The urge to go to India started as a quiet thought after a friend described a trip he’d taken with “like-minded seekers.” They’d studied ancient wisdom at ashrams, traversed rustic terrain to sacred sites, and meditated in temples where the air was thick with sandalwood incense and the black granite floor was worn smooth by centuries of barefoot visitors.
I want that, I thought, without really knowing why. Sure, I was digging the effects of my then-year-old mantra-based meditation practice that had its roots in India, but I didn’t consider myself a seeker, nor was I interested in diving into dogma.
That undeniable primal urge led me to a teacher taking a group to India for a retreat and “spiritual tourism” in the “Yoga and Meditation Capital of the World.” I signed up immediately, even though I knew nobody else going and our destination had a name I couldn’t pronounce or spell (Rishikesh, in the Northern Indian state of Uttarakhand).
Without realizing it, I had decided to make a pilgrimage. And I was a half-dozen years early to the pilgrim party: this year’s Global Wellness Trends Report notes that thanks to a record number of fresh and revitalized pilgrimage trails worldwide, a new generation of people is leaving their homes to partake in this age-old, soul-searching form of travel.
The best part of the modern pilgrimage is it doesn’t have to be far-flung, nor does it have to be an exercise in extreme personal prostration. All it takes is something that comes more naturally to us at midlife: the drive to pursue more meaningful and purposeful paths.
The Pilgrim’s Progress
We all have an idea of what a pilgrim is, ingrained in our minds from when we were old enough to make handprint turkeys wearing black top hats. Or perhaps your religion encourages sacred journeys to places like Jerusalem or Mecca — something that Thomas Cook first capitalized on in 1886 when his company became the official British travel agent for the Hajj pilgrimage, the fifth pillar of Islam.
While traditionally, such expeditions were taken for religious or commercial purposes, today’s pilgrims — products of a 24/7, post-pandemic world — are answering a different call: the desire to connect with a deeper sense of self.
As journalist Aatish Taseer explains from his own experience of a pilgrimage year:
The true lesson of pilgrimage in a secular context instructs us to set out into the world with a questing spirit that is unafraid of looking without finding, allowing curiosity, sympathy, and self-improvement to do the work of faith.
So, how do you know when you’re a pilgrim vs. a tourist? When “looking without finding” is the objective, you know you’re on the right path.
Follow Your Inner Compass
In deciding where to, you might turn to your faith, culture, or ancestry as a starting point. For example, you might choose one of two UNESCO pilgrimage routes: the West’s classic trek, the Camino De Santiago (choosing between nine popular trails that all end at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain), or the East’s Kumano Kodō in the mountains of Japan’s Honshu’s Kii Peninsula (a 1,000-year-old trail with three sacred shrines).
While a quick Google search can help you discover the best spiritual pilgrimages or at least read captivating descriptions of other’s explorations (i.e., Taseer’s journey to Bolivia, Mongolia, and Iraq), like any opportunity for personal growth, selecting your sojourn is an inside job.
As writer and modern pilgrim, Pico Iyer explains:
I’ve taken my pilgrimages in every direction of my inner compass and every corner of the shrine I carry around inside me. Our souls are always traveling, and whatever we find in Jerusalem, we could as easily find at home, yet the very fact of moving quickens our attention and overthrows our habits in a way that leaves us wide awake to what we might otherwise take for granted.
So, the question becomes, what piques your curiosity and starts your engine?
Was there a place or time that fascinated you as a kid that still lives in your imagination (Stonehenge, for example)?
Is there a physical trek that beckons to you, like climbing a mountain (say, the Mount Kailash Trail in Tibet) or walking or cycling across epic terrain (i.e., the Via Francigena from Canterbury, England, through France and Switzerland, ending in Rome, Italy)?
What’s on your bucket list? (Hint: Pilgrims aren’t afraid to prioritize visiting meaningful places. So, if you’re still waiting for “someday,” maybe it’s time to put fear and procrastination on your “chuck it” list.)
Unlike other trips with no agenda beyond laying on a beach or, conversely, a rigid itinerary focused on a laundry list of tourist sites, the modern pilgrimage provides a bit of both. It’s the opportunity to let your body and mind wander from daily demands, commune with nature, and see some of the world’s wonders.
Sentimental Journey
While so far I’ve mentioned places that take planes, trains, automobiles, and perhaps a donkey or a sherpa to reach, you don’t have to traverse oceans to make a pilgrimage. In fact, local nostalgic getaways top the list of places 88% of people reportedly want to go.
As research shows, we people of a certain age long to revisit simpler, more carefree times. Luckily, this desire is easily fulfilled in your own backyard. For example, America’s National Park Service encourages you to make pilgrimages to our 63 national parks with their “National Parks Passport Program.” Bonus: You’ll not only be able to travel back to prehistoric times (i.e., Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park), but you can also see things that, sadly, might be on their way to extinction (i.e., Alaska’s five Arctic parks).
So, whether you travel back in time to a favorite childhood locale, road trip to all your favorite sport’s arenas (a baller move), or visit a pop culture hero’s home, a trip down memory lane can be an entirely fulfilling pilgrimage.
One More From the Road
At its core, the pilgrimage is a quest to connect with something larger than yourself. You might call it God, Spirit, or Nature; the words don’t matter, but the opportunity to expand your consciousness does.
Last year, I went to India for a second time, this time to the South, from Kerala to Mumbai. Our group made multiple spiritual journeys, from a 14 km circumambulation of Mount Arunachala, a pilgrimage people are said to have been making since 1500 BCE, to sitting in contemplative silence in Matrimandir, a jaw-dropping golden geodesic dome built by the modern sage, “The Mother” (completed in 2008). Everywhere we went, divine inspiration abounded.
Still, the most awe-inspiring aspect of the trip was observing the serenity on the faces of pilgrims whose faith led them to walk for days, weeks, and even months for the privilege of putting their feet on the sand, stone, or soil of such sacred places.
I want that, was once again on my mind as the trip began to wind down.
And then, my dear friend and fellow Shakti Sister Diana and I embarked on our own special pilgrimage. Our meditation teacher, Jeff Kober, had asked us to deliver a copy of his book, Embracing Bliss, to his 80-year-old guru and friend, Mary Premila Boseman.
Mary was once a pilgrim, traveling from England to India in the 1960s. Ultimately, she decided to end her pilgrimage and relocate to Pondicherry, making her career translating literature and scholarly texts into English so Westerners could access Eastern history and wisdom. Mary was pivotal in Jeff’s decision to teach meditation, but he had lost touch with her over the years. They happily reconnected to arrange our visit.
Finding Mary was its own odyssey, as she only occasionally answered emails or phone calls. But miraculously, we made it to her home for tea and cookies and spent a fascinating couple of hours chatting with her. There was an energy emanating from her that I can only describe as love and light. When we left, I felt something in me had shifted, thanks to sitting with someone who was at once modern and ancient in her pursuits, beliefs, and sensibilities.
And then it hit me: the point of a pilgrimage isn’t about what you can get; it’s about showing up to see what you can give. Your time, attention, interest, and reverence, for example.
A week after we returned from India, Jeff got a call from Mary’s daughter informing him that her mom had unexpectedly died. The timing of our visit felt prescient and magical, and it filled me with a sense of gratitude and peace that I’ve carried with me ever since.
While all travel can be transformational, the modern pilgrimage is both an internal and an external expedition. And the beauty of it is that the journey is the destination.
Further exploration:
The Enduring, Transformational Power of Pilgrimage (New York Times gift article)
The Pilgrim’s Way: Series by Pico Iyer on Sam Harris’ Waking Up app (here’s a free month of the app)
