Pilgrimages, Sacred Places and Pathway to “Reconnecting With Your Culture (RWYC)” Vol. 2

Abstract

The institution of pilgrimage to sacred places is an ancient and continuous tradition in most of the cultures. Pilgrimage is a sacramental process that symbolises the participation of the pilgrim in the spiritual realm and actively establishes a reciprocal relationship between the pilgrim and the divine; that’s how the transformation exists from ‘realisation’ to ‘revelation’. Pilgrimage as a rite of passage operates liminality, i.e., transitional space between the material world and the metaphysical reality. Sacred space, a destination in the pilgrimage system, is an extraordinary place where the sacred is linked to physical reality. The interrelatedness of sacred landscape combines the absoluteness of space, relativeness of places, and comprehensiveness of landscape, and all these altogether result in a ‘wholeness’ carrying the inherent and imposed spirit of ‘holiness’, called ‘sacredscapes’. Ultimately, the wholeness of the landscape creates a theosphere of ‘faithscape’ that encompasses sacred place, sacred time, sacred meanings, sacred functionaries, and sacred rituals and embodies both symbolic and tangible psyche elements in an attempt to realise humankind’s identity in the cosmos. Within the system of complex interconnectedness and interactions among cultures, heritage, and landscapes and their resultant attributes—all that are rooted in the past, together, we seek to search ways, paths, and means that are implied for framing and making a base for the UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 11.4, focussing on ‘Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. Together with community development, nature-based education, and pilgrimages to reveal the spirit of places are part of the cultural process of transformations. R W Y C - Reconnecting With Your Culture – is a visionary mission and movement, re- appraising interconnectedness between Locality and Universality – Holiness (humanity) to Wholeness (sublimity): Humanism to Spiritualism. The role of culture is vital to developing perspectives of shared and participatory policies and fostering the development of humanity through co-sharing ethics, spirituality, and the spirit of place