Q: How important is to visit places like Kailasha, Dwadash Jyotirling, Mansarovar? Can we generate good karmas by visiting these places; I believe that god is everywhere. My mother is 70 years old, she wishes to visit these pilgrimages, I am open minded, but last time when we visit Triyambakeshwar, the actual Shiva Linga was just seen by us for 2-3 seconds and we were just pushed around, so much… I am loosing kind of my faith and please guide me.

A: Your questions that is there any role played by undertaking pilgrimages, if someone is on the path of spiritual progress. Well the answer is yes and no. But as it happened with you, you went to Triyambakeshwar, even if I would be at your place, I would also be very dejected and would be discouraged to take another pilgrimage, where you were just pushed out of the Centrum after few seconds and you had traveled for hours and hours to reach that spot and spent so much money to reach at that spot.

See, my take on this is that you can do your prayer, wherever you are, your home can be your (twist) temple. All these pilgrimages are holy just because of the great vibrations which are there, which means that certain individual had meditated over there and that ordinary place got elevated to a pilgrimage center but why can’t we do the same thing where we reside, where we are living. Meditate everyday, pray everyday at your home, choose a corner or a room and beautify it as a temple. Put some good pictures of the deities whom you love and adore and very religiously morning, evening, you sit and pray, let your mom sit and pray over there and convert this corner of your house in a great pilgrimage center. That’s the advice which I gave to you.