INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH

Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jtr.522

Tourism: a Sacred Journey? The Case of

Ashram Tourism, India
Richard Sharpley* and Priya Sundaram
University of Hull, Scarborough Campus, Filey Road, Scarborough YO11 3AZ, UK

ABSTRACT Keywords: religious tourism; tourism as

religion; pilgrimage; ashram tourism.
Religious tourism — tourism that is
motivated by faith or religious reasons — Anyone seeking answers to questions of
has been in evidence for centuries. In more life or other personal issues which trouble
recent times, however, it has been suggested one’s self can do so in India . . . The quest
that modern tourism has become the for discovering one’s own God ends, and
functional and symbolic equivalent of more the journey towards the realisation of the
traditional religious practices, such as self begins with a visit to timeless, spiri-
festivals and pilgrimages. In other words, it tual India. (www.bestindianhotels.com
is claimed by some that tourism is a sacred 2003).
journey. To date, however, little work has
been undertaken to explore this position; INTRODUCTION
the purpose of this paper, therefore, is to

I
contribute to this debate. Based on an t has long been recognised that a variable
exploratory study, it considers the relationship exists between the institutions
motivations and experiences of Western of religion and tourism. On the one hand,
tourists visiting the Sri Aurobindo Ashram religious tourism may be identified as a spe-
and the nearby utopian township of cific type of tourism ‘whose participants are
Auroville in Pondicherry, south east India. motivated either in part or exclusively for reli-
It identifies two principal groups of visitors, gious reasons’ (Rinschede, 1992). Probably one
namely ‘permanent tourists’ who have of the oldest forms of tourism, with human
immersed themselves indefinitely in a migration being linked to religion from earli-
spiritual ‘Other’, and temporary visitors. est times (Sigaux, 1966; Vukonić, 1996), this is
The latter are categorised into sub-groups manifested in a diversity of touristic-religious
which point to a variety of spiritual and activity, from long-term journeys (i.e. pilgrim-
non-spiritual motives. The paper concludes age) to and/or stays at religious centres to
that there is a continuum of spirituality short-term visits to religious centres or sites for
inherent in tourism, though this is related to the purpose of religious celebration, contem-
tourists’ experience rather than initial plation or meeting. In the former case, the
motivation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & entire trip may be religious in purpose,
Sons, Ltd. whereas in the latter, visits to religious sites
may be but one element of a multifunctional
Received 12 October 2004; Accepted 3 January 2005 trip.
On the other hand, tourism may be consid-
ered as religion. In other words, in modern,
secular societies, not only has free (i.e. discre-
tionary or non-work) time in general become
*Correspondence to: Richard Sharpley, University of Hull, ‘a space for the contemplative and the creative,
Scarborough Campus, Filey Road, Scarborough, North
Yorkshire YO11 3AZ, UK. a unity of thought and action’ (Vukonić, 1996,
E-mail: R.Sharpley@hull.ac.uk p. 8), an opportunity for human beings to
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
162 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram

