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Religious Tourism

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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Religious tourism or pilgrimage unlike tourism which is an outer journey in geographical space primarily for the purpose of pleasure seeking or curiosity is in the traditional sense an inner journey manifest in exterior space in which the immanent and the transcendent together form a complex phenomenon [1]. Generally speaking, human beings need both – outward and inward journeys. Hinduism, or more appropriately Sanātana Dharma (“the eternal religion”), has a strong and ancient tradition of pilgrimage, known as tirtha-yātrā (“tour of the sacred fords”), which formerly connoted pilgrimage involving holy baths in water bodies as a symbolic purification ritual. Faith is central to the desires, vows, and acts associated with pilgrimage, and pilgrimage is a process whereby people attempt to understand the cosmos around them [1]. The number of Hindu sanctuaries in India is so large and the practice of pilgrimage so ubiquitous that the whole of India can be regarded as a vast sacred space...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity University, Noida, India

    Veenus Jain

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  1. Veenus Jain
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Correspondence to Veenus Jain .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Jain, V. (2018). Religious Tourism. In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_218-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_218-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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