FRIENDS OF MOUNT ATHOS BOOK REVIEWS
© 1997
Sacred Journeys: Paths for
the New Pilgrim. Edited by Jennifer
Westwood. Foreword by Martin Palmer. London: Gaia Books, 1997. 223 pages. Price
p/b £14.99. ISBN 1-85675-004-3.
As a spiritual guide to the
phenomenology of pilgrimage, this elegant and elucidative book fulfils its
purpose admirably. It is not an academic book, and that is a compliment. There
are too many academic books on pilgrimage that miss the spiritual point of the
sacred journeys.
Jennifer
Westwood, a well-known writer and specialist on sacred and spiritual places
worldwide, has edited her Sacred Journeys in two parts: the first highlights the stages of the journey to and
from the sacred centre, and the second provides a guide to some major routes
and sites around the world. At the end of the book (ÔResourcesÕ) the
prospective pilgrim will find a useful list of books cited, as well as
addresses of specialist pilgrimage and travel organizations.
The
main bulk of the book consists of 'The Pilgrim's Path' (Part I), under the
sub-headings Longing, Getting Ready, Setting Out, Sacred Way, Adventures and
Difficulties, Midway: going on or turning back, Doubt and Hope, Drawing
Near—Anticipation, Arrival: excitement and preparation, Climax: encounter with the
unknown, Reflection and Redirection, and Coming Home. Westwood's tale of the
pilgrim's progress from home to the sacred centre and back is interspersed with
several well-chosen quotations, examples, pictures, and double-page spread
personal accounts of particular pilgrimage centres, written by nineteen
contributors.
There
is, for example, a double-page spread on Mount Athos by the writer and
photographer Roger Housden. His and other confessional accounts intertwined
with the main storyline serve the purpose of illustrating that the phenomenon
is worldwide both geographically and historically: from the original ritual
paths of tribal societies, through the classical sacred ways of Greece, Egypt,
and the East, and the great Christian pilgrimages of the Middle Ages, sacred
journeys continue to evolve. Inevitably, therefore, the exemplifying accounts
are meagre in practical detail, the emphasis being on the confessional and
spiritual aspects of the pilgrims' accounts. The would-be pilgrim to Athos is
thus well advised to turn to the Pilgrim's Guide to Mount Athos, published by the Friends of Mount Athos, for
practical details.
Westwood's
editorial strategy, a mandala of the phenomenon of pilgrimage in cultural
settings worldwide, has the advantage of appealing to many readers. It
demonstrates the universality of the phenomenon, the fact that spirituality
reaches the same depths in all religions, both folk and world religions as well
as their modern variants, and that the experiences read about in the Holy Scriptures
are not that unique, and also occur today; miracles too.
Of
the many interesting observations I made during my reading, I would like to
mention the following. First, it is evident from the numerous accounts and
tales of the sacred places and sights of different religions that pilgrimage is
and always has been a worldwide phenomenon that seems to spring from an inborn
yearning for an encounter with the divine.
Secondly,
when we ask what it is that people in all cultures seek from their sacred centres,
the answer seems to be to engage in a personal dialogue with the divine. The
specific quality of a 'true' pilgrimage therefore is really personal (and/or
spiritual) transformation. The word 'transformation' is frequently used to
describe the outcome of the pilgrim's sacred journey.
Thirdly,
the overwhelming experiences come as a complete surprise to many a pilgrim.
Although in some cases the journey started out more out of curiosity than as a
goal-directed spiritual search, it eventually became a real pilgrimage. In
other words, the traveller found something important — spirituality — while
searching for something else.
Fourthly,
and apart from other benefits, pilgrimage seems to give the direction and depth
in life yearned for by so many of us. Numerous confessional accounts are moving
illustrations of this fact.
Finally,
pilgrimage is a 'trans-religious' phenomenon in the sense that we, at the
sacred centres of other religions, standing side by side with the devotees of
other faiths, may even there experience humankind's dialogue with the divine.
This most certainly promotes religious tolerance and understanding, which in
the future may prove to be of major importance for the survival of humankind.
Perhaps we should regard ourselves not so much as homines religiosi of different faiths, but as homines peregrini heading in the same direction with the same purpose
in mind: personal transformation — to become the humans we were supposed to be.