Pilgrimage to India

• Verfasst von: Śuklā, Uṣa [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Pilgrimage to India
• Titelzusatz: experiences of South African Hindi speaking Hindus
• Jahr: 2013
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Nidān
• Ort Quelle: Durban : Univ., 1989
• Jahr Quelle: 2013
• Band/Heft Quelle: 25(2013), 1, Seite 1-20
• ISSN Quelle: 2414-8636
• DOI: doi:10.58125/nidan.2013.1
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: Development
• Sach-SW: Devotion
• Sach-SW: Murti
• Sach-SW: Pilgrimage
• Sach-SW: Tirtha
• Sach-SW: transformation
• K10plus-PPN: 1839592907
• K10plus-PPN: CATS / Abt. Südasien
• Bibliothek/Idn: SA / m4344913329
• Lokale URL Inst.: Zum Volltext

Abstract

Pilgrimage is part of the Hindu social-religious structure since ancient times; over time it has become integrated into general recreational tourism. To South Africa's Hindi speaking Hindus India is the "Holy Land" or Spiritual Motherland, as it has always been for the native Hindus. Beginning in the earlier part of the 20th Century with pilgrimage to (inter alia) the Four Spiritual Centres (dhams) and the four maths established by Shankaracharya in the 9th Century C.E., the Hindu tourist still enjoys the spiritual visit to India with the advantage of greater variety of destinations as well as comforts. This ethnographic study will approach the Hindi speaking South African Hindu's travel to India from the Hindu theological point of view in order to elicit the experiences of the pilgrims and their impact on them. Using the grounded theory method (Babbie & Mouton 2008: 498) qualitative research will be undertaken through in-depth interviews with Hindi speaking Hindus in order to gauge their involvement in the ancestral religio-cultural spiritual values and with places in India associated with these. Discussion pays attention to the participants' spiritual perspectives and also takes account of the facilities offered by modern tourism to the pilgrims. As such the paper deals with both the spiritual as well as secular aspects of Hindu pilgrimage.