recognise and cultivate their spiritual needs, societies, fulfils some spiritual need within
but also tourism, as a particular use of such tourists, there exists little evidence to support
free time, has come to be seen by some as a this claim. The purpose of this paper, therefore,
spiritual or sacred journey. As Graburn (1989, is to begin to address this gap in the literature.
p. 22) observes, ‘tourism . . . is functionally and Focusing on tourism to India, a destination
symbolically equivalent to other institutions that, since the 1960s, has come to epitomise the
that humans use to embellish and add spiritual touristic experience (Mehta, 1990;
meaning to their lives’; it may be understood Brown, 1998; Sutcliffe, 1998), it considers the
either as a regular secular ritual (the annual outcomes of an exploratory study into the
vacation) that acts as a counterpoint to every- motivations of Western visitors to a specific
day life and work or as a more specific rite of religious site, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in the
passage or ‘personal transition’ (Nash, 1996) southeast of the country. In so doing, it chal-
undertaken at particular junctions in peoples’ lenges some of the assumptions regarding the
lives. In either case, however, it can be argued spiritual nature of the modern tourist experi-
that tourism is ‘the modern equivalent . . . of ence, while highlighting the need for greater
festivals and pilgrimages found in more tradi- knowledge and understanding of the subject.
tional, God-fearing societies’ (Graburn, 2001, The first task, however, is to review briefly the
p. 43; see also Graburn, 1983). theoretical debate surrounding the concept of
Thus, the varying relationship between tourism as a sacred journey or spiritual expe-
tourism and religion may be conceptualised as rience as a framework for the subsequent
a continuum based upon the degree of inten- discussion.
sity of religious motivation inherent in what
Smith (1992a) refers to as the ‘quest in guest’. TOURISM: A SACRED JOURNEY?
At one extreme lies sacred pilgrimage, a
journey driven by faith, religion and spiritual Spirituality, according to Brown (1998, p. 1),
fulfilment; at the other extreme lies the secular ‘has become a kind of buzz-word of the age
tourist who may seek to satisfy some personal . . . an all-purpose word, but one that describes
or spiritual need through tourism. Between what is felt to be missing rather than specify-
these two points can be found different ing what is hoped to be found . . . The spiritual
forms/intensities of religious tourism moti- search . . . has become a dominant feature of
vated to a greater or lesser extent by religious late twentieth-century life: a symptom of col-
or, conversely, cultural or knowledge-based lective uncertainty’. Similarly, but in the spe-
needs. As Smith (1992a) puts it, some religious cific context of tourism, MacCannell (1973)
tourists may be ‘more pilgrim than tourist’, suggests that, as a response to the perceived
whereas others may be ‘more tourist than inauthenticity of modern societies, tourists
pilgrim’. have become secular pilgrims searching for the
However, despite this recognition of the link authentic: ‘sightseeing is a kind of collective
between tourism and religion, particularly in a striving for a transcedence of the modern total-
historical context, relatively little attention has ity, a way of attempting to overcome the dis-
been paid to the subject within the tourism lit- continuity of modernity (MacCannell, 1989, p.
erature. More specifically, although the exis- 13). In other words, the alleged anomic condi-
tence of what Vukonić (1996) refers to as ‘homo tion of modern societies has resulted in a
turisticus religiosus’, or the religious tourist, is search for spiritual meaning and, as a modern
widely accepted and discussed to some extent form of mass migration, tourism is seen as a
in the literature in the context of both con- popular and particularly effective vehicle for
sumption (Vukonić, 1996; see also Smith, undertaking that search. As a consequence, it
1992b; Franklin, 2003) and supply (Shackley, is suggested by some that tourism is a modern-
2001), few if any attempts have been made to day sacred journey, the contemporary and
explore the cultural meaning of tourism as a functional equivalent of the traditional
modern spiritual experience. That is, although pilgrimage.
it has been argued by some that contemporary According to Smith (1992a), tourism and pil-
tourism, as a phenomenon of modern, secular grimage are superficially similar in that both
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
Tourism: a sacred journey? 163

