Tourism: a Sacred Journey? The Case of Ashram Tourism, India
Tourism: a Sacred Journey? The Case of Ashram Tourism, India
Tourism: a Sacred Journey? The Case of Ashram Tourism, India
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH<br />
Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)<br />
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jtr.522<br />
<strong>Tourism</strong>: a <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Journey</strong>? <strong>The</strong> <strong>Case</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> <strong>Tourism</strong>, <strong>India</strong><br />
Richard Sharpley* and Priya Sundaram<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Hull, Scarborough Campus, Filey Road, Scarborough YO11 3AZ, UK<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
Religious tourism — tourism that is<br />
motivated by faith or religious reasons —<br />
has been in evidence for centuries. In more<br />
recent times, however, it has been suggested<br />
that modern tourism has become the<br />
functional and symbolic equivalent <strong>of</strong> more<br />
traditional religious practices, such as<br />
festivals and pilgrimages. In other words, it<br />
is claimed by some that tourism is a sacred<br />
journey. To date, however, little work has<br />
been undertaken to explore this position;<br />
the purpose <strong>of</strong> this paper, therefore, is to<br />
contribute to this debate. Based on an<br />
exploratory study, it considers the<br />
motivations and experiences <strong>of</strong> Western<br />
tourists visiting the Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
and the nearby utopian township <strong>of</strong><br />
Auroville in Pondicherry, south east <strong>India</strong>.<br />
It identifies two principal groups <strong>of</strong> visitors,<br />
namely ‘permanent tourists’ who have<br />
immersed themselves indefinitely in a<br />
spiritual ‘Other’, and temporary visitors.<br />
<strong>The</strong> latter are categorised into sub-groups<br />
which point to a variety <strong>of</strong> spiritual and<br />
non-spiritual motives. <strong>The</strong> paper concludes<br />
that there is a continuum <strong>of</strong> spirituality<br />
inherent in tourism, though this is related to<br />
tourists’ experience rather than initial<br />
motivation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley &<br />
Sons, Ltd.<br />
Received 12 October 2004; Accepted 3 January 2005<br />
*Correspondence to: Richard Sharpley, University <strong>of</strong> Hull,<br />
Scarborough Campus, Filey Road, Scarborough, North<br />
Yorkshire YO11 3AZ, UK.<br />
E-mail: R.Sharpley@hull.ac.uk<br />
Keywords: religious tourism; tourism as<br />
religion; pilgrimage; ashram tourism.<br />
Anyone seeking answers to questions <strong>of</strong><br />
life or other personal issues which trouble<br />
one’s self can do so in <strong>India</strong> ...<strong>The</strong> quest<br />
for discovering one’s own God ends, and<br />
the journey towards the realisation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
self begins with a visit to timeless, spiritual<br />
<strong>India</strong>. (www.bestindianhotels.com<br />
2003).<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
It has long been recognised that a variable<br />
relationship exists between the institutions<br />
<strong>of</strong> religion and tourism. On the one hand,<br />
religious tourism may be identified as a specific<br />
type <strong>of</strong> tourism ‘whose participants are<br />
motivated either in part or exclusively for religious<br />
reasons’ (Rinschede, 1992). Probably one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the oldest forms <strong>of</strong> tourism, with human<br />
migration being linked to religion from earliest<br />
times (Sigaux, 1966; Vukonić, 1996), this is<br />
manifested in a diversity <strong>of</strong> touristic-religious<br />
activity, from long-term journeys (i.e. pilgrimage)<br />
to and/or stays at religious centres to<br />
short-term visits to religious centres or sites for<br />
the purpose <strong>of</strong> religious celebration, contemplation<br />
or meeting. In the former case, the<br />
entire trip may be religious in purpose,<br />
whereas in the latter, visits to religious sites<br />
may be but one element <strong>of</strong> a multifunctional<br />
trip.<br />
On the other hand, tourism may be considered<br />
as religion. In other words, in modern,<br />
secular societies, not only has free (i.e. discretionary<br />
or non-work) time in general become<br />
‘a space for the contemplative and the creative,<br />
a unity <strong>of</strong> thought and action’ (Vukonić, 1996,<br />
p. 8), an opportunity for human beings to<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
162 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram<br />
recognise and cultivate their spiritual needs,<br />
but also tourism, as a particular use <strong>of</strong> such<br />
free time, has come to be seen by some as a<br />
spiritual or sacred journey. As Graburn (1989,<br />
p. 22) observes, ‘tourism . . . is functionally and<br />
symbolically equivalent to other institutions<br />
that humans use to embellish and add<br />
meaning to their lives’; it may be understood<br />
either as a regular secular ritual (the annual<br />
vacation) that acts as a counterpoint to everyday<br />
life and work or as a more specific rite <strong>of</strong><br />
passage or ‘personal transition’ (Nash, 1996)<br />
undertaken at particular junctions in peoples’<br />
lives. In either case, however, it can be argued<br />
that tourism is ‘the modern equivalent . . . <strong>of</strong><br />
festivals and pilgrimages found in more traditional,<br />
God-fearing societies’ (Graburn, 2001,<br />
p. 43; see also Graburn, 1983).<br />
Thus, the varying relationship between<br />
tourism and religion may be conceptualised as<br />
a continuum based upon the degree <strong>of</strong> intensity<br />
<strong>of</strong> religious motivation inherent in what<br />
Smith (1992a) refers to as the ‘quest in guest’.<br />
At one extreme lies sacred pilgrimage, a<br />
journey driven by faith, religion and spiritual<br />
fulfilment; at the other extreme lies the secular<br />
tourist who may seek to satisfy some personal<br />
or spiritual need through tourism. Between<br />
these two points can be found different<br />
forms/intensities <strong>of</strong> religious tourism motivated<br />
to a greater or lesser extent by religious<br />
or, conversely, cultural or knowledge-based<br />
needs. As Smith (1992a) puts it, some religious<br />
tourists may be ‘more pilgrim than tourist’,<br />
whereas others may be ‘more tourist than<br />
pilgrim’.<br />
However, despite this recognition <strong>of</strong> the link<br />
between tourism and religion, particularly in a<br />
historical context, relatively little attention has<br />
been paid to the subject within the tourism literature.<br />
More specifically, although the existence<br />
<strong>of</strong> what Vukonić (1996) refers to as ‘homo<br />
turisticus religiosus’, or the religious tourist, is<br />
widely accepted and discussed to some extent<br />
in the literature in the context <strong>of</strong> both consumption<br />
(Vukonić, 1996; see also Smith,<br />
1992b; Franklin, 2003) and supply (Shackley,<br />
2001), few if any attempts have been made to<br />
explore the cultural meaning <strong>of</strong> tourism as a<br />
modern spiritual experience. That is, although<br />
it has been argued by some that contemporary<br />
tourism, as a phenomenon <strong>of</strong> modern, secular<br />
societies, fulfils some spiritual need within<br />
tourists, there exists little evidence to support<br />
this claim. <strong>The</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> this paper, therefore,<br />
is to begin to address this gap in the literature.<br />
Focusing on tourism to <strong>India</strong>, a destination<br />
that, since the 1960s, has come to epitomise the<br />
spiritual touristic experience (Mehta, 1990;<br />
Brown, 1998; Sutcliffe, 1998), it considers the<br />
outcomes <strong>of</strong> an exploratory study into the<br />
motivations <strong>of</strong> Western visitors to a specific<br />
religious site, the Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> in the<br />
southeast <strong>of</strong> the country. In so doing, it challenges<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the assumptions regarding the<br />
spiritual nature <strong>of</strong> the modern tourist experience,<br />
while highlighting the need for greater<br />
knowledge and understanding <strong>of</strong> the subject.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first task, however, is to review briefly the<br />
theoretical debate surrounding the concept <strong>of</strong><br />
tourism as a sacred journey or spiritual experience<br />
as a framework for the subsequent<br />
discussion.<br />
TOURISM: A SACRED JOURNEY?<br />
Spirituality, according to Brown (1998, p. 1),<br />
‘has become a kind <strong>of</strong> buzz-word <strong>of</strong> the age<br />
. . . an all-purpose word, but one that describes<br />
what is felt to be missing rather than specifying<br />
what is hoped to be found . . . <strong>The</strong> spiritual<br />
search ...has become a dominant feature <strong>of</strong><br />
late twentieth-century life: a symptom <strong>of</strong> collective<br />
uncertainty’. Similarly, but in the specific<br />
context <strong>of</strong> tourism, MacCannell (1973)<br />
suggests that, as a response to the perceived<br />
inauthenticity <strong>of</strong> modern societies, tourists<br />
have become secular pilgrims searching for the<br />
authentic: ‘sightseeing is a kind <strong>of</strong> collective<br />
striving for a transcedence <strong>of</strong> the modern totality,<br />
a way <strong>of</strong> attempting to overcome the discontinuity<br />
<strong>of</strong> modernity (MacCannell, 1989, p.<br />
13). In other words, the alleged anomic condition<br />
<strong>of</strong> modern societies has resulted in a<br />
search for spiritual meaning and, as a modern<br />
form <strong>of</strong> mass migration, tourism is seen as a<br />
popular and particularly effective vehicle for<br />
undertaking that search. As a consequence, it<br />
is suggested by some that tourism is a modernday<br />
sacred journey, the contemporary and<br />
functional equivalent <strong>of</strong> the traditional<br />
pilgrimage.<br />
According to Smith (1992a), tourism and pilgrimage<br />
are superficially similar in that both<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
<strong>Tourism</strong>: a sacred journey? 163<br />
tourists and pilgrims share the same fundamental<br />
requirements to undertake their<br />
journey, namely, free (leisure) time, sufficient<br />
financial resources and social sanction — in<br />
the latter case, social ‘approval’ is a powerful<br />
force in determining the appropriate use <strong>of</strong><br />
free time. At the same time, observed tourist<br />
behaviour is analogous to a form <strong>of</strong> pilgrimage;<br />
that is, many tourist sights or attractions<br />
are accorded the status <strong>of</strong> a religious icon or<br />
symbol. As Urry (1990, p. 12) observes, they<br />
have to be seen or gazed upon; they are<br />
‘famous for being famous ...[and] ...entail a<br />
kind <strong>of</strong> pilgrimage to a sacred centre, which is<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten a capital or major city’. However, a distinction<br />
between tourism and pilgrimage may<br />
be identified within the meaning or personal<br />
belief attached to each activity. That is, pilgrimage<br />
may be considered the purposeful,<br />
serious, legitimate or pious pursuit <strong>of</strong> spiritual<br />
fulfilment, whereas tourism, by comparison,<br />
may be described as the search for hedonistic,<br />
frivolous and superficial wish-fulfilment<br />
(Pfaffenberger, 1983). Nevertheless, if these<br />
labels are stripped away, it becomes apparent<br />
that the individual experience <strong>of</strong> tourism and<br />
pilgrimage may not be so distinct. As Pfaffenberger<br />
(1983) argues, ‘the difference between<br />
tourism and pilgrimage lies not so much in any<br />
radical phenomenological difference between<br />
them . . . but rather in the culturally-supplied<br />
language <strong>of</strong> symbols in which travellers are<br />
obliged to express the peregrinations.’<br />
A number <strong>of</strong> commentators have linked the<br />
notion <strong>of</strong> tourism as a spiritual or sacred<br />
journey with Turners’ widely cited work on<br />
ritual processes, including pilgrimage (Turner<br />
and Turner, 1978). According to them, participation<br />
in transitional rituals or pilgrimage<br />
involves a three-stage process. Initially, people<br />
go through the separation stage, where they<br />
become freed or distanced from the ordinary,<br />
routine or ‘pr<strong>of</strong>ane’ (Graburn, 1989). This is<br />
followed by the phase <strong>of</strong> ‘liminality’, or entry<br />
into a ‘sacred’ state <strong>of</strong> anti-structure in which<br />
the structure and order <strong>of</strong> normal life dissolve,<br />
everyday obligations cease to exist and new<br />
forms <strong>of</strong> relationships are created based upon<br />
a levelling <strong>of</strong> statuses. This condition, referred<br />
to as ‘communitas’ by Turner and Turner<br />
(1978), ‘produces a special feeling <strong>of</strong> excitement<br />
and close bonding between participants’<br />
(Graburn, 2001, p. 47); the structured behaviour<br />
<strong>of</strong> everyday life is replaced by liberated<br />
and spontaneous activities that may not be<br />
socially sanctioned within the normal, home<br />
environment. For tourists, liminality is experienced<br />
in places ‘on the margin’ (Shields, 1990)<br />
and may be expressed in a variety <strong>of</strong> ways<br />
(Lett, 1983; Passariello, 1983). Finally, <strong>of</strong><br />
course, people must progress through the<br />
process <strong>of</strong> re-integration as they return to the<br />
structured, everyday existence <strong>of</strong> their home<br />
society — importantly, for those having experienced<br />
some form <strong>of</strong> transitional ritual, this<br />
reintegration is frequently at a changed or<br />
higher status.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are evident links between tourism and<br />
pilgrimage in terms <strong>of</strong> both the journey and the<br />
experience <strong>of</strong> communitas; indeed, Turner and<br />
Turner famously claim that ‘a tourist is half a<br />
pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist’ (1978,<br />
p. 20), although they distinguish between the<br />
obligatory nature <strong>of</strong> many traditional rituals<br />
and the voluntary nature <strong>of</strong> tourism. Equally,<br />
there is little doubt that some ‘tourist encounters<br />
can be just as compelling [as pilgrimage]<br />
and almost spiritual in personal meaning’<br />
(Smith, 1992a). Nevertheless, just as few would<br />
accept Boorstin’s (1964) position that the<br />
modern tourist is satisfied with pseudo-events,<br />
so too would few agree with MacCannell’s<br />
(1989) assertion that all tourists are modern pilgrims<br />
on an (albeit doomed) search for authenticity.<br />
That is, tourists seek to satisfy an<br />
enormous variety <strong>of</strong> personal or spiritual<br />
needs and, therefore, to classify all tourism as<br />
a response to modernity’s collective uncertainties<br />
and, hence, a search for spiritual reward<br />
may be misleading. Indeed, it is unlikely that<br />
all tourists sense anomie to the same degree.<br />
Thus, Cohen’s (1979) ‘existential tourist’ may<br />
seek the ‘centre out there’ and, hence, undertake<br />
an individual ‘pilgrimage’ in search <strong>of</strong><br />
spiritual fulfilment whereas ‘recreational<br />
tourists’ may, by definition, seek simply to<br />
relax and re-create.<br />
Moreover, the relationship between the<br />
journey and spiritual experiences remains<br />
fuzzy; for example, visits to ‘worship’ at the<br />
homes or graves <strong>of</strong> deceased celebrities, <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
referred to as ‘dark tourism’ (Lennon and<br />
Foley, 2000; Sharpley, 2003), is akin to traditional<br />
pilgrimage whereas many who walk the<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
164 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram<br />
Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage route<br />
may do so only for the physical challenge<br />
(although this in itself may be interpreted as<br />
providing contemporary spiritual reward).<br />
Equally, momentary experiences within otherwise<br />
mundane journeys may be spiritually<br />
uplifting. As de Botton (2003) notes, the link<br />
between sublimity and religion has long been<br />
explicit; ‘it is no coincidence that the Western<br />
attraction to sublime landscapes developed at<br />
precisely the moment when traditional beliefs<br />
in God began to wane’ (de Botton, 2003, p. 171)<br />
Thus, momentary gazing upon particular<br />
landscapes or views may satisfy the individual’s<br />
need for spiritual refreshment.<br />
To summarise this section, then, tourism and<br />
pilgrimage share many features — the requirements<br />
<strong>of</strong> free time, social sanction and income,<br />
as well as the process <strong>of</strong> transfer from ordinary/pr<strong>of</strong>ane<br />
to non-ordinary/sacred time<br />
and place. It is, therefore, possible to refer to<br />
tourism generically as a sacred journey, particularly<br />
as vacations may have significant personal<br />
meaning. Nevertheless, distinctions<br />
remain in the context <strong>of</strong> quest, between the<br />
‘true’ pilgrim following his or her faith and the<br />
secular pilgrim seeking meaning or knowledge.<br />
Thus, as Smith (1992a) suggests, pilgrimage<br />
and tourism may be conceptualised as<br />
‘two parallel, interchangeable lanes’ following<br />
different quests — the religious and the<br />
secular. Tourists may travel either lane or<br />
‘switch between them, depending on personal<br />
need or motivation’ (Smith, 1992a). However,<br />
as this paper now goes on to consider, even<br />
within destinational contexts where this lane<br />
switch may logically be assumed to occur (i.e.<br />
where tourism becomes primarily a spiritual<br />
journey), questions still remain over the nature<br />
<strong>of</strong> the individual quest and, hence, the<br />
meaning <strong>of</strong> the journey.<br />
THE STUDY — ‘ASHRAM TOURISM’<br />
IN INDIA<br />
Given the lack <strong>of</strong> research into, or evidence to<br />
support, the concept <strong>of</strong> tourism as a sacred<br />
journey, the purpose <strong>of</strong> this study is to begin<br />
to address the gap in the literature by<br />
exploring the motivations <strong>of</strong> Western<br />
tourists in southern <strong>India</strong>. More specifically,<br />
it seeks to reveal the quest in Western visitors<br />
to the Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> and the associated<br />
town <strong>of</strong> Auroville, located near<br />
Pondicherry in southeast <strong>India</strong>. This site was<br />
selected as it is, for Western visitors, one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most popular and well-known ashrams in the<br />
country. More generally, however, it is also an<br />
important religious site within a country that,<br />
arguably, epitomises spiritual touristic<br />
experiences.<br />
<strong>The</strong> context: <strong>India</strong> as a spiritual destination<br />
<strong>Tourism</strong>, particularly religious tourism, has a<br />
long history in <strong>India</strong>; ‘if travel and tourism are<br />
ways <strong>of</strong> enlightening the spirit ...they have<br />
been practised for centuries in <strong>India</strong>, whose<br />
peoples have long expressed a common sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> community in organized religion’ (Singh,<br />
2001, p. 138). Indeed, the practice <strong>of</strong> tirthayatra,<br />
or pilgrimage, has been an element <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>n<br />
social life since ancient times (Kamra, 1997;<br />
Gupta et al., 2002) and nowadays remains the<br />
mainstay <strong>of</strong> the domestic tourism industry —<br />
it is estimated that almost 95% <strong>of</strong> domestic<br />
travellers are religious tourists, and, overall,<br />
some 144 million domestic tourist trips were<br />
