Question: There are many descriptions and instructions in the scriptures on which of the holy places that the devotee should attend or visit during his lifetime.
I work in an organization, and I don’t have many annual leaves that I can take. Therefore, every year for the past couple of years I will go to Vrindavan. I feel very happy being in Vrindavan and I’ve been doing this every year.
Lately a senior devotee told me that there are four places in India that I must go and never miss this, and it’s also stated apparently in the scriptures. The places are Badrinath, Rameshwar, Puri and Dwaraka.
If I’m unable to go to these places due to financial and constraints of my annual leave in my organization where I could only go to one place in a year, is it okay for me to keep going to Vrindavan every year? Will my pilgrimage every year be incomplete if I don’t go to the four places that are mentioned above?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
The Bhauma (earthly) Vrindavana is a replica of Goloka Vrindavana, Lord Krishna’s eternal abode in the spiritual sky. Krsna descends on this earth out of His own internal potency, similarly, His dhama, or His abode, also descends, the Vrindavana dhama. The holy land of Vrindavana is nondifferent from the Lord Himself.
When we go to a Holy dhama, be it Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka or Vrindavan, the most important thing for us is to have the right mood of service and the mood of eagerness to hear and associate with the devotees in the dhama.
Srila Prabhupada once said, “Sometimes, materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vrindavana as tourists. One who goes to Vrindavana with such materialistic vision cannot derive any spiritual benefit.”
With that said, it is perfectly fine if you are not able to visit other Holy places as of now. As mentioned above, it is more important to cultivate and maintain the correct mood while visiting the dhama.
Srila Prabhupada explains, “Because we live and serve in the temples of Radha-Krishna and continuously hold hari-nama sankirtana—chanting of Hare Krishna—we consequently live in Vrindavana and nowhere else.”
