The meaning of Pilgrimage

There was a great saint named Tukaram. He was a votary of God's name. Once some people from his village decided to go on a long pilgrimage and they requested Tukaram also to follow them. Tukaram expressed his inability, but requested them to be kind enough to take with them to all the places they visited a bitter gourd that he would give them. He wished that the bitter gourd should be given a dip in all the holy waters where they took bath and also have it taken to all the temples they visited. Not caring to know the significance of what the saint said, the villagers took the bitter gourd from him and carried it all along the pilgrimage, obeying the instructions of the saint in regard to dipping it in the holy waters and taking it to the temples.

In a few months, the party returned from the pilgrimage and handed the bitter gourd back to Tukaram. Tukaram was happy and invited all the members of the party to a feast the next day to celebrate the successful completion of their pilgrimage. Tukaram made a special dish out of the bitter gourd which he had sent on the pilgrimage. They were served with the various preparations and they started eating. When they tasted the gourd dish, they all remarked it was bitter and asked Tukaram why he had served it. Tukaram, as if greatly surprised, asked them how it could be bitter when it was made out of the gourd that had gone on a pilgrimage. It was no doubt bitter when he handed it over to them before the pilgrimage, but he wondered why it had not lost its bitterness in spite of the pilgrimage. This was a great lesson to all the pilgrims. 

There are so many who go on pilgrimage and return as bitter as before. But, if you go on pilgrimage as urged by God within, and continuously remember Him all through the pilgrimage and see only purity and goodness of God everywhere, you will achieve purity. Such a pilgrimage will surely be beneficial to you.

http://www.anandashram.org/html/ebooks/Stories_as_told_by_SwamiRamdas.pdf