made in 1998 (Singh, 2001).<br />
In contrast, international tourism to <strong>India</strong><br />
remains, in terms <strong>of</strong> volume, relatively<br />
insignificant. Modern tourism to the subcontinent<br />
dates back to the nineteenth century, primarily<br />
based on the colonial relationship with<br />
Britain (the British were also instrumental in<br />
developing hill stations, such as Simla, as<br />
retreats from the summer heat) and, by 1880,<br />
Thomas Cook enjoyed a virtual monopoly on<br />
all international tourism to the country.<br />
However, it was not until the mid-1940s that<br />
the colonial government began to recognise<br />
the economic potential <strong>of</strong> tourism and, in 1948,<br />
the newly independent government established<br />
the first body to promote tourism. Since<br />
then, and despite political upheavals, sporadic<br />
terrorist activity and health scares, international<br />
tourism has grown, albeit slowly. In<br />
1951, just 17000 international arrivals were<br />
recorded; by 2000, total arrivals had reached<br />
almost 2.65 million (Mintel, 2003). Of these,<br />
20% were from neighbouring Pakistan and<br />
Bangladesh, but Europe remains the biggest<br />
market, accounting for around 34% <strong>of</strong> all international<br />
arrivals. Not surprisingly, Britain pro-<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
<strong>Tourism</strong>: a sacred journey? 165<br />
vides the largest proportion <strong>of</strong> European<br />
arrivals and almost 40% <strong>of</strong> these are travellers<br />
visiting friends and relatives (VFR). Thus,<br />
<strong>India</strong>’s share <strong>of</strong> global tourist arrivals is, at just<br />
0.4%, insignificant although, reflecting the<br />
dominance <strong>of</strong> VFR tourists, average length <strong>of</strong><br />
stay is over 30 days.<br />
<strong>The</strong> relative weakness <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>’s international<br />
tourism sector is, perhaps, surprising<br />
given the diverse attractions <strong>of</strong> the county,<br />
although most commentators point to haphazard<br />
tourism development policies and poor<br />
infrastructure as significant barriers. Nevertheless,<br />
since the 1960s, the country has<br />
become popular amongst Western visitors<br />
seeking some form <strong>of</strong> spiritual experience. Initially<br />
manifested in the ‘great overland movement<br />
from Europe . . . through Iran and<br />
Afghanistan . . . probably motivated by a<br />
search for “meaning” . . . from the Eastern<br />
gurus’ (Smith, 1992a), <strong>India</strong>’s reputation as a<br />
spiritual destination received a significant<br />
boost from visits by celebrities:<br />
Now it was the turn <strong>of</strong> the populists, the<br />
Beatles and the Rolling Stones to become<br />
the pacemakers for a faltering Western<br />
heart, and they achieved a more striking<br />
success ...<strong>The</strong> first wave <strong>of</strong> disciples was<br />
really top drawer. <strong>The</strong>y were the nobles<br />
<strong>of</strong> the meritocracy and they were looking<br />
good. <strong>The</strong> women were models, the men<br />
were stars, and the massage was the<br />
message. When they came out <strong>of</strong> their<br />
spiritual retreats draped in homespun,<br />
they glowed with vegetarian good health<br />
( Mehta, 1990, p. 68).<br />
By the early 1980s, political upheaval in Iran<br />
and Afghanistan had signalled the demise <strong>of</strong><br />
the overland trail but there is no doubt that<br />
<strong>India</strong> continues to attract large numbers <strong>of</strong><br />
Western travellers seeking to experience spiritual<br />
<strong>India</strong>; indeed, there now exists a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> specialist tour operators to meet the needs<br />
<strong>of</strong> those seeking such an experience. For<br />
example, Sprit <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> (see www.spirit-<strong>of</strong>india.com)<br />
<strong>of</strong>fers ‘Yoga <strong>Journey</strong>s’ and a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> pilgrimages to religious ceremonies and festivals,<br />
including the Kumbha Mela, the most<br />
important <strong>of</strong> all Hindu spiritual festivals that<br />
occurs every three years and, most famously,<br />
once every twelve years in the city <strong>of</strong><br />
Allahabad.<br />
Of course, it is not only festivals that attract<br />
Western visitors — <strong>India</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers a kaleidoscope<br />
<strong>of</strong> different religions and religious practices,<br />
evidenced in an enormous variety <strong>of</strong> shrines,<br />
temples and icons, and contemporary life in<br />
the country is manifestly spiritual: ‘you learn<br />
that, over there, the everyday person is the true<br />
holyman’ (Weis, 2003). Nevertheless, specific<br />
religious sites have long attracted western visitors;<br />
these include Dharamsala (a former<br />
British hill station to which the Dalai Lama fled<br />
from Tibet, and now a centre for the study <strong>of</strong><br />
Tibetan culture) and Rishikesh, the town<br />
where the Beatles visited their guru in the<br />
1960s and now a place to study Hinduism.<br />
More generally, ashrams have also proved to<br />
be a magnet for Western visitors (for many, an<br />
essential element <strong>of</strong> a visit to <strong>India</strong> — see<br />
Sutcliffe (1998)). Perhaps the most famous <strong>of</strong><br />
these is the home <strong>of</strong> the controversial Sai Baba<br />
in Puttaparthi, although the Sri Aurobindo<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong>, the focus for this study, is also a<br />
popular destination.<br />
<strong>The</strong> case study: Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> term ‘ashram’ is derived from the Sanskrit<br />
word srama, meaning religious exercise,<br />
although it is now used generically to describe<br />
a spiritual retreat or college, usually established<br />
by a Hindu sage or ‘guru’ (a teacher or<br />
holy man). <strong>The</strong>re are innumerable ashrams in<br />
<strong>India</strong> (and elsewehere) ranging from the<br />
homes <strong>of</strong> gurus to large, purpose built establishments<br />
with resident populations <strong>of</strong><br />
disciples.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> in Pondicherry,<br />
a former French colony in the south-eastern<br />
state <strong>of</strong> Tamil Nadu, is unique inasmuch as it<br />
is directly associated with the founding and<br />
development <strong>of</strong> a nearby township, Auroville,<br />
the purpose <strong>of</strong> which is to realise the ideal <strong>of</strong><br />
human unity. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Ashram</strong> itself was founded<br />
