PrabhuBhakti Blog

According to Hinduism, the life of a man is divided into four stages, also known as Ashramas. This age based social system is mentioned in Manusmriti. In ancient times, average human life is considered to be of hundred years. The system of Ashramas is equally divided in order to fulfill one’s needs according to the age.

The first Ashrama is Brahmacharya. In this stage a boy starts his life as a student and leads his life away from his home, in Gurukula. He prepares for the future life which is after the age of 25. He is known as Brahmachari and he masters skills to earn a living when he leaves his Gurukula. After Brahmacharya, it is Grihastha ashrama.  This period is from the age of 25 to 50, where a man lives looking after his wife, children and family. He enjoys worldly pleasures and works for a living.

The third ashrama is Vanaprastha where the man completes his duties as a householder and gradually comes away from the worldly pleasures. He prepares for his renunciation in the fourth stage. This lasts from 50 to 75. The last stage Sanyasa, from 75 to 100, a man completely disconnects from the material world and spends time meditating, in order to attain moksha.

Badrinath is one of the famous sites for Hindu pilgrimages. Read more about the place on Prabhubhakti.

Unity in diversity adds to the beauty of people of India and this diversity in customs and traditions followed by Indians since ages have contributed significantly in shaping up Hinduism and various Hindu rituals. Interaction between the members of different ethnicities resulted in creation of “Vedism” which believes in worshipping the trinity of Rain, Sun and Fire Gods. In course of time, a wide variety of religious beliefs and customs, ranging from the simple animistic worship of nature spirits in the rock, tree and river to highly codified rituals, carved their niches in the liberal platform of Hinduism.

This interesting co-existence of two approaches has left its impact on Hindu pilgrimages;. Hindu Pilgrimages are often located at the heart of the nature with the presence of one or many of the natural objects like caves, rivers etc which shows the animistic philosophy followed by the Hindu. Importance of rituals, the second important approach of Hinduism practitioners can be observed by travelling to Hindu pilgrimages.

Shiva the destroyer, Vishnu the nurturer and Shakti the creator are three main gods worshipped by the modern Hindu religious devotees. Hindu sacred places are often linked with the blessings of this trinity worshipped by the majority of devotees. Rameswaram and Tirupati in the South, Puri in the East, Badrinath, Vrindaban, Haridwar and Kumbh Mela in the North are associated with the power and glory of Lord Vishnu or His incarnations. Similarly, Lord Shiva is believed to dwell and bless the devotees visiting the sacred shrines of Kedarnath and Amarnath. Shakti, another of the main Hindu gods is associated with the holy Viashno devi cave. Balaji is another popular destination for pilgrims who believe in Lord Hanuman and sing his praise through Hanuman Chalisa.

Among the other sought after Hindu pilgrimage sites, the notable are Gangotri and Yamunatri, the sources of rivers Ganga and Yamuna respectively. The other major places of Hindu Pilgrimage include Varanasi, Nava Graha Sthala temples of nine planets, Maths started by Sri Shankracharya , the shakti peeth temples, Panch Bhutha linga temple and yes visit to 7 religious rivers of India namely Ganga , Yamuna , Godavari, Saraswati, Sarayu, Kaveri and Narmada.