Some religious walks in various faiths
RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Religious walks are considered as religious rituals by various faiths and modern spiritual prospective. Good examples are “Hindus` festival of Kumbh Mela held once every twelve years at four locations in India, at which pilgrims bathe in the waters of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers, Buddhists` temple called Sensoji in Japan visited by about 20 million pilgrims every year, Christians` annual mourning day in Vatican to mark the anniversary day of Jesus` crucify and the Jews` Friday worship next to the wall of Nadba in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Religious walks are one of the most special human activities. According to some scientists and physiologists regular walks in general and walks on quiet and long roads in suburbs in particular opens human brains and strengthens his spiritual status. Pilgrims attending religious walks are going to make significant spiritual achievements.
Religious walks are not limited to Shias` Arbaeen; Religious walks are considered as religious rituals by various faiths and modern spiritual prospective; it means going beyond yourself and sinking beyond a concept much bigger than yourself.
Religious tourisms are taken by those who seek spiritual purification and acquiring spiritual privileges.
Below, some famous religious walks in the world are reviewed;
Kumbh Mela, Lovers of river
Kumbh Mela as the biggest religious mass congregation brings almost a hundred million Indian believers from inside and outside of India to a sacred water of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers. This pilgrimage lasts two months and as the statistics say more than a hundred and fifty million Hindus have attended Kumbh Mela over the past recent years. It is held every three years and sometimes some casualties are reported during the festival due to over population.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass congregation of pilgrims who gather to take a bath/dip in a sacred river. It is celebrated four times every 12 years.
The festival of Kumbh is not a festival of market or fair, instead it is a festival of knowledge, asceticism and devotion. The Ganges and Jumna Rivers are considered as a holy river. It is believed bath in this river can erase the sins forever. Ashes of dead (Indian remarkable religious and other types figures) are also thrown in the river. During the pandemic(KOVID-19) when there were shortages of cremate some dead bodies were thrown in the river causing some problems. The pilgrims come from all walks of life, travelling long distances and tolerating many physical discomforts, such as sleeping in the open air in near freezing weather. They undergo such difficulties just to receive the benefit of taking a bath in the sacred river at Kumbh Mela and to meet the great saints.
The devotees and visitors believe this festival is in fact marking victory of Gods against devils. Kumbh Mela is celebrated in the seashore of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers periodically.
Sabarimala Temple, challenging paths
India with an overwhelming population is rich in religious festivals. Most religious festivals are overcrowded and devotees and visitors take long distance walk to attend in. Sabarimala Temple annually gathers millions of Hindus. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world, with an estimate of over 70 million devotees visiting every year. The temple is located in Kerala province of India. The festival has different circles held periodically. At the end, devotees and visitors walk in roads. The mass sometimes causes some casualties. Since the temple leading path is too narrow for big mass, the devotees and visitors when facing
With overwhelming crowd devotees get scared and run over each other. In a terrible accident some years ago near 108 visitors lost their lives.
Arbaeen, following pathfinder’s pillars
Arbaeen as one of the most religious walk in the world brings annually millions of Shia pilgrims together in Karbala, Iraq. Arbaeen with no doubt is a unique world religious mass congregation. Whether the Ganges ceremony in India or Arbaeen is the biggest gathering of the world is doubted. But Arbaeen is distinguished with how often it is held; Arbaeen is an annual religious walk but Kumbh Mela is every three-year festival. Arbaeen, if called the biggest religious ceremony in the world, really deserves the title. Arbaeen is not devoted to Shia; some devotees and pilgrims from Sunni Muslim sect and believers with other religions from inside and outside of Iraq also attend the ceremony. Arbaeen is marked in a walk ceremony takes place in a road marked by pillars, a leading road of Najaf to Karbala. Arbaeen existed over the history but it was largely celebrated after the overthrow of Saddam in Iraq. Taking the challenges and security risks, the pilgrims take to attend Arbaeen walk, into account one should experience Arbaeen to understand the beliefs of pilgrims, mainly Shia.
Santiago route; Visiting the Cathedral
Christianity also has “holy routes and spiritual walk” concepts. “Santiago Route” in Spain can best exemplifies religious walk with its ancient history, dating back to medieval ages. This historical route leads to church in north-west of Spain, the church serves as a holy site for Christians. In 2017, almost 300 thousand pilgrims took this spiritual trip. The Camino de Santiago ( the Way of St. James) is a network of pilgrims’ ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.
For the first time in 19th century, a group of pilgrims walked along this religious route. The book “Memories of a Scholar” by Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian author, tells the stories of the visiting scholar`s experiences. Iranians got to know the custom in ancient Spain and France with the help of the book. There are also some other similar religious walk in Christianity.
Other Schools of Thought, a site to visit
Of course, all spiritual and religious walks in the world are not limited in above examples. There are still other cases. In Christianity, there are other rituals similar to the Santiago Route. The routes leading to the Cathedral can pass through different countries. The day the Jesus was crucified is celebrated by Christians. They go to Vatican to attend the ceremony of stone`s sanctify, the stone is believed to be stained by a drop of the Jesus. Buddhists also have a temple called Sensuji in Japan, which annually attracts about 20 million pilgrims from all over the world.
Jewish, also, has some religious walks. Besides Arbaeen, there are two other mass congregations in Islam. One is Hajj pilgrimage and the other is “Razawi Walk”, initiated in recent years, took place on last days of September. During the Razawi walk pilgrimage take a domestic foot tripe to Mashhad. Religious rituals in Latin America known as Indians` rituals also contain such religious walk. The religious walks are introduced in some relevant books.
Conclusion
Hindus attend Kumbh Mela each year to have their sins forgave; they bath in a sacred water of the Ganges and Jumna Rivers. More than a hundred million devotees and visitors, over two months, attend the ceremony. Hindus also have the Sabarimala Temple ceremony in which annually more than 70 million visitors attend. Buddhists` Sensuji temple absorbs twenty million devotees each year.
Buddhists also have a temple called Sensuji in Japan, which has about 20 million pilgrims every year. Christians also mourn in the Vatican annually on the day they believe Jesus was crucified, and ask for sanctity from a stone that, according to their religious sources, has a drop of Jesus`s blood. Jews attend praying ceremony by standing infron of a wall called Nadba wall, a heritage of Solomon’s Temple after the destruction by the Romans. Although all religions have religious walk and mass congregations in common, the lack of a remarkable-glorious mass congregation that shows religious power, in the current democratic world, in a faith is deeply felt.