Apart from the gorgeous mountains and soothing beaches, India is known for its diversity and spirituality. With so many temples and ashrams of religious importance, you never fall short of places to visit for a spiritual awakening. In fact, a lot of these places are also designed in such a way that you find peace by just setting foot here. There is no dearth of spiritual places in India, but there certainly are some that see more devotees and tourists comparatively. Be it the Jagannath Temple in Puri or Kashi in Varanasi or Auroville in Pondicherry, there are a lot of spiritual destinations in India for you to explore.
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is known for its marvellous architecture and as one of the important pilgrimages in the Char Dham Yatra. The temple sees a lot of pilgrims and devotees throughout the year. If you plan to visit the temple, make sure you are just in time for the Rath Yatra festival in June. It is one of the top spiritual places in India, and you wouldn’t want to miss it at all.
The Kumbh Mela is a very popular fair that takes place in one of the four major cities, Haridwar, Prayag, Nashik and Ujjain, on a rotational basis. It is one of the most popular spiritual experiences in the country and sees the highest number of crowd gathering every time it is being hosted. In fact, the Kumbh Mela that was hosted in 2013 in Prayag holds the record for the highest attendance. It had more than 30 million pilgrims paying a visit on one single day.
The Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Not only is it one of the largest temples in South India, but it is also an architectural marvel. The temple has been built in such a way that its shadow does not fall on the ground. The temple has no shadows and tourists find themselves marvelling at this fact every time they visit the temple.
The Meenakshi temple in Madurai is extremely popular and is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, also called Meenakshi. You will find two different shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, also called Sundareswarar, and goddess Meenakshi. According to mythology, goddess Parvati was born as Meenakshi to the king of Madurai and went on to marry Lord Shiva. Their union was celebrated with great pomp, and Lord Vishnu gave Meenakshi away at her wedding as her brother. It is believed that if you apply the vermilion from the temple after performing your puja, your prayers pertaining to your spouse are heard.
The Srirangam Temple in Trichy is another spiritual place in India that you must visit. It is considered to be the first of the 108 Vishnu temples and is also the most illustrious Vaishnava temples in the world. It is quite popular among devotees, and you must attend the Vaikuntha Ekadasi puja that happens here. It is the largest temple compound in India and the largest religious complexes in the world. The temple has a naturally peaceful ambience, and you somehow manage to forget all about your troubles here.
Also known as the Velankanni Church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is a very popular spiritual destination in India. People from all over the country pay a visit to the church since it is believed that Mother Mary cures her devotees of their illnesses here. The church also sees international pilgrims every year on the annual Feast of Our Lady of Good Health.
Varanasi, also called Kashi, is one of the best spiritual places in India and the most popular one, too. It is said that the 'City of Gods' was founded by Lord Shiva himself. It is home to a lot of saints and sanyasis in the country. The city also has devotees and tourists from all over the world every year. If you happen to visit Varanasi for a spiritual awakening, do not miss the aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. It is a sight to behold.
The Golden Temple is an important place of worship for the Sikhs but is open to devotees of every faith and religion. The shrine is laid with actual gold, and the temple has the kind of vibe that radiates positivity. The langar here is famous all over the country and feeds close to one lakh people every day. It’s a spiritual experience like no other!
The Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh is the largest Buddhist monastery in the country and second-largest in the world. The monastery draws a huge crowd from across the world every year and has a lot of spiritual seekers finding peace here.
Auroville in Pondicherry is another one of the best spiritual places in the country. The place is not dedicated to any religion in particular and just focuses on human unity. The community was founded by spiritual Guru Mirra Alfassa in the 1960s and attracts people worldwide.
Every spiritual destination in India is rich in mythological stories and history. Make sure you also find out everything you can about the places when you visit them. After all, it is enlightenment that we seek, even from spirituality.
