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Pada Yatra as Passage into the Labyrinth
In traditions the world over, pilgrimage essentially refers to the passage or transformation of the soul that turns away from the periphary of the outward world of multiplicity and turns inward through progressively deeper levels of awareness to arrive at the sacred center.
The sacred center is entirely within the contingent being's inherent range of 'infinite possibilities,' and as such it may also manifest outwardly at certain times and certain places in the socially-conditioned world of sense perception. When the essential sacred center within is seen to have its counterpart in a sacred geographical site, the 'two' passages may be combined or integrated or, rather, comprehended to be inward and outward reflections of one and the same sacred passage: the return from multiplicity to one's original nature at the center of the world.
In Kaumara sādhana, this passage is also understood as the return to one's original childlike nature of wonder and innocence, in Tamil called cumma iruttal, a multivalent expression meaning 'being still,' 'remaining simple,' or 'just being.'
In Kaumara tradition, the Spirit's active yet covert involvement is the vital or magical ingredient that transforms pada yatra from a mere walking journey into the experience of spiritual passage through a maze of subtle dimensions that escape the attention of non-participant observers.
By the power of an underlying presence that none can claim to understand, earnest pilgrims traverse through the shadowy world of outward appearances and penetrate deep into an effulgent interior realm of Katir-Kāmam or 'light and delight.' For them the spiritual journey is not an empty metaphor but intensely vivid and real. In this sense, only experienced pilgrims can appreciate what it means to cross invisible thresholds and plunge into strange realms of sacred time and sacred space.
Hence, the motif of the labyrinth or passage to the innermost sanctum finds application in spiritual traditions worldwide, particularly in the context of pilgrimage in the dual sense of outward journey and inward passage to one's metaphysical source or center.
Through a process of release from conventional notions of self, time, space and causation by 'coursing against the stream' of worldly opinion and habitual ideation, veterans of the tradition consciously aim to recover the amrta or ma'ul hayat, the Water of Life that others are said to have found before them.
In order to arrive at its source, they may enter dimensions where what was once thought impossible can come to pass in the twinkling of an eye. Despite hunger, thirst, fatigue, illness and a host of very real dangers one may encounter when traversing jungle and areas of civil conflict, most foot pilgrims reach their destination in the outward sense at least. But the longer and deeper passage to the sacred center within is beset with trials and obstacles of even greater diversity and subtlety (often depicted as walls of fire or water) which effectively screen out all but the most dedicated and resourceful pilgrims.
Image 1: The Labyrinth is a familiar motif in traditional Sri Lankan artistry. An example of a traditional woven floor mat design preserved among women of rural Kurunegala district expressing the motif of passage to the sacred center. Two sacred animals – deer and elephant – guard the entrance.
Image 2:Kataragama Pada Yatra pilgrims experience the labyrinthine character of Deviyange Kæle, 'the God's own Jungle', an enchanted forest where unusual occurences may – and often do – occur. Pada Yatra pilgrims preserve legends and practices associated with particular sites en route.
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