Labyrinth in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco
Prime_Minister,_Shri_Narendra_Modi_performing_Bhoomi_Pujan_at_‘Shree_Ram_Janmabhoomi_Mandir’,_in_Ayodhya,_Uttar_Pradesh_on_August_05,_2020.jpg
Crete In the Greek Orthodox Church sacred objects are manifest divine conduits which are venerated by caressing with the hands and pressing the face close to kiss the surfaces. Faith is passionate and sensual.
The massive Nave of Basilica St. Denis in Paris
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
Pilgrims in the Trinity Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral
Many websites offer travel packages for pilgrimage tours for all faiths and in any part of the world; no matter how remote and difficult to reach. Nostalgia is a dominant visual motif in the images used by the travel industry catering to potential
Muslim pigrims circumambulating the Kaaba in Mecca. The great sanctuary of Islam is the Kaaba at Mecca, a cubic edifice draped with a rich cloth, which contains the mysterious Black Stone.* The hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to the holy places of Mec
Poster portraying the development of Mecca
University of Cambridge collection. John Mason Cook, son of the founder, expanded travel services of the famous British company, to include the Middle East in the 1880s. T Cook & Sons became the first and most far-reaching travel service in the
Pagan Pilgrimage: The Oracle of Delphi
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The zebu oxen are given rest and stand freed of the Withers yoke, named for the cross member fits in front of the withers (shoulder blades). Pilgrims make their way to the Ananda Temple for the annual festival honoring the Buddha. A caravan of bull
Extended families make camp together using a truck tented with tarpaulins.
Old Bagan
Young women prepare meals for their families in an outdoor kitchen with fabrics suspended from ropes for shelter. Pilgrim families endure significant hardships to attend religious festivals but they are all smiles and grateful to attend an auspiciou
Inside the Ananda Pagoda: quiet contemplation and cellphone pictures. The Ananda Pagoda Temple is unique in Bagan for it's cruciform symmetrical ground plan. It has four entrance halls that each lead to the central core with a gilded standing buddh
Monks read the entire canonical words of the Buddha in the Ananda Pagoda in Bagan. Hearing the sacred text earns the listener great merit.
Magic tricks fascinate the festival teenage boys: a young man demonstrates the magic tricks that can be learned from a purchase of "Magic Man."
A cold morning in Old Bagan: Sisters and their children are surprised to see tourists, but are happy to pose for pictures.
A marketplace for fruits and vegetables at the Ananda Pagoda Festival.
"Main Street" of the market bazaar with the Ananda Pagoda Temple spire in the background. The temple spires were gilded to celebrate the 900th anniversary of its construction.    
The main event of the 3 day festival honoring the birth of the Buddha is the morning of the festival that gifts are presented to support the order of monks. It takes place in the enormous courtyard that is part of the temple grounds.  
By the end of the morning the L shaped table is overflowing with plastic buckets filled with food, soap, medical supplies, new robes, money trees, rice and most things the monks do not provide for themselves.
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The introduction of the subject of Pilgrimage and it's connection to the rock-caves temples of Ajanta and Ellora from the website: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/buddhist-pilgrimage-sites-india/ The Victoria and Albert Museum
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, India Massive interior at the cave complex that served as a rains retreat and monastery. Rough hewn rock surfaces are visible where the light crawls in from the windows at the entrance. Some of the caves are only partial
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, India Modern lighting and electronic monitoring and control of cave humidity share sacred interior spaces decorated with monumental ceiling mandalas and fragile painted limestone surfaces.
Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India: Kailasanatha (Kailasa) temple is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries. The Ajanta Caves and Ellora are popular destinations for pilgrims for their historical significance and famous iconography.
Ellora Caves in India. Massive amounts of rock were excavated to create the central temple and the surrounding cells for visiting monks.
River Cave, Kailasanatha, Ellora
Elephanta Island, Mumbai, India
Monk at Pindaya Caves in Myanmar.
A lighthearted moment: Monks on a pilgrimage to the Pindaya Caves pose for pictures with the gigantic spider that is part of the legend of cave complex and monastery in Myanmar.
The Tham Ting Cave on the bank of the Mekong river in Laos contains over 4,000 Buddha icons. Dating back thousands of years the upper and lower caves are the best known caves in Laos. *The cave was used as a "safe" where statues from ruined or burn
Two men make prayers before the large altar in the Tham Ting Cave.