tourists and pilgrims share the same funda- (Graburn, 2001, p. 47); the structured behav-
mental requirements to undertake their iour of everyday life is replaced by liberated
journey, namely, free (leisure) time, sufficient and spontaneous activities that may not be
financial resources and social sanction — in socially sanctioned within the normal, home
the latter case, social ‘approval’ is a powerful environment. For tourists, liminality is experi-
force in determining the appropriate use of enced in places ‘on the margin’ (Shields, 1990)
free time. At the same time, observed tourist and may be expressed in a variety of ways
behaviour is analogous to a form of pilgrim- (Lett, 1983; Passariello, 1983). Finally, of
age; that is, many tourist sights or attractions course, people must progress through the
are accorded the status of a religious icon or process of re-integration as they return to the
symbol. As Urry (1990, p. 12) observes, they structured, everyday existence of their home
have to be seen or gazed upon; they are society — importantly, for those having expe-
‘famous for being famous . . . [and] . . . entail a rienced some form of transitional ritual, this
kind of pilgrimage to a sacred centre, which is reintegration is frequently at a changed or
often a capital or major city’. However, a dis- higher status.
tinction between tourism and pilgrimage may There are evident links between tourism and
be identified within the meaning or personal pilgrimage in terms of both the journey and the
belief attached to each activity. That is, pil- experience of communitas; indeed, Turner and
grimage may be considered the purposeful, Turner famously claim that ‘a tourist is half a
serious, legitimate or pious pursuit of spiritual pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist’ (1978,
fulfilment, whereas tourism, by comparison, p. 20), although they distinguish between the
may be described as the search for hedonistic, obligatory nature of many traditional rituals
frivolous and superficial wish-fulfilment and the voluntary nature of tourism. Equally,
(Pfaffenberger, 1983). Nevertheless, if these there is little doubt that some ‘tourist encoun-
labels are stripped away, it becomes apparent ters can be just as compelling [as pilgrimage]
that the individual experience of tourism and and almost spiritual in personal meaning’
pilgrimage may not be so distinct. As Pfaffen- (Smith, 1992a). Nevertheless, just as few would
berger (1983) argues, ‘the difference between accept Boorstin’s (1964) position that the
tourism and pilgrimage lies not so much in any modern tourist is satisfied with pseudo-events,
radical phenomenological difference between so too would few agree with MacCannell’s
them . . . but rather in the culturally-supplied (1989) assertion that all tourists are modern pil-
language of symbols in which travellers are grims on an (albeit doomed) search for authen-
obliged to express the peregrinations.’ ticity. That is, tourists seek to satisfy an
A number of commentators have linked the enormous variety of personal or spiritual
notion of tourism as a spiritual or sacred needs and, therefore, to classify all tourism as
journey with Turners’ widely cited work on a response to modernity’s collective uncertain-
ritual processes, including pilgrimage (Turner ties and, hence, a search for spiritual reward
and Turner, 1978). According to them, partici- may be misleading. Indeed, it is unlikely that
pation in transitional rituals or pilgrimage all tourists sense anomie to the same degree.
involves a three-stage process. Initially, people Thus, Cohen’s (1979) ‘existential tourist’ may
go through the separation stage, where they seek the ‘centre out there’ and, hence, under-
become freed or distanced from the ordinary, take an individual ‘pilgrimage’ in search of
routine or ‘profane’ (Graburn, 1989). This is spiritual fulfilment whereas ‘recreational
followed by the phase of ‘liminality’, or entry tourists’ may, by definition, seek simply to
into a ‘sacred’ state of anti-structure in which relax and re-create.
the structure and order of normal life dissolve, Moreover, the relationship between the
everyday obligations cease to exist and new journey and spiritual experiences remains
forms of relationships are created based upon fuzzy; for example, visits to ‘worship’ at the
a levelling of statuses. This condition, referred homes or graves of deceased celebrities, often
to as ‘communitas’ by Turner and Turner referred to as ‘dark tourism’ (Lennon and
(1978), ‘produces a special feeling of excite- Foley, 2000; Sharpley, 2003), is akin to tradi-
ment and close bonding between participants’ tional pilgrimage whereas many who walk the
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
164 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram

Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage route to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the associ-
may do so only for the physical challenge ated town of Auroville, located near
(although this in itself may be interpreted as Pondicherry in southeast India. This site was
providing contemporary spiritual reward). selected as it is, for Western visitors, one of the
Equally, momentary experiences within other- most popular and well-known ashrams in the
wise mundane journeys may be spiritually country. More generally, however, it is also an
uplifting. As de Botton (2003) notes, the link important religious site within a country that,
between sublimity and religion has long been arguably, epitomises spiritual touristic
explicit; ‘it is no coincidence that the Western experiences.
attraction to sublime landscapes developed at
precisely the moment when traditional beliefs
The context: India as a spiritual destination
in God began to wane’ (de Botton, 2003, p. 171)
Thus, momentary gazing upon particular Tourism, particularly religious tourism, has a
landscapes or views may satisfy the individ- long history in India; ‘if travel and tourism are
ual’s need for spiritual refreshment. ways of enlightening the spirit . . . they have
To summarise this section, then, tourism and been practised for centuries in India, whose
pilgrimage share many features — the require- peoples have long expressed a common sense
ments of free time, social sanction and income, of community in organized religion’ (Singh,
as well as the process of transfer from ordi- 2001, p. 138). Indeed, the practice of tirthayatra,
nary/profane to non-ordinary/sacred time or pilgrimage, has been an element of Indian
and place. It is, therefore, possible to refer to social life since ancient times (Kamra, 1997;
tourism generically as a sacred journey, partic- Gupta et al., 2002) and nowadays remains the
ularly as vacations may have significant per- mainstay of the domestic tourism industry —
sonal meaning. Nevertheless, distinctions it is estimated that almost 95% of domestic
remain in the context of quest, between the travellers are religious tourists, and, overall,
‘true’ pilgrim following his or her faith and the some 144 million domestic tourist trips were
secular pilgrim seeking meaning or knowl- made in 1998 (Singh, 2001).
edge. Thus, as Smith (1992a) suggests, pil- In contrast, international tourism to India
grimage and tourism may be conceptualised as remains, in terms of volume, relatively
‘two parallel, interchangeable lanes’ following insignificant. Modern tourism to the subconti-
different quests — the religious and the nent dates back to the nineteenth century, pri-
secular. Tourists may travel either lane or marily based on the colonial relationship with
‘switch between them, depending on personal Britain (the British were also instrumental in
need or motivation’ (Smith, 1992a). However, developing hill stations, such as Simla, as
as this paper now goes on to consider, even retreats from the summer heat) and, by 1880,
within destinational contexts where this lane Thomas Cook enjoyed a virtual monopoly on
switch may logically be assumed to occur (i.e. all international tourism to the country.
where tourism becomes primarily a spiritual However, it was not until the mid-1940s that
journey), questions still remain over the nature the colonial government began to recognise
of the individual quest and, hence, the the economic potential of tourism and, in 1948,
meaning of the journey. the newly independent government estab-
lished the first body to promote tourism. Since
THE STUDY — ‘ASHRAM TOURISM’ then, and despite political upheavals, sporadic
IN INDIA terrorist activity and health scares, interna-
tional tourism has grown, albeit slowly. In
Given the lack of research into, or evidence to 1951, just 17 000 international arrivals were
support, the concept of tourism as a sacred recorded; by 2000, total arrivals had reached
journey, the purpose of this study is to begin almost 2.65 million (Mintel, 2003). Of these,
to address the gap in the literature by 20% were from neighbouring Pakistan and
exploring the motivations of Western Bangladesh, but Europe remains the biggest
tourists in southern India. More specifically, market, accounting for around 34% of all inter-
it seeks to reveal the quest in Western visitors national arrivals. Not surprisingly, Britain pro-
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
Tourism: a sacred journey? 165