by Sri Aurobindo, who was born in Calcutta in<br />
1872. Educated at school and university<br />
in England, he returned to Baroda in <strong>India</strong> in<br />
1893 and worked in the local civil service<br />
before becoming a pr<strong>of</strong>essor at Baroda College.<br />
Over a 13 year period he began to practice<br />
yoga as well as becoming involved in politics<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
166 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram<br />
Figure 1. <strong>The</strong> Matrimandir, Auroville.<br />
before moving back to Calcutta in 1913. His<br />
political activities led to him being detained for<br />
a year before he travelled to Pondicherry in<br />
1910, where he devoted the next 40 years <strong>of</strong> his<br />
life to spiritual development through the practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> yoga. In 1920, he commenced a collaboration<br />
with the French-born Mirra Alfassa<br />
who, on first meeting Sri Aurobindo in 1914,<br />
had recognised him as the ‘master who had<br />
inwardly been guiding her spiritual development’<br />
(Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong>, 2001). Later to<br />
become known simply as the ‘Mother’, she<br />
took charge <strong>of</strong> his disciples and formally established<br />
the <strong>Ashram</strong> when, in 1926, Sri<br />
Aurobindo went into seclusion. Since then, the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> has grown from a small community <strong>of</strong><br />
some two dozen disciples to a large, diverse<br />
community <strong>of</strong> over 1200 people. <strong>The</strong> focus <strong>of</strong><br />
community life is the <strong>Ashram</strong>, an interconnecting<br />
block <strong>of</strong> houses including those in<br />
which Sri Aurobindo and the Mother lived for<br />
most <strong>of</strong> their lives — their remains lie in the<br />
samadhi, or grave, in the central courtyard.<br />
However, ashramites live and work throughout<br />
the area, and within the ashram they are<br />
free to follow their sadhana, or spiritual discipline,<br />
to suit their individual needs. That is,<br />
there are no obligatory practices, rituals or<br />
compulsory meditations within the ashram<br />
and all visitors are welcome.<br />
Auroville, located 10km from Pondicherry,<br />
was the inspiration <strong>of</strong> the Mother. Her vision<br />
was that ‘there should be somewhere upon<br />
earth a place that no nation could claim as its<br />
sole property, a place where all human beings<br />
<strong>of</strong> goodwill, sincere in their aspirations, could<br />
live freely as citizens <strong>of</strong> the world, obeying one<br />
single authority, that <strong>of</strong> the supreme truth’<br />
(Auroville, 2000, p. 2). In other words, her<br />
vision was a utopian community where people<br />
<strong>of</strong> different nationalities and diverse backgrounds<br />
could live together in a spirit <strong>of</strong> collaboration<br />
and mutual respect. Following its<br />
inauguration in 1968, work commenced on<br />
building the town, which comprises four zones<br />
surrounding a central Peace area, the centrepiece<br />
<strong>of</strong> which is the Matrimandir, a place for<br />
silent contemplation (Figure 1). Life in the<br />
town was based initially upon the principles <strong>of</strong><br />
equality, common ownership, self-governance<br />
and self-sufficiency, although, following the<br />
death <strong>of</strong> the Mother in 1973, the original idealism<br />
rapidly dissipated. Currently, 1600 people<br />
live in Auroville (one-third are <strong>India</strong>n and the<br />
remainder from other countries, with 33<br />
nationalities represented in total), far short <strong>of</strong><br />
the hoped-for community <strong>of</strong> 50000. Nevertheless,<br />
the town, along with the <strong>Ashram</strong>, attracts<br />
significant numbers <strong>of</strong> visitors.<br />
THE RESEARCH<br />
As stated above, an exploratory study was<br />
undertaken into the motives <strong>of</strong> Western visi-<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
<strong>Tourism</strong>: a sacred journey? 167<br />
tors to the Sri Aorobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> and<br />
Auroville. <strong>The</strong> principal purpose <strong>of</strong> this was to<br />
ascertain the extent to which tourists were<br />
seeking to satisfy a spiritual need through their<br />
experience <strong>of</strong> the destination or, indeed, if<br />
there were other, non-spiritual reasons for their<br />
visit. Semi-structured interviews were conducted<br />
with a number <strong>of</strong> international tourists<br />
in Pondicherry over a five day period. As interviewing<br />
visitors is not permitted within the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> itself, a number <strong>of</strong> respondents were<br />
selected randomly in local cafés in the vicinity<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong>, and a further sample was similarly<br />
selected within Auroville. Each respondent<br />
was asked a number <strong>of</strong> descriptive<br />
questions related to nationality, age, length <strong>of</strong><br />
stay and so on, although the primary aim was<br />
to elicit, through open-ended questions, their<br />
expectations, perceptions and experiences <strong>of</strong><br />
visiting the <strong>Ashram</strong>/Auroville; that is, to identify<br />
the degree <strong>of</strong> spiritual ‘quest in guest’.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sample<br />
Twenty-eight tourists were interviewed, 16<br />
within the vicinity <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong> and a further<br />
12 in Auroville. <strong>The</strong> respondents comprised a<br />
broad range <strong>of</strong> nationalities and ages; six were<br />
German, two were from the USA, five were<br />
Italian, one each came from Sri Lanka, Israel<br />
and Australia, three were British and the<br />
remaining nine were French. <strong>The</strong> number <strong>of</strong><br />
French respondents was not, perhaps, surprising<br />
given the fact that, until the 1950s,<br />
Pondicherry was a French colony, and France<br />
and Germany are, after Britain, <strong>India</strong>’s major<br />
European tourist markets. More surprising,<br />
however, was the lack <strong>of</strong> British visitors.<br />
Sixteen respondents were male and 12 were<br />
female and, overall, their ages were spread<br />
between 20 and 50, although two respondents<br />
were over 70 years old. Interestingly, only four<br />
respondents were under 30 years <strong>of</strong> age —<br />
however, as will be discussed shortly, this can<br />
be explained in part by the characteristics <strong>of</strong><br />
