A couple of classes we talked about another pilgrimage known as the pilgrimage to Varanasi or Benares. \u00a0This type of pilgrimage takes place in India along the Ganges River. \u00a0Like all of the other pilgrimages we have learned about, this is also a walking pilgrimage. \u00a0Within this pilgrimage there are five smaller pilgrimages. \u00a0The largest one is 168 miles in a round trip. \u00a0The second is 55 miles and takes about 5 days with about 100 or more stopping points. \u00a0The 3rd trip is 15 miles, which is the entire city of Varanasi or Benares. \u00a0The 4th is in 72 shrines inside the city. \u00a0And the last one is in the temple itself called Vishveshvara Temple. \u00a0This temple is also where all of the pilgrimages start. \u00a0Inside of the temple there are 72 shrines and you go around to each of these to complete the pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
This type of pilgrimage is circular and is related to the view that things don’t have a beginning and end but are born and reborn again and again. \u00a0They have different axis mundis they worship on this pilgrimage known as, Puja which is an individual God one worships, Vishveshvara, which are the steps that lead down to the Ganges River, and another is a Lingum, which stands for a giant stone penis which is symbolic because it represents fertilization and birth.<\/p>\n
So in one class we learned all of the information about what the Pilgrimage to Varanasi or Benares was and what took place and then in one of the next classes we actually got to watch a video on in which helped really lock in the information.<\/p>\n
This to me was a very interesting pilgrimages to learn about because it wasn’t like other pilgrimages we had learned about. \u00a0The people didn’t travel to other places outside of their country to complete this pilgrimage, which was the biggest difference I recognized when learning about this pilgrimage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A couple of classes we talked about another pilgrimage known as the pilgrimage to Varanasi or Benares. \u00a0This type of pilgrimage takes place in India along the Ganges River. \u00a0Like all of the other pilgrimages we have learned about, this … Continue reading