vides the largest proportion of European once every twelve years in the city of
arrivals and almost 40% of these are travellers Allahabad.
visiting friends and relatives (VFR). Thus, Of course, it is not only festivals that attract
India’s share of global tourist arrivals is, at just Western visitors — India offers a kaleidoscope
0.4%, insignificant although, reflecting the of different religions and religious practices,
dominance of VFR tourists, average length of evidenced in an enormous variety of shrines,
stay is over 30 days. temples and icons, and contemporary life in
The relative weakness of India’s interna- the country is manifestly spiritual: ‘you learn
tional tourism sector is, perhaps, surprising that, over there, the everyday person is the true
given the diverse attractions of the county, holyman’ (Weis, 2003). Nevertheless, specific
although most commentators point to haphaz- religious sites have long attracted western vis-
ard tourism development policies and poor itors; these include Dharamsala (a former
infrastructure as significant barriers. Never- British hill station to which the Dalai Lama fled
theless, since the 1960s, the country has from Tibet, and now a centre for the study of
become popular amongst Western visitors Tibetan culture) and Rishikesh, the town
seeking some form of spiritual experience. Ini- where the Beatles visited their guru in the
tially manifested in the ‘great overland move- 1960s and now a place to study Hinduism.
ment from Europe . . . through Iran and More generally, ashrams have also proved to
Afghanistan . . . probably motivated by a be a magnet for Western visitors (for many, an
search for “meaning” . . . from the Eastern essential element of a visit to India — see
gurus’ (Smith, 1992a), India’s reputation as a Sutcliffe (1998)). Perhaps the most famous of
spiritual destination received a significant these is the home of the controversial Sai Baba
boost from visits by celebrities: in Puttaparthi, although the Sri Aurobindo
Ashram, the focus for this study, is also a
Now it was the turn of the populists, the popular destination.
Beatles and the Rolling Stones to become
the pacemakers for a faltering Western
The case study: Sri Aurobindo Ashram
heart, and they achieved a more striking
success . . . The first wave of disciples was The term ‘ashram’ is derived from the Sanskrit
really top drawer. They were the nobles word srama, meaning religious exercise,
of the meritocracy and they were looking although it is now used generically to describe
good. The women were models, the men a spiritual retreat or college, usually estab-
were stars, and the massage was the lished by a Hindu sage or ‘guru’ (a teacher or
message. When they came out of their holy man). There are innumerable ashrams in
spiritual retreats draped in homespun, India (and elsewehere) ranging from the
they glowed with vegetarian good health homes of gurus to large, purpose built estab-
( Mehta, 1990, p. 68). lishments with resident populations of
disciples.
By the early 1980s, political upheaval in Iran The Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry,
and Afghanistan had signalled the demise of a former French colony in the south-eastern
the overland trail but there is no doubt that state of Tamil Nadu, is unique inasmuch as it
India continues to attract large numbers of is directly associated with the founding and
Western travellers seeking to experience spiri- development of a nearby township, Auroville,
tual India; indeed, there now exists a number the purpose of which is to realise the ideal of
of specialist tour operators to meet the needs human unity. The Ashram itself was founded
of those seeking such an experience. For by Sri Aurobindo, who was born in Calcutta in
example, Sprit of India (see www.spirit-of- 1872. Educated at school and university
india.com) offers ‘Yoga Journeys’ and a variety in England, he returned to Baroda in India in
of pilgrimages to religious ceremonies and fes- 1893 and worked in the local civil service
tivals, including the Kumbha Mela, the most before becoming a professor at Baroda College.
important of all Hindu spiritual festivals that Over a 13 year period he began to practice
occurs every three years and, most famously, yoga as well as becoming involved in politics
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
166 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram

Figure 1. The Matrimandir, Auroville.

before moving back to Calcutta in 1913. His was that ‘there should be somewhere upon
political activities led to him being detained for earth a place that no nation could claim as its
a year before he travelled to Pondicherry in sole property, a place where all human beings
1910, where he devoted the next 40 years of his of goodwill, sincere in their aspirations, could
life to spiritual development through the prac- live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one
tice of yoga. In 1920, he commenced a collabo- single authority, that of the supreme truth’
ration with the French-born Mirra Alfassa (Auroville, 2000, p. 2). In other words, her
who, on first meeting Sri Aurobindo in 1914, vision was a utopian community where people
had recognised him as the ‘master who had of different nationalities and diverse back-
inwardly been guiding her spiritual develop- grounds could live together in a spirit of col-
ment’ (Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2001). Later to laboration and mutual respect. Following its
become known simply as the ‘Mother’, she inauguration in 1968, work commenced on
took charge of his disciples and formally estab- building the town, which comprises four zones
lished the Ashram when, in 1926, Sri surrounding a central Peace area, the centre-
Aurobindo went into seclusion. Since then, the piece of which is the Matrimandir, a place for
Ashram has grown from a small community of silent contemplation (Figure 1). Life in the
some two dozen disciples to a large, diverse town was based initially upon the principles of
community of over 1200 people. The focus of equality, common ownership, self-governance
community life is the Ashram, an intercon- and self-sufficiency, although, following the
necting block of houses including those in death of the Mother in 1973, the original ideal-
which Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived for ism rapidly dissipated. Currently, 1600 people
most of their lives — their remains lie in the live in Auroville (one-third are Indian and the
samadhi, or grave, in the central courtyard. remainder from other countries, with 33
However, ashramites live and work through- nationalities represented in total), far short of
out the area, and within the ashram they are the hoped-for community of 50 000. Neverthe-
free to follow their sadhana, or spiritual disci- less, the town, along with the Ashram, attracts
pline, to suit their individual needs. That is, significant numbers of visitors.
there are no obligatory practices, rituals or
compulsory meditations within the ashram THE RESEARCH
and all visitors are welcome.
Auroville, located 10 km from Pondicherry, As stated above, an exploratory study was
was the inspiration of the Mother. Her vision undertaken into the motives of Western visi-
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
Tourism: a sacred journey? 167

