Amarnath Shiv Ling

06.07.06 Those involved in doctoring the Shiv Ling at Amarnath ought to be charged with crime against faith. They should have left the ling alone, whatever its size. It is the faith of the people that builds a pilgrimage centre and that faith is based on the belief in the sacredness of the place. A Shiv Ling, big or small, is a sacred object. Doctoring it defiles the object. It has now to undergo traditional purificatory rites. People do not go on pilgrimage or pray at a temple for ‘sight-seeing’ in the nature of a tourist, though that is indulged in as a matter of bonus. They go because of a belief that their destination is a sared spot, made so by the penance of rishis.