Spiritual journeys are defined by an indeterminate purpose and momentous experiences. This has held true through civilizations. The purposes of ancient pilgrimages and related phenomenon were as diverse as, and perhaps similar to, present day trends. For instance, the Greeks travelled to sanctuaries to consult oracles, attend festivals, make sacrifices, watch Pan-hellenic games and seek cures. Reasons for travel can be prescriptive, personal or a combination of both. Travel, in the Islamic faith, is almost a commandment for Fi-Sabilillah (the cause of God) - which makes it spiritually purposeful - in that people (especially Muslims) may experience ‘the smallness of man and the greatness of God' through the bounties and beauties of His creations. Hindu pilgrimages are usually subscribed for darshana (visit or site) of an auspicious and/or sacred place or shrine, vrata (make or fulfill a vow), snana (ritual bath), shraddha (homage), daana (offerings) and punya (earning merit) or nirvana (salvations). Pilgrims are thus motivated by a societal, personal or religious interest to visit specific places. When, or whether, the societal intent becomes personal or the interest converts into a need varies with individuals.

Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian pilgrims, on the other hand, undertake journeys with a desire to experience places and paths where holy people had traversed, rested, resided, renunciated, arrived or performed miracles. Sites, such as the burning bush on Mount Sinai (Israel), Gaya in India, Garden of Gethsemane (Jerusalem), Pei-kang in Taiwan, are venues for those with a personal conviction of the sanctity of the place. Such pilgrimages become extraordinarily meaningful, while the experiences of the pilgrims render the locations into places of learning, education and transformation. Though the experiences are heterogenic, they are definitely indicative of the fact that a spiritual journey is as much internally moving as it is physically - in that it is ‘not only a matter of the feet, but also a matter of the heart' - or that of the mind as evidenced in the works of many literary compositions. This enlightenment from pilgrimages may be triggered by any incident, engagement or a self-disciplining regimen like abstinence from certain foods or lifestyle, humility, prohibition, interaction/participation, challenge of observances or plain physical movement or sightseeing, or a combination thereof.

In the transformative experience, the fusion of the inner with the outer, the self with the other, the tactile with the intangible, the lesser being with the supreme, the physical with the mental, and the ordinary with the extraordinary is a critical juncture for the traveller. Van Gennep (in Rudwick, 1996) identifies this phase with an initiation rite that occurs in a limen environment. A true pilgrim is thus poised at the threshold of that which separates him/her from the mundane everyday setting while exposing the self to the new and unfamiliar so to experience the spiritual. For the limens to occur, it must involve the spatial, perceptual and intellectual dimensions, simultaneously. Furthermore, the self-amplifying property of the limens affords a spiritual experience and hence a transformation. The threshold calls to question past faith, beliefs, life's purpose and reason for living, and casts a doubt on all that was previously known and accepted. The pilgrim must not only overcome this doubt, but also formulate true meanings and insights and emerge as a new initiate - capable of participating in the all pervading harmony and communion.

Experiences of the spirit happen in the sacred and also the secular (e.g. desert, wasteland and wilderness) domains. At established sites, the ‘rapture' of the pilgrim invokes, upholds and re-emphasizes the sanctity of the location and the sacred is provoked to reveal itself. Epiphanies of the spirit are thus responsible for the identification and emergence of sacred sites and the lack thereof relegate the locations to enterprises of religion, heritage, power, commerce or profanity. Hierarchical networks of sanctuaries are thus established at local, regional, national and global levels in various forms, such as worship centres, institutes, retreats, ashram(s), healing centres and intentional (spiritual magnet) communities.

The Quest: Odyssey for Personal Fulfilment

In view of the purpose and experiences of pious tourists, spiritual journeys may be described as contemplative travels of seekers in the limens, that can afford transformative learning (true) experiences. At the heart of spirituality is a quest that sets off a need to go forth. Batson and Schoenrade (1991), MacCannell (1973), Senn (2002) and Smith (1992) all allude to ‘quest' as the kernel of genuine travel. Senn clearly articulates the questing journey as an arc image for spirituality. Others refer to the seeking as the driving force for spiritual magnetism (Preston, 1992) - of pilgrimage. Again, it is this quest that separates ‘religious dwellers' from ‘spiritual seekers'. The latter are referred to as true or genuine, owing to the fact that all ‘goodness' of religion lies within the quest orientation. This dimension, common to spiritual religiosity, and travel/tourism, involves openly facing complex, existential questions and life's uncertainties. In accepting existential finitude - the individual develops true compassion and concern for others and things with which the seeker relates with faith - that in turn leads to creativity and consistent opening to novel experiences.

Although the spiritual traveller's quest is restricted to physical places and intellectual states that embody valued ideals, it is almost impossible to account for its diversity. For instance, the journey to a sacred centre is a way of finding release for suffering within the Japanese Buddhist tradition; the Hajj for the Muslims is an act of submission to the ways of Allah; the Surot of the Naciremas (North American ethnic group) is undertaken with the hope of enlightenment (tsiruot) and happiness; most Hindu pilgrims travel to Varanasi with the objective of being closer to the sacred, particularly at the time of death (for nirvana), while others may wander in the sacrosanct Himalayas for a darsan (sacred vision or contemplation) or moksha (liberation); most New Age pilgrims seek individual autonomy from religious institutions through the creation of their own space - a process of achieving self-spirituality.