Is parikrama using a pony around Mount Kailash considered sacred, and is it as meritorious as walking around the mountain?
—VIJAYA BABU, India
Dear Vijaya Babu,
Hello! Thank you for writing to us. We aren’t familiar enough with this tradition to be able to answer it according to that tradition. From the standpoint of yoga, any pilgrimage, done in any manner, is somewhat meritorious. It is more meritorious if done with sincerity and devotion. Walking on foot certainly can bring benefits — it depends on the attitude of the mind.
As Krishna says in the Gita: “Whenever anyone, with a pure intention, offers Me (even) a leaf, a flower, a (piece of) fruit, or water (whether poured out or held up in a vessel), I accept his offering (as symbolic of his love).”
Joy to you,
Dharmarajan
