Q: What does Sikhism say about the pilgrimages made by Muslims and Hindus?

A: Sikhs do not believe in going to pilgrimages to clean themselves. Sikhs believe that one can only be cleansed from his heart and soul.

Muslims make holy journeys to Mecca and Hindus take bath at sacred shrines. “Pilgrimages to the Ganges, the Gaya and the Godawari are merely worldly affairs” (Guru Granth Sahib, 1195). Making journeys to Pilgrimages does not bring you any good. If you want yourself to be cleansed then clean yourself within. Clean your mind and soul and get rid of lust, anger, greed, worldly attachment and ego.

Muslims say that God resides in Mecca but God resides in all and everywhere. “The Temple of Mecca is hidden within your soul, if you try to know it” (Guru Granth Sahib, 480). You do not need to got o Mecca to find God, He is within you, try to find Him in your soul.

“He alone is a pilgrim, who purifies his heart. He alone is a Mullah, who banishes evil; he alone is a saintly dervish, who takes the support of the Lord's Praise” (Guru Granth Sahib, 1083). The one who purifies his heart is a real pilgrim, not the one actually going to Mecca.

Worship of God is above all. “Someone may go to the Ganges or the Godaavari, or to the Kumbha festival, or bathe at Kaydaar Naat'h, or make donations of thousands of cows at Gomti; he may make millions of pilgrimages to sacred shrines, or freeze his body in the Himalayas; still, none of these is equal to the worship of God” (Guru Granth Sahib, 973).

Kabeer Ji says, “I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines. I serve the One Lord, and not any other. I do not perform Hindu worship, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers. I have taken the One Formless Lord in my heart; I humbly worship Him there” (Guru Granth Sahib, 1136). Kabeer Ji has enshrined the Name of God in his heart and do not go to Mecca or Hindu sacred shrines. The Pilgrimages do not clean your soul, you have to do it yourself. So becomes aware of your sins and cleans yourself deep within. That is called the real cleansing.

“What is the use of bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage, when the filth of stubborn pride is within the mind?” (Guru Granth Sahib, 60). There is no use of bathing at sacred shrines because Pilgrimage cannot clean the filth of your ego.

Meditation on God cleans your soul and helps you get rid of sins. Guru Arjun Dev Ji writes, “I meditate on God within my mind. This is my cleansing bath at all the sacred shrines of pilgrimage” (Guru Granth Sahib, 195). Furthermore, Naamdev Ji says, “I do not go to see sacred shrines of pilgrimage, or bathe in the sacred waters; I do not bother any beings or creatures. The Guru has shown me the sixty-eight places of pilgrimage within my own heart, where I now take my cleansing bath” (Guru Granth Sahib, 972). Naamdev Ji cleans himself from deep within with the help of meditation shown by the Guru.


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