Auroville respondents, eight <strong>of</strong> whom could<br />
be categorised as ‘permanent tourists’. That is,<br />
they had been living in Auroville for a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> years (27 years in one case) and had no<br />
intention <strong>of</strong> returning to their countries <strong>of</strong><br />
origin. Of the remaining respondents, expected<br />
length <strong>of</strong> stay in <strong>India</strong> varied between two<br />
weeks and seven months, although the majority<br />
were travelling in the country for between<br />
one and two months.<br />
Immediately, then, two distinct groups were<br />
identified within the sample, namely, the permanent<br />
tourists — the minority who had<br />
become Auroville residents — and the majority<br />
who were staying in Pondicherry temporarily<br />
as all or part <strong>of</strong> a visit to <strong>India</strong>. As is<br />
discussed in the following section, the research<br />
revealed significant distinctions between the<br />
two groups with respect to motives for visiting/staying<br />
in Pondicherry, and within the<br />
temporary visitors group, three subgroups<br />
were also identified: spiritual seekers, tourist<br />
trail followers, and yoga practitioners.<br />
ASHRAM TOURISTS — RESEARCH<br />
OUTCOMES<br />
For convenience, the following discussion is<br />
structured around the two groups and three<br />
subgroups described above. In each case, the<br />
expectations and experiences <strong>of</strong> tourists are<br />
explored within the context <strong>of</strong> tourism as a<br />
sacred journey.<br />
Permanent tourists<br />
Given the international character <strong>of</strong> the population<br />
<strong>of</strong> Auroville, the inclusion <strong>of</strong> a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> overseas residents, or ‘permanent tourists’,<br />
amongst those interviewed in the township<br />
was not unexpected. Similarly, given the<br />
vision/idealism that underpinned the founding<br />
and development <strong>of</strong> Auroville, it was,<br />
perhaps, likely that the motives <strong>of</strong> those choosing<br />
to live there would be predictable and<br />
would, to an extent, contrast with the motives<br />
<strong>of</strong> temporary visitors.<br />
Of the eight respondents who indicated that<br />
they were residents <strong>of</strong> Auroville, the most<br />
recent arrival had lived there for seven years,<br />
but the majority had been there for up to<br />
twenty years. All but one worked in the community<br />
in jobs ranging from martial arts<br />
classes and fitness instruction to managing the<br />
visitor centre, and all viewed their residence in<br />
the township as indefinite. All but one were<br />
over forty years <strong>of</strong> age. Four respondents<br />
claimed that they had been attracted originally<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
168 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram<br />
by the spiritual culture <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> in general,<br />
whereas two others had specifically come to<br />
live in Auroville. Interestingly, however, the<br />
respondents’ actual experience <strong>of</strong> living in the<br />
township contrasted with their initial expectations;<br />
that is, although originally seeking some<br />
benefit from the spirituality <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>, for a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> respondents the attraction <strong>of</strong><br />
Auroville had become the ‘otherness’ <strong>of</strong> the<br />
township compared with their home country<br />
and with the rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> itself.<br />
For example, one respondent who had travelled<br />
to <strong>India</strong> on a ‘spiritual quest’ described<br />
his perception <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong> as ‘spiritual’, but his<br />
experience <strong>of</strong> Auroville as a dream. In<br />
Auroville ‘I’ve realised my dreams, to be free<br />
to be able to share my life with others ...[in] .<br />
. . brotherhood and unity. I am here because <strong>of</strong><br />
Auroville. It is what it is because it’s in <strong>India</strong>,<br />
but it’s different — Auroville is not <strong>India</strong>’. Similarly,<br />
another respondent explained that living<br />
in Auroville and visiting the <strong>Ashram</strong> had<br />
resulted in her ‘being in touch with a living<br />
stream <strong>of</strong> life that is magical and beautiful,<br />
keeping myself open to life and developing a<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> my inner self’, but again, ‘living in<br />
Auroville one feels quite disconnected with<br />
[sic]the outside world’. Other respondents also<br />
emphasised the unity, equality, serenity,<br />
freedom and magic <strong>of</strong> Auroville and its contrast<br />
to <strong>India</strong> (we have become Aurovillians,<br />
not <strong>India</strong>ns), perhaps best summarised by<br />
another respondent who described <strong>India</strong> as<br />
‘chaotic, submissive, exhausting’ and<br />
Auroville as ‘home, adventure, magical’.<br />
For the permanent tourists, then, Auroville<br />
provides a form <strong>of</strong> spiritual existence, in a<br />
sense a permanent state <strong>of</strong> communitas that is<br />
defined, as is Alex Garland’s imaginary ‘Beach’<br />
(1997), by its separateness (and its utopian<br />
ideals) from the outside world. Thus, it is not<br />
the journey but the destination that, for this<br />
group, is spiritual; rather than tourism as pilgrimage,<br />
involving a temporary state <strong>of</strong> antistructure<br />
(communitas) and return, it is travel,<br />
or escape, to the ‘Other’.<br />
Temporary visitors<br />
<strong>The</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> respondents (20) were temporary<br />
visitors to Pondicherry, staying either in<br />
the vicinity <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong> or in Auroville. All<br />
had visited the Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> but only<br />
eight had also visited or planned to visit other<br />
ashrams during their trip in <strong>India</strong>. For six<br />
respondents, visiting ashrams was the sole<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> travelling to <strong>India</strong> although, as discussed<br />
shortly, their motivations varied.<br />
From the responses to these and other specific<br />
questions, including sources <strong>of</strong> information<br />
and knowledge about Pondicherry/the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> and the original reasons for visiting,<br />
along with open-ended questions with respect<br />
to respondents’ experiences <strong>of</strong> their visit, the<br />
differing motivations and degrees <strong>of</strong> spiritual<br />
