Are You a Tourist Or a Pilgrim? by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

What is the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim?

Both are on a journey. Where a tourist satisfies the sense, a pilgrim is in a quest for truth. A tourist gets tired and tanned, while a pilgrim sparkles with spirit. Every move a pilgrim makes is done with sacredness and gratitude, while a tourist is often preoccupied and unaware.

A tourist compares his journey with other experiences and places and thus is not in the present moment. But a pilgrim has a sense of sacredness so he tends to be in the present moment.

Most people in life are just tourists without even being aware of it. Only a few make their life a pilgrimage. Tourists come, look around, take pictures in their minds, only to come back again. But pilgrims are at home everywhere - they are hollow and empty.

When you consider life as sacred, nature waits on you. 

Are you a tourist or a pilgrim?

(pg. 26, An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker)