Abdul Kadir Riyadi*
Having launched the Visit Indonesia 2008, the government should consider encouraging the domestics and foreign visitors to visit places that might refresh their physical being and bring to them new illumination in their spiritual life. Religious sites are such these places.
Indonesia has been a home for five major religions for many centuries. The religions of Islam, Christianity, Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism have in turn produced places that have not only historic, artistic and architectural significance but also spiritual and religious meaning. These places, simply speaking, are too worthy to be left out.
Promoting religious sites as alternative tourist destinations in Indonesia is just a matter of necessity especially that this country is abounded in religious heritages. Speaking strictly from business point of view, these sites will certainly attract traveler’s curiosity and will therefore bring money to the country. This has been the case with the Pyramid in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, the Holy Land of Camino de Santiago, and back home the temple of Borobudur.
What seems bothering for some however –especially for those concerned with promoting our religious sites- is that these sites are marketed with a strong emphasis only on their historic, artistic and architectural aspects, obscuring therefore their true meaning of them being the sources for religious experience.
Borobudur for example, is not simply a concrete structure without spiritual and religious meaning. It is a microcosmic symbolism of the macrocosmic world in the cosmology of Buddhism. It bears the meaning that Borobudur is a symbol of the world having been originated in the One and would return –in the end- to the One. The world is therefore one ruled by the wisdom of Buddha. It revolves around Buddha’s authority and is destined to serve his divine existence. While the world is indeed multiple below, it is unified above. The multiple reality of the world is a mere theophanic manifestation of Buddha’s divine wisdom.
Consider how many people visiting Borobudur understand this true meaning of the temple. Thousands of pilgrims came to this site every year, but there is no guarantee that they have learnt the true message behind its magnificent structure.
Even the many priests and monks that were attached to this sacred space are seemingly silent about its true meaning. They either are not aware about it or else unable to explain it.
Whatever the case might be, one who visits Borobudur would immediately feel the divine presence on its premises. This feeling will come only when one participates in an intensity of conviction that can be experienced. When the aim of the visit is merely for a touristic interest and not as a mission of faith, that feeling will certainly not come. This applies to religious tourists of all faiths.
It is often said that in the Holy Land of Mekka, the power of God can be felt in around the grand mosque and in the surrounding area. Only when a visitor to a place such as Holy Land of Mekka and Borobudur can look beyond historical and architectural detail and begin to share the liturgies of the faithful, can religious experience be felt.
What is vital for the religious tourism is the spirit of visiting the holy places. First of all holy places are sacred spaces. People of diverse faith should respect any holy place belonging to any other religions. Second of all, in some cases holy places are in fact a celebration of –and recognition for- people’s diversity and differences. In other words, they are places where people of different faiths can in fact participate in the spiritual life. Al-Azhar mosque is a case in point. European tourists often come to this mosque not to worship indeed but to pay homage to this historical mosque, and ultimately to feel and share the spiritual experience with their fellow Muslim worshippers, which they do.
The point I try to say is that the act of visiting religious sites is not just about sightseeing and picture-taking. I venture to suggest that the number of tourists who visit sites such as these should increase their spiritual experience in a way that would make him/her aware of the truth and significance of a particular religion and faith.
We may continue promoting our religious sites for their historical, artistic and architectural interests. But let us also not forget the spiritual value that these sites have. It does not matter if a particular site is structurally magnificent or artistically attractive. A site will loose its spiritual meaning if it is unable to attract visitors with its inner beauty that lies beneath its physical appearance. The meaning in religious tourism lies therefore in reverence for spirituality irrevocably required for any one living in this uncertain time where intolerance and disharmony are the main features.
*The writer is a lecturer at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Surabaya.
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