Religion is embraced as the relieving source of peace, fulfillment and protection, by the searching soul, which ardently longs for "Bliss". This overwhelming Mantra of Benediction - "SHANTI" inspires a devout individual to resort to pilgrimage. India demonstrates a plethora of pilgrimage-sites.

India celebrates "Unity in Diversity" in all aspects of life, be it religion, society, culture, education, economy and so on. Its awesome air of spirituality is marked by the multiplicity of gods and diverse religious beliefs, generating numerous strands, all wrought together into a knot of sameness in fundamental concepts. Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism have respective distinctness, and yet they share a commonness of principles that communicate the basic purpose of religion. Every religion has its own places of worship spread over the land. The confluence of religions adds variety to the kind of pilgrimage-spots, which attract pilgrims from all around the world.

The majestic peaks of the mighty Himalayas are invested with a heritage of holiness. The Himalayas serve as the exotic abode of the popular "Chardham" or four pilgrimage centers of Hinduism - Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Hindu Holy Scriptures affirm that journey to these sacred sites purge the pious pilgrim from the burden of sins and assuredly release him from the cycle of birth and death. The Hindu ritual of Parikrama recommends a route from left to right for the Chardham Yatra. Starting from the westernmost shrine of Yamunotri, one should progress into Gangotri , and then Kedarnath, before he reaches the finality of his spiritual voyage at Badrinath.

Amidst the picturesque Kedarnath range, stands one of the twelve "Jyotirlingas" of Kedar or Lord Shiva. Positioned at an altitude of 3584 mts, the Kedarnath shrine lies on the head of the river Mandakini. The present temple, erected by Adi Sankaracharya, is beside the old temple built by the historical Pandavas(characters of the epic, Mahabharata). The temple has a conical rock formation revered as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form. There is a "Garba Griha" for worship and also a Mandap for pilgrims and visitors. According to mythology, Lord Shiva assumed the appearance of a bull before the war-stressed Pandavas , seeking penitence for their sins .Bhima, the strongest of the Pandavas , identified Him. Lord Shiva plunged into the ground,leaving His tail in Bhima`s hands.The rest of Shiva`s body is spread to four other places in Garhwal- Tuganath, Madhyamaheswar, Kalpeshwar and Rudranath. These Five parts are worshipped as Panch Kedars.

Nestled in the twin mountain ranges of Nar and Narayan is the shrine of Badrinath, along of the left bank of river Alakananda . The main idol is of Lord Vishnu`s in a meditative posture. Legend reports that when Ganga was entreated to come down to earth, Her immense volume was split into twelve channels. Alakananda, is one of them, which later became the haven of Vishnu .

The celestial ice Shivalinga of Amarnath(145 km east of Srinagar in Kashmir) is a wonder for the amazed pilgrim who , reaches the glacial cave to experience the ethereal sublimity of the vision. The Shivalinga changes size with seasons, and lunar impacts.

The shrine of Vaishno Devi, cradled in the Trikuta mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, is one of the most famous pilgrim-locations of India. The shrine consists of one of the holy Pindis or body remnants of the Female Creative Power of the Universe, called Shakti by the ancient Vedic scriptures.

Haridwar , standing on the foothills of the Shivaliks, is considerd as the gateway to the four pilgrimages in the Uttarakhand region. The Ganga river leaves the mountains and enters first the plains of Haridwar. The general belief is that the Holy Trinity of Lord Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu blessed this place.

Rishikesh, situated in the northern part of Uttarakhand ,is known as the Tapo Bhumi or Place of Meditation. Mythologcal sources speak about the severe penance of Rishi Raibhya and his meeting with God , as the gift of his devotion. Again, Lord Vishnu , is said to have demolished the demon, Madhu , here.

Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh , is the birth-place of Lord Krishna, a history which gives a sacred character to the pilgrimage of Mathura.

Vrindavan is the nucleus for the Krishna cult. It is believed to be the land of love. People narrate that it was in the woods of Vrindavan that Lord Krishna reveled with the Gopis and passionately wooed His beloved, Radha.

The ancient city of Varanasi , beside the river Ganga, is the epicenter of Hinduism. We come across a rare but splendid synthesis of past and present cultures in Varanasi. The most important temple is the Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Climbing down to south of India , we have the microcosm of South Indian religious activity in the temple of Tirupati Balaji . It is on the southern banks of Swami Pushkarani, in Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh. The presiding God is Lord Venkateshwara. Varaha Purana states that Adi Varaha revealed himself as Swami Pushkarani, while Vishnu emerged in the shape of Venkateshwara, on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarani. It is a widely acclaimed belief, propagated by the Sastras , Puranas and the Alvar Hymns, that worship of Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkataswara is the only Path of achieving salvation in the Kali Yug or Dark Age.