quest can be identified within three subgroups<br />
<strong>of</strong> tourists.<br />
Spiritual seekers. <strong>The</strong> research suggests that, <strong>of</strong><br />
those interviewed, only a relatively small proportion<br />
had purposefully visited the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
in search <strong>of</strong>, or in the expectation <strong>of</strong>, a spiritual<br />
experience. Indeed, just five respondents indicated<br />
that the motivation for their visit was<br />
‘spiritual’. Four <strong>of</strong> these described themselves<br />
as ‘devotees’ and, hence, previously aware <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Ashram</strong> and the teachings <strong>of</strong> Sri Aurobindo<br />
— one respondent from Italy, for example, had<br />
learned about the <strong>Ashram</strong> through a Sri<br />
Aurobindo group in his home country and<br />
said that he considered <strong>India</strong> not simply as a<br />
country or geographical space but as ‘Mother’,<br />
because <strong>of</strong> the way in which everything in<br />
<strong>India</strong> is in someway connected to religion.<br />
Another had been drawn to the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
because <strong>of</strong> her belief that ‘it is necessary ...<br />
[for people] . . . to follow the ideas <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Mother’, and a regular visitor, who described<br />
<strong>India</strong> as ‘divine’ and <strong>India</strong>ns as ‘spiritual, very<br />
occidental’, explained his continuing motivation<br />
to visit the <strong>Ashram</strong> as follows:<br />
. . . I feel the ‘force’ <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong> and the<br />
Mother. It has helped me when I’m back<br />
home; I’m finding my innerself. Everything<br />
has changed, my outlook has<br />
changed, I think with my heart. I have<br />
become a worshipper at a philosophical<br />
level. [At home] we have lost our Gods;<br />
researching for truth, we find evidence in<br />
science. This has changed everything.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fifth respondent in this group (about 50<br />
years old) had visited <strong>India</strong> as a (hippie) youth<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
<strong>Tourism</strong>: a sacred journey? 169<br />
and was curious to see how much the country<br />
had changed. More specifically, he described<br />
<strong>India</strong> as ‘unique’ and ‘spiritual’, and himself as<br />
‘pr<strong>of</strong>essionally fulfilled but spiritually<br />
curious’; his visit was, therefore, motivated by<br />
the potential for, but not in expectation <strong>of</strong>, a<br />
spiritual experience. In contrast, the ‘devotees’<br />
had come to the <strong>Ashram</strong> to experience spiritual<br />
truth and meaning, implicitly to strengthen<br />
them in their everyday life back home. Thus,<br />
the ‘spiritual seekers’ identified in this research<br />
may be better considered as religious tourists<br />
or ‘true’ pilgrims.<br />
Tourist trail followers. Inevitably, many, if not<br />
the majority <strong>of</strong> tourists who visit<br />
religious/spiritual sites or attractions in<br />
general do not do so for spiritual reasons. Such<br />
sites may be architecturally important, culturally<br />
significant or, as previously noted, simply<br />
‘famous for being famous’ Urry (1990, p. 12);<br />
they may also be recommended in guidebooks.<br />
For example, the Eyewitness Guide to <strong>India</strong><br />
(2002) describes the Sri Aurobino <strong>Ashram</strong> as a<br />
reputed yoga and meditation centre, and<br />
Lonely Planet’s <strong>India</strong> Travel Survival Kit —<br />
arguably the most widely used guide book by<br />
travellers in <strong>India</strong> (but, see Bhattacharyya,<br />
1997) — includes both Sri Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
and Auroville as two <strong>of</strong> the five ‘must see’ spiritual<br />
centres in the country. <strong>The</strong>refore, it is<br />
likely that a proportion <strong>of</strong> visitors to the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> are simply following the tourist trail.<br />
<strong>The</strong> research suggests that this is, to an<br />
extent, the case, although given the location <strong>of</strong><br />
Pondicherry in the southeast <strong>of</strong> the country,<br />
the number <strong>of</strong> tourists visiting the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
simply ‘because it is there’ is likely to be more<br />
limited than in the more popular tourist<br />
regions <strong>of</strong> <strong>India</strong>. Almost half those (temporary<br />
visitors) interviewed indicated that they were<br />
visiting out <strong>of</strong> curiosity, although some <strong>of</strong><br />
these also cited the desire to experience ashram<br />
life or to participate in specific activities, such<br />
as yoga, as reasons for visiting (see below). Visiting<br />
the <strong>Ashram</strong> was not considered a specific<br />
reason for travelling to <strong>India</strong> in the first place<br />
and the great majority <strong>of</strong> these ‘curious’ visitors<br />
had learned about the <strong>Ashram</strong> either<br />
through word <strong>of</strong> mouth (friends/fellow travellers)<br />
or from guide books. Interestingly, just<br />
three respondents suggested that they had fol-<br />
lowed the tourist trail; one American visitor<br />
stated ‘it is very relaxing to be here just spending<br />
time with fellow tourists. A friend <strong>of</strong> mine<br />
suggested it to me and I think I’ll do likewise<br />
and recommend it to my other friends’. Two<br />
others said that they had visited the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
simply because everyone in Pondicherry was<br />
talking about it. Another was there only<br />
because his brother lived in the area: ‘if<br />
Auroville was in another country, I would not<br />
have come’.<br />
<strong>The</strong> research suggests, therefore, that relatively<br />
few visit the <strong>Ashram</strong>/Auroville simply<br />
because it is on the tourist trail and one such<br />
respondent was left unimpressed by the experience:<br />
‘it doesn’t feel real; it’s just people<br />
living like [sic] they please. It’s like being in<br />
Disneyland, it’s not possible to live like this<br />
elsewhere’. Conversely, although not specifically<br />
drawn by a spiritual need, a number had<br />
visited out <strong>of</strong> cultural interest (to experience/gain<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> ashram life), and, as<br />
the next section reveals, some were attracted<br />
by the opportunity to participate in specific<br />
activities, particularly yoga.<br />
Yoga/meditation practitioners. As discussed<br />
