PILGRIMAGE
Pilgrimage means to make a visit to places/shrines holy to a particular religion.
Sikhism rejects holiness of any religious place simply because the founder or any other senior leader of a particular religion was born or had become martyred or had been living there. Such places do have historical value.
In Sikhism, Naam (the Word) is only place (object) of pilgrimage for a Sikh. Pilgrimage of so-called sacred places is prohibited in Sikhism. Though the Sikhs do visit Darbar Sahib Amritsar and the other historical centres of the Sikh nation but it is not pilgrimage, in the sense of the meaning of the term.
Moreover, a visit to Darbar Sahib, in itself, does not lead to ‘washing of sins’ or towards liberation (if one does not meditate upon the Name of God and lead truthful life).
The writers of the Anti-Sikhism School (founded by notorious Christian missionary W. H. McLeod) propagate that Guru Amar Das established ‘Baoli’ (step-well) at Goindwal, in order to wean away the Sikhs from pilgrimage of Haridwar (Hindu holy place); hence he Sikhized pilgrimage by establishing a Sikh pilgrimage centre. It is mischievous propaganda. Guru Amar Das never asked the Sikhs to bathe in the Baoli at Goindwal Sahib for washing their sins. He did not ask the Sikhs even to consider the Baoli as sacred. It was built to solve the problem of water for the people.
Sikhism does not believe that sins can be washed away by having a dip/dips in a particular tank or by performing any ritual (even hymns reading) for a prescribed number of times or days:
The dirt of ego is not washed off any way,
May you go for bathing hundreds of sacred waters.
There they conduct rituals in many ways,
Thus double becomes their dirt.
(Guru Granth Sahib, p.39)
Nanak says: no sacred place is equal to Guru.
Guru is loving-one. (Guru Granth Sahib, p.437)
As many sacred waters one bathes in, the dirt of ego is
not washed off;
And God at home (within body) does not accept it even a little.
(Guru Granth Sahib, p.687)
The dust (of heart/soul) is not washed off by bathing in
the (so-called) sacred waters.
The action, the faith, all are the deeds of ego.
(Guru Granth Sahib, p.890)
God’s Name is sixty-eight (so-called) sacred places.
This can wipe all sins.
(Guru Granth Sahib, p.1009)
None of these (so –called sacred places) is as purifying
as compared with Guru. (Guru Granth Sahib, p.1328)
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)