What makes a place a site for pilgrimage?
Holy places of pilgrimage are either the birthplaces of prophets and saints or the places where they practiced spiritual austerities and attained perfection. It is not the waters or idols of a place, or its temples or sanctuaries or architecture, or the natural scenery that makes the place holy. A place becomes holy by the deposits of spiritual vibrations left by prophets and saints who lived or visited there, and the spiritual memories and history associated with that place. What is the meaning of pilgrimage? Pilgrimage has two aspects: a visit to the external place of pilgrimage and the internal place envisioned by the pilgrim. Varanasi, the great place of pilgrimage for Hindus, is not the geographical city of Varanasi but the golden Varanasi illumined by the presence of the Lord and the holiness of prophets and saints. Visiting that golden Varanasi is more internal than external. Sri Ramakrishna had a vision at Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat, where bodies are cremated. He saw Lord Shiv