earlier, the philosophy <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong>’s<br />
founder, Sri Aurobindo, was based upon spiritual<br />
development through yoga; at the same<br />
time, most guide books recommend the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> and Auroville for the practice <strong>of</strong> yoga<br />
and meditation. <strong>The</strong>refore, it is unsurprising<br />
that six respondents specifically cited wanting<br />
to practice/learn yoga as a principal reason for<br />
their visits, and more than half the respondents<br />
indicated that the facilities they made most use<br />
<strong>of</strong> during their stay were the Matrimandir (the<br />
meditation hall) and Quiet Healing Centre<br />
where yoga is taught and practised.<br />
Those participating in yoga undoubtedly<br />
benefited from their experience <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Ashram</strong>.<br />
One respondent suggested that he had ‘experienced<br />
what yoga is; it helps to build up a<br />
healthy life’, and another stated that ‘the practice<br />
<strong>of</strong> yoga is impressing [sic]. It can help a<br />
person to have a relaxed and healthy life’. Similarly,<br />
another respondent who had learned<br />
yoga had found that, for her, it ‘helps to relax<br />
the mind’, and an American visitor, through<br />
practising yoga and mediation, had learned to<br />
‘search the innerself’. Thus, those who had<br />
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. <strong>Tourism</strong> Res. 7, 161–171 (2005)
170 R. Sharpley and P. Sundaram<br />
visited for the specific purpose <strong>of</strong> learning and<br />
practising yoga had, to a lesser or greater<br />
extent, enjoyed some form <strong>of</strong> spiritual experience;<br />
indeed, one respondent from Germany<br />
explained that, having initially come to the<br />
<strong>Ashram</strong> out <strong>of</strong> curiosity and to learn yoga, he<br />
had ‘learned to look at life differently, that<br />
material things don’t matter too much’. He<br />
went on to claim that he had ‘become religious<br />
now, unlike before’.<br />
Summary<br />
In the context <strong>of</strong> this paper, there is a significant<br />
distinction between expectations and<br />
experience. That is, other than the ‘spiritual<br />
seekers’ referred to above, relatively few<br />
respondents had purposefully travelled to<br />
<strong>India</strong> and the <strong>Ashram</strong> to satisfy a spiritual<br />
need. Many were there out <strong>of</strong> curiosity, others<br />
to learn yoga and some simply because it was<br />
there, on the tourist trail. However, whereas<br />
some respondents recognised an artificiality<br />
about the <strong>Ashram</strong> experience for western travellers<br />
(perhaps reflecting the awareness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
so-called ‘post tourist’ — see Feifer (1985)), a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> others viewed their visit as a<br />
serendipitous spiritual experience, whether<br />
specifically through yoga/meditation or more<br />
generally from staying in the <strong>Ashram</strong> and<br />
Auroville. For example, for one ‘curious’<br />
visitor, visiting the <strong>Ashram</strong> had made his ‘life<br />
richer, made me see things differently and<br />
more humble’, and another felt more ‘peaceful,<br />
appreciative and thankful’. In short, although<br />
many respondents had not been motivated by<br />
a spiritual need or quest, visiting the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
had provided some spiritual experience or<br />
fulfilment.<br />
CONCLUSIONS<br />
This paper set out to consider, through an<br />
exploratory study <strong>of</strong> Western tourists at the Sri<br />
Aurobindo <strong>Ashram</strong> in southern <strong>India</strong>, the<br />
degree <strong>of</strong> ‘quest in guest’; that is, its purpose<br />
was to begin to identify the extent to which visitors<br />
to a specific spiritual/religious destination<br />
were motivated by a search for spiritual<br />
fulfilment as suggested by those describing<br />
tourism as a sacred journey. Despite the<br />
limited nature <strong>of</strong> the research, a number <strong>of</strong><br />
points have emerged.<br />
First, in some cases, the ‘quest in guest’ may<br />
be fulfilled. That is, the research revealed a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> tourists who had discovered in<br />
Auroville their spiritual home or ‘centre out<br />
there’ (Cohen, 1979). For some <strong>of</strong> these tourists,<br />
the satisfaction <strong>of</strong> their spiritual need meant<br />
that they had come to the end <strong>of</strong> their journey<br />
— as existential tourists, they had fully<br />
immersed themselves in the spiritual ‘Other’,<br />
becoming, in a sense, permanent tourists. For<br />
others, spiritual fulfilment is part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
journey. In other words, and second, the notion<br />
<strong>of</strong> the tourist as pilgrim (i.e. the religious<br />
tourist) has, to an extent, been verified; those<br />
who travelled to Pondicherry (the ‘devotees’<br />
or ‘spiritual seekers’) with specific spiritual<br />
intentions return home stronger or more fulfilled.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir pilgrimage has been a success.<br />
Third, the research also suggests that the<br />
notion <strong>of</strong> a continuum <strong>of</strong> religious or spiritual<br />
intent as proposed by Smith (1992a) is valid.<br />
Although a variety <strong>of</strong> motives, from knowledge-driven<br />
secular curiosity to more purposeful<br />
need satisfaction, were identified in the<br />
research, it is evident that, albeit unintentionally,<br />
different intensities <strong>of</strong> spiritual fulfilment<br />
were experienced by visitors to the <strong>Ashram</strong><br />
and Auroville. Importantly, however, this was<br />
not as an outcome <strong>of</strong> spiritual need-driven<br />
actions; for the most part, curiosity or the<br />
desire to learn resulted in spiritual benefits.<br />
Thus, it is apparent that, within particular destinational<br />
contexts, tourism can begin to take<br />
on the characteristics <strong>of</strong> a sacred journey<br />
although it may not be spiritually motivated.<br />
That is, tourism may not be functionally<br />
sacred, although its outcome may be.<br />
Finally, given the context <strong>of</strong> this research,<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the findings were, perhaps, predictable.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is a need, therefore, for further<br />
similar research in a variety <strong>of</strong> other destinational<br />
contexts. Nevertheless, this paper has<br />
gone some way to providing a foundation for<br />
that work.<br />
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