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Travel News, November, 2008

Winter attracts tourists and pilgrims to Bodh Gaya
by Surya Pratap Singh

Bodh Gaya: With the onset of winter, Bodh Gaya, the famous holy pilgrimage center of Buddhists, starts witnessing the arrival of a growing number tourists and pilgrims from different parts of the county and world. Not many may know but Bodhgaya is today not just known as an important Buddhist pilgrim center and an archeological site, but also for its various meditation courses offered by a number of institutes, in and around the town. Most of these courses are conducted in winters. Hence, the number of visitors keep swelling between October and February. "People come here from October to February because the weather is good, so to pray and visit the people prefer these months. People get peace here as this is most important pilgrim of Bodh," said Bhante Dinanand, a meditation practitioner. On one hand, several groups have come from abroad singing and dancing in processions, while on the other, monks are performing their traditional prayers. "I feel a lot of emotions here. I see people crying, people praying. I have got my children here. There is a lot of happiness and love here," said Mort Maiyer, Floridan. One can find a lot of people meditating under the Bodhi tree for hours together. Bodh Gaya, is small town in the state of Bihar, one of the most venerated of the Buddhist sites in India. It is stated to be the place where Buddha attained spiritual enlightenment while he was meditating under the Bodhi tree. For Buddhists, Bodh Gaya is the most important of the main four pilgrimage sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha. The other three being Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath. In 2002, Mahabodhi Temple, located in Bodh Gaya, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
-Nov 9, 2008