Indian Hindu pilgrims bathing in The Ganges River at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Holy City of Varanasi, Benares, India

Traditional scene on River Ganges Hindu pilgrim pours Ganges water while praying at Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

Indian Hindu pilgrims bathing in The Ganges River at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Holy City of Varanasi, Benares, India

Buddhist visitors applying gold leaf as traditional offering at Dhamakh Stupa at Sarnath ruins near Varanasi, Benares, Northern India

Lighted candles offering Buddhist prayers at Dharmarajika Stupa at Sarnath near Varanasi, Northern India

Monks offer butter lamps prayer, kalachakra initiation, bodhgaya. India. Monks attending kalachakra initiation at mahaboudhi temple in bodhgaya, india. mahabodhi temple marks site of buddha’s enlightment twenty-five hundred years. centuries have made pilgrimages across himalayas to sites connected with life of historical buddha. From a tantric perspective, pilgrimage is more than paying homage at sacred sites. Rather, it is that activities performed at these places become a memory of place itself. By attuning oneself through ritual meditation to this timeless presence, similar experiences be evoked