PILGRIMAGES AND PATHWAY TO RWYC (RECONNECTING WITH YOUR CULTURE): SCENARIO AND MESSAGES

Pilgrimage is a global human phenomenon spanning cultures, religions, and continents that
developed in the ancient past and continued over time, recording the absorption of different facets of
time and various niches of transformation. Some pilgrimage places attract millions of pilgrims
annually, creating an important ‘spiritual tourism’ industry, such as the Hajj pilgrimage at Meccah
and the Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj (India). Under the purview of tourism as one of the most vibrant
industries and ways of an international movement, the process of heritagisation is now becoming
popular under the umbrella of secularism and sustainable development. The new missionary
movement of RWYC (Reconnecting With Your Culture) supports enhancing the local cultural
traditions to serve the global society and maintain a harmonious life. An attempt is made here to
present spatial and cultural dimensions of pilgrimages and a critical appraisal of the theoretical
constructions, like hierophany, sacredscapes, transcendence of space, sacrality of space and time, and
temporality of space. This paper attempts to integrate two layers, i.e., locality and globality; it
proposes a framework for a pilgrimage system that serves global ordering, illustrated with case
studies from India, especially the Kumbha Mela.