tors to the Sri Aorobindo Ashram and weeks and seven months, although the major-
Auroville. The principal purpose of this was to ity were travelling in the country for between
ascertain the extent to which tourists were one and two months.
seeking to satisfy a spiritual need through their Immediately, then, two distinct groups were
experience of the destination or, indeed, if identified within the sample, namely, the per-
there were other, non-spiritual reasons for their manent tourists — the minority who had
visit. Semi-structured interviews were con- become Auroville residents — and the major-
ducted with a number of international tourists ity who were staying in Pondicherry tem-
in Pondicherry over a five day period. As inter- porarily as all or part of a visit to India. As is
viewing visitors is not permitted within the discussed in the following section, the research
Ashram itself, a number of respondents were revealed significant distinctions between the
selected randomly in local cafés in the vicinity two groups with respect to motives for visit-
of the Ashram, and a further sample was sim- ing/staying in Pondicherry, and within the
ilarly selected within Auroville. Each respon- temporary visitors group, three subgroups
dent was asked a number of descriptive were also identified: spiritual seekers, tourist
questions related to nationality, age, length of trail followers, and yoga practitioners.
stay and so on, although the primary aim was
to elicit, through open-ended questions, their
expectations, perceptions and experiences of ASHRAM TOURISTS — RESEARCH
visiting the Ashram/Auroville; that is, to iden- OUTCOMES
tify the degree of spiritual ‘quest in guest’.
For convenience, the following discussion is
structured around the two groups and three
The sample subgroups described above. In each case, the
Twenty-eight tourists were interviewed, 16 expectations and experiences of tourists are
within the vicinity of the Ashram and a further explored within the context of tourism as a
12 in Auroville. The respondents comprised a sacred journey.
broad range of nationalities and ages; six were
German, two were from the USA, five were
Permanent tourists
Italian, one each came from Sri Lanka, Israel
and Australia, three were British and the Given the international character of the popu-
remaining nine were French. The number of lation of Auroville, the inclusion of a number
French respondents was not, perhaps, surpris- of overseas residents, or ‘permanent tourists’,
ing given the fact that, until the 1950s, amongst those interviewed in the township
Pondicherry was a French colony, and France was not unexpected. Similarly, given the
and Germany are, after Britain, India’s major vision/idealism that underpinned the found-
European tourist markets. More surprising, ing and development of Auroville, it was,
however, was the lack of British visitors. perhaps, likely that the motives of those choos-
Sixteen respondents were male and 12 were ing to live there would be predictable and
female and, overall, their ages were spread would, to an extent, contrast with the motives
between 20 and 50, although two respondents of temporary visitors.
were over 70 years old. Interestingly, only four Of the eight respondents who indicated that
respondents were under 30 years of age — they were residents of Auroville, the most
however, as will be discussed shortly, this can recent arrival had lived there for seven years,
be explained in part by the characteristics of but the majority had been there for up to
Auroville respondents, eight of whom could twenty years. All but one worked in the com-
be categorised as ‘permanent tourists’. That is, munity in jobs ranging from martial arts
they had been living in Auroville for a number classes and fitness instruction to managing the
of years (27 years in one case) and had no visitor centre, and all viewed their residence in
intention of returning to their countries of the township as indefinite. All but one were
origin. Of the remaining respondents, expected over forty years of age. Four respondents
length of stay in India varied between two claimed that they had been attracted originally
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
168 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram

by the spiritual culture of India in general, had visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram but only
whereas two others had specifically come to eight had also visited or planned to visit other
live in Auroville. Interestingly, however, the ashrams during their trip in India. For six
respondents’ actual experience of living in the respondents, visiting ashrams was the sole
township contrasted with their initial expecta- purpose of travelling to India although, as dis-
tions; that is, although originally seeking some cussed shortly, their motivations varied.
benefit from the spirituality of India, for a From the responses to these and other spe-
number of respondents the attraction of cific questions, including sources of informa-
Auroville had become the ‘otherness’ of the tion and knowledge about Pondicherry/the
township compared with their home country Ashram and the original reasons for visiting,
and with the rest of India itself. along with open-ended questions with respect
For example, one respondent who had trav- to respondents’ experiences of their visit, the
elled to India on a ‘spiritual quest’ described differing motivations and degrees of spiritual
his perception of India as ‘spiritual’, but his quest can be identified within three subgroups
experience of Auroville as a dream. In of tourists.
Auroville ‘I’ve realised my dreams, to be free
to be able to share my life with others . . . [in] . Spiritual seekers. The research suggests that, of
. . brotherhood and unity. I am here because of those interviewed, only a relatively small pro-
Auroville. It is what it is because it’s in India, portion had purposefully visited the Ashram
but it’s different — Auroville is not India’. Sim- in search of, or in the expectation of, a spiritual
ilarly, another respondent explained that living experience. Indeed, just five respondents indi-
in Auroville and visiting the Ashram had cated that the motivation for their visit was
resulted in her ‘being in touch with a living ‘spiritual’. Four of these described themselves
stream of life that is magical and beautiful, as ‘devotees’ and, hence, previously aware of
keeping myself open to life and developing a the Ashram and the teachings of Sri Aurobindo
sense of my inner self’, but again, ‘living in — one respondent from Italy, for example, had
Auroville one feels quite disconnected with learned about the Ashram through a Sri
[sic]the outside world’. Other respondents also Aurobindo group in his home country and
emphasised the unity, equality, serenity, said that he considered India not simply as a
freedom and magic of Auroville and its con- country or geographical space but as ‘Mother’,
trast to India (we have become Aurovillians, because of the way in which everything in
not Indians), perhaps best summarised by India is in someway connected to religion.
another respondent who described India as Another had been drawn to the Ashram
‘chaotic, submissive, exhausting’ and because of her belief that ‘it is necessary . . .
Auroville as ‘home, adventure, magical’. [for people] . . . to follow the ideas of the
For the permanent tourists, then, Auroville Mother’, and a regular visitor, who described
provides a form of spiritual existence, in a India as ‘divine’ and Indians as ‘spiritual, very
sense a permanent state of communitas that is occidental’, explained his continuing motiva-
defined, as is Alex Garland’s imaginary ‘Beach’ tion to visit the Ashram as follows:
(1997), by its separateness (and its utopian
ideals) from the outside world. Thus, it is not . . . I feel the ‘force’ of the Ashram and the
the journey but the destination that, for this Mother. It has helped me when I’m back
group, is spiritual; rather than tourism as pil- home; I’m finding my innerself. Every-
grimage, involving a temporary state of anti- thing has changed, my outlook has
structure (communitas) and return, it is travel, changed, I think with my heart. I have
or escape, to the ‘Other’. become a worshipper at a philosophical
level. [At home] we have lost our Gods;
researching for truth, we find evidence in
Temporary visitors
science. This has changed everything.
The majority of respondents (20) were tempo-
rary visitors to Pondicherry, staying either in The fifth respondent in this group (about 50
the vicinity of the Ashram or in Auroville. All years old) had visited India as a (hippie) youth
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
Tourism: a sacred journey? 169

