to meet the differing needs of pilgrims and the pilgrimage destination. The process also illustrates how pilgrimage can go wrong; different priorities and foci produce different necessities and concerns. These are often exacerbated where vastly dissimilar cultures are in contact and where important yet disparate religious, social and ecological issues are at play. In pilgrimage, boundaries and borders are created, invented and reinvented, pushed and sometimes broken. This chapter presents a situation where the physical, spiritual and ecological aspects of a specific pilgrimage location are pushed to their limits and how modern precedents such as those enabled by modern transportation and religious tourism meet traditional religious and ecological values.