Kanchipuram is regarded, as one of the Seven Sacred Cities of India .It was the historical capital of the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Rayas of Vijaynagar.

Mahabalipuram , globally recognized for its shore temples was the second capital of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. In the Shore Temple, built on a rocky outcrop, both Shiva and Vishnu are enshrined under one roof. Of the eight Rathas , five are named after the Pandavas, the mighty heroes of the epic , Mahabharata, and even their wife, Draupadi.

Chidambaram is the spiritual hive of the Shaiva(follower of Lord Shiva) and Vaishnavaite(follower of Lord Vishnu) pursuers. The temple shrine called Thirumoolanthar, is associated with the legend of the wholehearted meditation of the two sages, Vyagrapada and Patanjali, who worshipped it, with the utmost devotion.

The Rameshwaram Temple, at the island of Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu , is perched on the Gulf of Mannar. The worshipped deity is the Linga of Sri Ranganatha, a manifestation of Lord Shiva, and one of the Twelve Jyotirlingas of India. Rameshwaram is the place, from where Lord Rama, constructed a bridge to cross the sea, in order to save his dear wife, Sita from the clutches of the abductor, Ravana.

Arriving to the east of India, one is bound to yield to the religious sentiments of "Darshan" or perceiving God`s aura in the resplendent beaches of Puri, in Orissa . Puri`s Jagannath Temple is the consecrated seat of Lord Jagannath(Lord of the Universe and one of the Shades of Krishna), His Sacrosanct Sister, Subhodra, and His Brother Balaram, Who is Virtue personified. The popular idea revolving around the pilgrim-center of Puri is that a sojourn for three days and nights here, leads one to the procurement of "Moksha" or Salvation from the painful cycles of birth and rebirth.

The Sun Temple of Konark , spotted in the state of Orissa, is in vicinity to Puri .The Temple is the Holy Home of the Sun God or Surya.

The title "Cathedral of the East" is conferred upon the capital of the Orissa, Bhubaneshwar, for the abundance of shrines there. The Lingaraja Temple, built in the 11th Century, projects a half Shiva and a half Vishnu Linga, called the Hari-Hara Linga . This presiding deity is the Tribhubaneshwara, meaning the Lord of the Three Worlds. Other major attractions are the Muktesvara Temple, the Parsurameshwara Temple , Raj Rani Temple , the Brahmeshwara Temple and the Iskcon Temple.

The Shaktipeeth of Kalighat, the Temple of Kalighat in Kolkata, is present on the venue where the finger of Sati (a form of Shakti), fell. Again, in the outskirts of the city, across the Hooghly River, is the famous Kali Temple of Dakshineshwar. Here lived the Divine Incarnation, Sri Ramkrishna , a buzzing and enchanting truth, that invites people from all directions. On the other side of the River Hooghly or Ganga, is the spiritual serenity of Belur Math, renowned for its association with saints like Ramkrishna, his venerated wife, Maa(Mother ) Saroda and his devoted disciple, Swami Vivekananda.

The Parashnath Jain Temple ,set in the Shyambazar area of Kolkata, is an 150years old spiritual world, dedicated to the Sital Nath, the 10th of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras or Prophets.

Birthplaces of prophets like Nabadweep of Sri Chaitanya in the Nadia district , Jairambati of Saroda Maa and Kamarpukur of Sri Ramkrishna in the Hooghly district of Bengal continue to cast a spell of spiritual regeneration on the pilgrims who feel the touch of the holy soil.

Bodhgaya in Bihar has an eternal appeal to spirituality. It is the under the worshipped Bodhi Tree, where the hermit Gautama realized the Ultimate Truth and was spiritually reborn as Buddha, with the Enlightened Soul . The Mahabodhi Temple located in this particular site is of prime religious eminence, not only for the Buddhists, but also for the Hindus, who worship him as the ninth Avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu.

North of India, in Punjab, is the nerve center of Sikhism- the Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib of Amritsar. Sikhs from all over the world, regularly visit, to fervently pray the Ardas utterances before Sri Harmandir or Darbar Sahib. It is an embodiment of religious tolerance, which is the crux of Sikhism.

The high altitude Lokpal Lake in Uttar Pradesh, is the reverend Hemkund Sahib. There on the banks of the lake, the immortal tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, meditated on his earlier birth.

Spiritual inclination is , undoubtedly a salient feature of daily life, in a country like India, where the teeming millions , spread the message of devotion, love and tolerance, in the respect of one religion for the other, and often the participation of one into the spiritual exercise of the other.