and was curious to see how much the country lowed the tourist trail; one American visitor
had changed. More specifically, he described stated ‘it is very relaxing to be here just spend-
India as ‘unique’ and ‘spiritual’, and himself as ing time with fellow tourists. A friend of mine
‘professionally fulfilled but spiritually suggested it to me and I think I’ll do likewise
curious’; his visit was, therefore, motivated by and recommend it to my other friends’. Two
the potential for, but not in expectation of, a others said that they had visited the Ashram
spiritual experience. In contrast, the ‘devotees’ simply because everyone in Pondicherry was
had come to the Ashram to experience spiritual talking about it. Another was there only
truth and meaning, implicitly to strengthen because his brother lived in the area: ‘if
them in their everyday life back home. Thus, Auroville was in another country, I would not
the ‘spiritual seekers’ identified in this research have come’.
may be better considered as religious tourists The research suggests, therefore, that rela-
or ‘true’ pilgrims. tively few visit the Ashram/Auroville simply
because it is on the tourist trail and one such
Tourist trail followers. Inevitably, many, if not respondent was left unimpressed by the expe-
the majority of tourists who visit rience: ‘it doesn’t feel real; it’s just people
religious/spiritual sites or attractions in living like [sic] they please. It’s like being in
general do not do so for spiritual reasons. Such Disneyland, it’s not possible to live like this
sites may be architecturally important, cultur- elsewhere’. Conversely, although not specifi-
ally significant or, as previously noted, simply cally drawn by a spiritual need, a number had
‘famous for being famous’ Urry (1990, p. 12); visited out of cultural interest (to experi-
they may also be recommended in guidebooks. ence/gain knowledge of ashram life), and, as
For example, the Eyewitness Guide to India the next section reveals, some were attracted
(2002) describes the Sri Aurobino Ashram as a by the opportunity to participate in specific
reputed yoga and meditation centre, and activities, particularly yoga.
Lonely Planet’s India Travel Survival Kit —
arguably the most widely used guide book by Yoga/meditation practitioners. As discussed
travellers in India (but, see Bhattacharyya, earlier, the philosophy of the Ashram’s
1997) — includes both Sri Aurobindo Ashram founder, Sri Aurobindo, was based upon spir-
and Auroville as two of the five ‘must see’ spir- itual development through yoga; at the same
itual centres in the country. Therefore, it is time, most guide books recommend the
likely that a proportion of visitors to the Ashram and Auroville for the practice of yoga
Ashram are simply following the tourist trail. and meditation. Therefore, it is unsurprising
The research suggests that this is, to an that six respondents specifically cited wanting
extent, the case, although given the location of to practice/learn yoga as a principal reason for
Pondicherry in the southeast of the country, their visits, and more than half the respondents
the number of tourists visiting the Ashram indicated that the facilities they made most use
simply ‘because it is there’ is likely to be more of during their stay were the Matrimandir (the
limited than in the more popular tourist meditation hall) and Quiet Healing Centre
regions of India. Almost half those (temporary where yoga is taught and practised.
visitors) interviewed indicated that they were Those participating in yoga undoubtedly
visiting out of curiosity, although some of benefited from their experience of the Ashram.
these also cited the desire to experience ashram One respondent suggested that he had ‘expe-
life or to participate in specific activities, such rienced what yoga is; it helps to build up a
as yoga, as reasons for visiting (see below). Vis- healthy life’, and another stated that ‘the prac-
iting the Ashram was not considered a specific tice of yoga is impressing [sic]. It can help a
reason for travelling to India in the first place person to have a relaxed and healthy life’. Sim-
and the great majority of these ‘curious’ visi- ilarly, another respondent who had learned
tors had learned about the Ashram either yoga had found that, for her, it ‘helps to relax
through word of mouth (friends/fellow trav- the mind’, and an American visitor, through
ellers) or from guide books. Interestingly, just practising yoga and mediation, had learned to
three respondents suggested that they had fol- ‘search the innerself’. Thus, those who had
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
170 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram