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Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon Lustral water is poured on the gilded figure of a nat that is associated with the Buddha image. Each figure is worshipped in turn by pouring water that has been sanctified by spells and powerful plants like camphor and so
Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar A contribution by Chinese Buddhists to many of the shrines at the Shwedagon Pagoda are Buddha figures illuminated with dazzling aureoles made from radiating colored lights. Visiting and local worshippers did not ap
Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar The massive size of a devotional image adds to the psychological impression of the power and veracity of the teachings of the faith.     Pilgrimage to Sarnath, Varanasi, Ayodhya & Madurai in Ind
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Pilgrims from all over the world come to circumambulate the Dhamekh stupa at Sarnath. Sarnath is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in the Buddhist world.
Visiting Nepalese pilgrims on the platform walkway encircling the stupa at Sarnath.
Circumambulation: Three circuits of the stupa with a pause to press prayer beads against a spur covered with gold leaf and candle wax at the stupa at Sarnath.     Varanasi (Kasi, Banaras) in northern India Banaras (Varanasi) is said
Map of ancient pilgrimage routes of Varanasi. Pilgrimage in Varanasi is a thriving business. There are specialists to guide pilgrims in every aspect of a sacred visit. A priest call a panda greets pilgrims arriving by train. They will arrange tra
Early morning crowds in Varanasi making their way to the ghats for Makar Sankranti. They chant as they walk: Aum Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram. It is said: The name of Rama is the sole mantra to escape from the coils of the world. He who keeps t
The Ganges arrival from the south at Varanasi. Flower garlands mark the places of the early morning worship to the Goddess of the Ganges. Among the holiest of goals for Hindu pilgrimages are the seven great rivers, especially the Ganges, and of t
Visitor boats overflowing with pilgrims on the Ganges.
Labyrinthine streets and eaves saturated with color overhang a tour group of pilgrims in Varanasi.
A Ghat on the Ganges
Varanasi Unusually large crowds of pilgrims make their way to the ghats for Makar Sankranti. Makar Sankranti falls on the day of the year when the sun —considered the king of all grahas (planets) —is in the rasi (Zodiac sign) known as Makar (C
Varanasi, India Offering the waters of the Ganges to his ancestors and the gods.
Udaipur, India Sindoor, a powder made of dried turmeric, when mixed with lime it turns a deep red. Mixed with water, the powder becomes a paste. Tradition has had both men and women marked a round dot on their foreheads, between their eyebrows, kno
The darsana is located in areas designated for Hindus only in the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. *A darsana literally a means glimpse or view. In a Hindu temple, the term refers to viewing the inner sanctum under the main Shikhara or Gopuram of the te
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India A temple dedicated to Parvati, known locally as Meenakshi and her consort, Shiva, known here as Sundareswarar .  An important place of worship, the Meenakshi Amman Temple, is an essential
Kambattadi Mandapa, Temple of Meenakshi, Madurai The pillars of this mandapa are enormous and decorated with cravings of the various aspects of Shiva. In the middle of the mandapa a shaft pierces the ceiling, indicating the location of the sanctuar
Hindus worship some deities that have no recognizable anthropomorphic characteristics. This shrine's votive figure is ritually honored by attaching string to it.
Giving Thanks to a Fertility Goddess
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A very human depiction of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana crossing the Sarayu River at Ayodhya. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma: Famous for his fusion of European painting techniques with Indian themes, Raja Ravi Varma's paintings of Hindu deities and images
Pilgrims bathing the Sarayu River at Ayodhya. *Bathing in a sacred river or lake is not to be interpreted merely as a purificatory ceremony; it has a deeper significance. For example, the Kumbha fair in Hardawar and other places means bathing in
Ayodhya, India A cold and foggy morning on the banks of the Sarayu river. Known today as the Sarda river. The Sarayu river is a tributary of the Ganges and important in classical Indian literature of both the Vedas and the Ramayana. Rama was born
Gho Pooja on the banks of the Sarayu River, Ayodhya, India The word "Gho" means cow in Sanskrit. Thus "Gho Pooja" means worship of the cow.  A cow is so spiritually pure that millions and millions of deities take residence in and around a
"The Cow with 84 Deities", c. 1912, Ravi Varma Press. This was one of the pamphlets circulated by various Agorakshanasabh (“cow protection leagues”) and “wandering ascetics” as a protest against the practice of beef-eating during the British
Ayodhya on the banks of the Sarayu river. A woman at her morning puja to a small shrine devoted to Rama and Sita at the river's edge. Boys play on the platforms built for groups of pilgrims in the background.
