The Peril of Pilgrimage in a Climate Crisis

 Have you ever been a pilgrim? As in, set out on a journey with an element of physical challenge and with a spiritual purpose? A pilgrimage is different in intent from tourism, although there has been a tendency to term tours of places such as Israel as pilgrimages. 

 Our son, Isaac, walked the 820 kilometre Camino de Santiago in Spain over the course of a month when he was nineteen and went on his own.  Of course, he met many other pilgrims along the way from a number of countries and of all ages.

Spiritual pilgrimages have been popular through the ages and different religions have encouraged them. Jesus and his family made their way to Jerusalem when he was a boy and he travelled to the city for Passover during what Christians now call Holy Week.  The Haj of Islam is one of the pillars of faith and a requirement for those physically able to fulfill it.

Pilgrimages were not quests as such, nor crusades (God forbid), but often demanding and even dangerous peregrinations (same root). There were elements of adventure and camaraderie (think Canterbury Tales) but in many situations there were bandits and even hostile locals. Procuring food and staying healthy were challenges. along with the uncertainty of weather in unfamiliar lands.

What about climate uncertainly as a threat, as distinct from weather? As the tragedy of cataclysmic flooding in Nepal and Tibet has unfolded we've been told that dozens, if not hundreds of those killed or missing were pilgrims from different religions. This region is considered auspicious  with mountains and rivers considered holy. According to the New York Times: 

The area is also sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and those who follow the Bon tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Visiting Kailash is not about conquering the mountain. It is about surrender, a belief that the journey itself draws pilgrims closer to the divine. 

Hindus believe Mount Kailash is the home of Shiva, the god of destruction, transformation and meditation, and his wife, Parvati. The mountain is also an impressive topographical feature, a natural pyramid that slices 21,778 feet into blue Tibetan skies...A typical pilgrimage involves walking around the entirety of the mountain, about 33 miles, over several days...

Neelam and Ramesh Sharma, a couple from Queens, undertook the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash as part of their retirement. The pair, both in their 60s, have not been heard from since the flood.Credit...Ariadna Riley

I listened to an the head of an organization in the States that has put together these pilgrimages for more than 20 years and never lost anyone. It would seem that this entire group was swept away. All these deaths are terribly sad, but also ominous signs of the times. 

Observers in the country and around the world are saying that the collapse of a portion of a glacier which precipitated the flooding is a grim example of the climate calamity. Glaciers around the world are receding or becoming unstable. You might recall that a few years ago a funeral was held in Iceland for a glacier that is effectively gone in a land of glaciers. Glaciers in western Canada are facing a similar predicament, changing the seasonal flow of vital water.

Is it possible to step back from our foolish ways for the sake of the Earth and all living things? It will require a spiritual transformation along with the efforts of nations to do so.