visited for the specific purpose of learning and limited nature of the research, a number of
practising yoga had, to a lesser or greater points have emerged.
extent, enjoyed some form of spiritual experi- First, in some cases, the ‘quest in guest’ may
ence; indeed, one respondent from Germany be fulfilled. That is, the research revealed a
explained that, having initially come to the number of tourists who had discovered in
Ashram out of curiosity and to learn yoga, he Auroville their spiritual home or ‘centre out
had ‘learned to look at life differently, that there’ (Cohen, 1979). For some of these tourists,
material things don’t matter too much’. He the satisfaction of their spiritual need meant
went on to claim that he had ‘become religious that they had come to the end of their journey
now, unlike before’. — as existential tourists, they had fully
immersed themselves in the spiritual ‘Other’,
becoming, in a sense, permanent tourists. For
Summary
others, spiritual fulfilment is part of the
In the context of this paper, there is a signifi- journey. In other words, and second, the notion
cant distinction between expectations and of the tourist as pilgrim (i.e. the religious
experience. That is, other than the ‘spiritual tourist) has, to an extent, been verified; those
seekers’ referred to above, relatively few who travelled to Pondicherry (the ‘devotees’
respondents had purposefully travelled to or ‘spiritual seekers’) with specific spiritual
India and the Ashram to satisfy a spiritual intentions return home stronger or more ful-
need. Many were there out of curiosity, others filled. Their pilgrimage has been a success.
to learn yoga and some simply because it was Third, the research also suggests that the
there, on the tourist trail. However, whereas notion of a continuum of religious or spiritual
some respondents recognised an artificiality intent as proposed by Smith (1992a) is valid.
about the Ashram experience for western trav- Although a variety of motives, from knowl-
ellers (perhaps reflecting the awareness of the edge-driven secular curiosity to more pur-
so-called ‘post tourist’ — see Feifer (1985)), a poseful need satisfaction, were identified in the
number of others viewed their visit as a research, it is evident that, albeit unintention-
serendipitous spiritual experience, whether ally, different intensities of spiritual fulfilment
specifically through yoga/meditation or more were experienced by visitors to the Ashram
generally from staying in the Ashram and and Auroville. Importantly, however, this was
Auroville. For example, for one ‘curious’ not as an outcome of spiritual need-driven
visitor, visiting the Ashram had made his ‘life actions; for the most part, curiosity or the
richer, made me see things differently and desire to learn resulted in spiritual benefits.
more humble’, and another felt more ‘peaceful, Thus, it is apparent that, within particular des-
appreciative and thankful’. In short, although tinational contexts, tourism can begin to take
many respondents had not been motivated by on the characteristics of a sacred journey
a spiritual need or quest, visiting the Ashram although it may not be spiritually motivated.
had provided some spiritual experience or That is, tourism may not be functionally
fulfilment. sacred, although its outcome may be.
Finally, given the context of this research,
some of the findings were, perhaps, pre-
CONCLUSIONS dictable. There is a need, therefore, for further
similar research in a variety of other destina-
This paper set out to consider, through an tional contexts. Nevertheless, this paper has
exploratory study of Western tourists at the Sri gone some way to providing a foundation for
Aurobindo Ashram in southern India, the that work.
degree of ‘quest in guest’; that is, its purpose
was to begin to identify the extent to which vis-
itors to a specific spiritual/religious destina-
tion were motivated by a search for spiritual REFERENCES
fulfilment as suggested by those describing Auroville. 2000. Auroville: A Dream Takes Shape.
tourism as a sacred journey. Despite the Auroville Publication Department.
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Tourism Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)