When does a pilgrimage end?

A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place with religious significance. It generally ends when the holy place is reached. The pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain has an unusual add-on. Many pilgrims continue to Finistere (the end of the world) on the Atlantic coast, something I did not have time to do when I walked to Santiago in 2005.



I named my journey from the outset ‘a pilgrimage in search of self’, a search for ‘a home within’. I traveled to many holy sites belonging to various religions during this journey. At one such site, the birthplace of Buddha in Nepal, a profound insight came to my awareness. The insight was a directive of how to return to ‘home within’ whenever I lost my connection with Self. It felt as if I reached a natural end of my pilgrimage.



I continued to visit many more holy sites, but I began to notice how certain religious activities began to bother me. One such irritant would be the (ab)use of amplifiers, as if louder meant holier. I believe that scriptures, prayers, and sacred chants posses inherent and potent resonance, which gets lost when distorted by amplification to an excruciatingly painful sound level. In the process many are forced to listen to whatever is being broadcast against their will. This surely is not what the creators had intended.



I began to realise that it was time for me to get away from such irritants and surround myself with a more nurturing environment. I got on a plane, skipping many a long train and bus journey. Off to the beaches of Goa I went, without any further ado, bypassing the hectic and polluted cities of Ahmedabad and Mumbai and many ‘must see’ sites in between.


Ah, how soothing the sound of the waves breaking on the shore
(A natural mantra for the soul that does not require religious manipulation)
Ah, how invigorating the refreshing salty waters of the biggest spa in the world
(How can anyone ever claim that such essence can be captured in a bottle?)
Ah, how soothing to stare across the ocean into the vast expanse of emptiness
(Void of cultural, religious and individual ego’s)



After visiting so many holy sites, being by the ocean has become more than just a holiday destination for me. It has also become a place where I can spiritually recharge, connect with Self and observe egoless emptiness while listening to the mantra of waves. Maybe El Camino de Santiago continues beyond the holy site where the bones of St. James are kept, so pilgrims have an opportunity to discover and experience the essence of the ocean and possibly more.



As a child I was blessed with bronchitis and was prescribed summers on the beach by the doctor as a cure (oh what a clever man). At the age of six my bronchitis was gone, but the summer trips to the ocean with the family to Egmond aan Zee on the Dutch coast had luckily become tradition by then. I felt at home at the beach, home as in the elusive ‘home within’, I have been searching for this journey. The beach is where I was allowed to just be, all day long, without question or ridicule, without critique or censorship, be one with the elements, be in my element, creating, building, be one with myself.



I cannot help notice that is since I reached the ocean I am no longer ill, as if I turned 6 again. For months I suffered from colds, flu’s, fevers and chest infections (all perpetuated by overdoses of dust and pollution). Now I swim daily and feel my body and immune system regaining strength day by day. I am done filming and ready to start editing my film. But first I will take a good break and just practice some more being ‘at home’, being one with what the ocean has to offer.



A departure date to the southern hemisphere has been set, not quite heading for New Zealand, the place from where I embarked on this journey, as I am not convinced yet if that should become my physical home again. My next port of call after India will be Australia.