Modern pilgrims have access to, perhaps, all places of worship revered by the leading religions of the world — Orthodox Optina Pustyn and Italian Bari, Hindu Benares and Buddhist Sarnath, the Vatican, Jerusalem, Mecca (the latter is strictly for Muslims) … Travel agencies are increasingly taking over the organization of trips . Visas, tickets, a convenient transfer, a knowledgeable guide — such a pilgrimage promises to be dynamic and comfortable. There is only one question: what is it for?
Approach the shrine. “The goals of pilgrims today are different, as, indeed, in former times,” the philosopher and religious scholar Boris Falikov is sure. — Some dream of a miracle for themselves or for loved ones. Others want to be convinced of the reality of the Sacred History, others want to participate in the ritual and strengthen their faith. New ones have been added to the traditional pilgrims: they are still only looking for faith (sometimes within several religions), so they actively pray, meditate, communicate with a priest or guru.” “First, I visited the Spanish Santiago de Compostela, getting there along the famous pilgrim trail,” says 27-year-old Muscovite Igor. — Then I went to Thailand, I wanted to feel the Buddhist atmosphere. After that, meditation, which I did to relieve stress, became for me not just a psychotechnic, but something more.” How deep are these changes? “If a person, having felt the changes, began to treat his neighbors better, found inner peace, then his spiritual experience was genuine,” comments Boris Falikov. “At least, that’s what one of the founders of the psychology of religion, William James, thought.”
Open up to something more. “I considered myself a secular person until I went to Jerusalem to visit childhood friends,” Anna, 40, admits. “The steps of the Old City turned out to be literally steps towards themselves: the trip opened another me, awakened in me a faith that I didn’t even suspect.” “In themselves, holy places, cult objects are not a guarantee of gaining spiritual experience,” the Jungian analyst Lev Khegai is convinced. – The main thing is to have a question and be open to any answer. And the meaning of what happened to us is often realized much later. “When such a“ reconfiguration of the heart ”occurs, when priorities change, attitudes towards life change, even the very acceptance of these changes takes time,” Anna agrees. “And I didn’t feel the significance of that trip right away.”
Start inner work. The essence of spiritual development is not in the assimilation of a certain dogma or canon, but in some kind of internal «pilgrimage», the continuous transformation of the individual towards greater integrity. And if so, it is reasonable to ask the question: do I really need external changes for internal work? And why not try to establish a dialogue with my Self (something greater in us) where I am, repeating after Seraphim of Sarov: “Everything is here: Athos, and Jerusalem, and Kyiv!”*
* N. Gorbacheva «Seraphim of Sarov» (Olympus, 1999).