Sri Bade Hanuman Temple Mani Ram Das Chawni Marg, Janki Ghat, Ayodhya 224123, Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh state, India Pilgrims gather beneath the legs of a monumental Hanuman facade in Ayodhya. Hanuman is the leader of the monkey army that m
Sita ki Rasoi Temple, Ayodhya, India
Stairway to the Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya. The graffiti on the wall at the top of the stairs refers to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The ABVP is a right-wing Hindu nationalist student organization associated with the Rashtriya Swayam
Hanuman Garhi, Ayodhya Many sacred sites in India must be safeguarded against terrorism. Men in uniform with rifles and temple thresholds with metal detectors are a part of modern pilgrimage at the most revered holy places.
Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya, India A long line forms and worshippers of the famous monkey warrior from the Ramayana rush to offer flower garlands and prasad (boxes of sweets). Many vendors in the narrow alleyways at the base of the stairs that climb u
Hanuman Garhi, Ayodhya Parts of the image have been worn bare by the touch of devotees of the popular monkey god, Hanuman.
Shri Ram Janam Bhumi Nyas Karsewakpuram, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh 224123, India Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India. The proposed entrance to Rama's temple greets visitors to the fenced compound that holds
Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India. Ram Janmabhoomi  (literally, "Rama's birthplace") A group of Hindus visit the compound storing the decorated stones in stacks rising high above their heads. They
Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India. Portrait of the brothers that incited the riot leading to the destruction of the Babri Mosque.
Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India.
Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India. Unassembled temple stone piled high in the Ram Janmabhoomi courtyard sit homeless Rama's monkey army.
Karsevak Puram Workshop (The Ram Janmabhoomi temple movement), Ayodhya, India. Building made of bricks with the name Shri Rama.
Screen shot of YouTube video about the controversies in Ayodhya: The destruction of the mosque. The future fate of the disputed area is still being fought in the courts with no resolution coming anytime soon. The Hindutuva members have been rais
Narendra Modi performing Bhoomi Pujan at Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir.
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The Hindu devotional tradition teppam-utsava is a floating festival observed by the Tamil peoples of Southern India. Tanks found in many temples provide a place for worshippers to bath before entering the interior shrines. In the south, larger com
Wikipedia commons panorama of Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam by Arvin Sivaraj.
Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam: Google satellite image of the relative size of the tank in Madurai.
Hindu festivals in India are attended by massive crowds and moving within one is both an exhilarating and terrifying experience. Like being swept into the surging chaos of an ocean wave that pulls and pushes at you in the same moment, with such forc
Young girl, eating an ear of corn, lifted up on her father's shoulder to see above the crowd of tens of thousands of Hindus to see the Meenashki Sundareswarar Tempakulam festival in progress at Vandiyur Mariamman Tank in Madurai.
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In the center of the tank, there is a Mandapam called Maiya Mandapam (Central Mandapam) with a Ganesha temple and garden.  The float is pulled away from the central mandapam to circle the tank using 2 nylon ropes pulled from the mandapam aroun
The teppam (ceremonial float) contains Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswarar (Shiva).
The exit at the end of the ceremony can be just as harrowing as the arrival. A girl in a golden dress rides on the shoulders of her father and gets a goddess's view of the crowd.
The Golden Lily Tank at the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. The tank is no longer used for Hindus to bath before entering the holy areas of the temple complex. It does provide a pleasant, cool shaded area for quiet contemplation from the intense
Kaavadiya Bhats (story tellers) in Rajasthan use a Kaavad (a portable pilgrimage in a wooden box). The Kaavadiya Bhats go to patron's homes to recite stories from mythology.  The Kaavad illustrates a story with hinged panels that progressively
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Examples of pilgrimage routes around Varanasi
India's transgenders take first Kumbh Mela dip
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