Hajj Pilgrims start to gather to the world's most active spiritual energy center, The Kaaba

A place of pilgrimage is where the currents are flowing from the body towards the soul, where the whole atmosphere is charged; from where people have achieved samadhi (supra-conscious state of mystical union), from where people realized their enlightenment.

Such places have become specially charged. In such a place, if you just open your sails, without doing nothing else, your journey will begin.
- Osho

To testify the Oneness of God and to witness and celebrate the oneness of humanity, people of every nation, every race, every ethnicity, every color are currently preparing and gathering for the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca. As mystic master Osho rightly mentioned about the mystery of the energy of such sacred place, during Hajj, Mecca will become the world's most active spiritually energized center on earth and therefore in our known universe as well. It always remain a profoundly active spiritual energy center with world's one fifth of the population in their daily prayer and devotion align themselves to Mecca, towards the Kaaba. This extra-ordinary attraction of spiritual energy and centering it, is the symbology of Kaaba, the source of pilgrimage. And the union of humanity without discrimination (neither in race, nation nor in gender) is its social significance. Hajj as it is most famously known, is the pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah), the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.

It all began in the beginning of human history, from the first man Adam when he first built a house dedicated to God's Remembrance. Later the history was remodeled by Abraham who prayed to God, saying "O our Lord! I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House, our Lord! that they may keep up prayer; therefore make the hearts of some people yearn towards them" ... The Quran, chapter 14

Father of three major monotheistic faiths, Prophet Abraham's prayer was heard and accepted by God indeed. From hundreds of years, millions of peoples' heart are made to yearn towards the sacred symbolic house, Kaaba where people go for sacred pilgrimage. Towards the middle of this month more than 2 million people will be gathering there to answer the call of the their heart's yearning & longing to visit the sacred place of pilgrimage.

Abraham together with Ishmael reconstructed / built the Kabah or Kaaba (simply means cube), "Baitullah" or "the House of God", after its destruction over the age. It was Abraham, too who established the rituals of the hajj, which recall events or practices in his life and that of Hagar and their son Ishmael. Following the same ancient tradition, this year also hundreds and thousands which eventually will become millions of pilgrims have started their journey of lifetime, the prescribed pilgrimage in the heart of the valley of Mecca, at Kaaba.

Timing: The Hajj occurs from the 8th to the 12th day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. This date depends on the lunar calendar and in 2007, the next month of Dhul Hijjah begins on December 11, with the week of the Hajj beginning on December 18, 2007.

Thomas Abercrombie, a convert to Islam and a writer and photographer for National Geographic Magazine, performed the hajj in the 1970’s and described the sense of unity and harmony pilgrims feel during the circling:

“Seven times we circled the shrine repeating the ritual devotions in Arabic: ‘Lord God, from such a distant land I have come unto Thee.... Grant me shelter under Thy throne.’ Caught up in the whirling scene, lifted by the poetry of the prayers, we orbited God’s house in accord with the atoms, in harmony with the planets.”

If you were in Mecca during this time of Sacred Pilgrimage you will hear this sacred chanting coming from every heart, every direction and every being around you:

Labbaik Allah humma labbaik
Labbaik la sharika laka labbaik
Innal hamda
Wan-ni'mata
Laka walmulk
Laa sharika lak.

O my Lord, here I am at Your service, here I am.
There is no partner with You, here I am.
Truly the praise
and the provisions are Yours,
and so is the dominion and sovereignty.
There is no partner with You.

. Follow the news of Hajj via Google News

. Where is the world's most active spiritual energy center?

# Further Resources on Hajj
. Virtual Hajj describe the steps of Hajj
. Inside Mecca via National Geography, watch a clip via youtube
. Scenes of Hajj from Mecca (youtube)
. Hajj a journey of heart
. Significance of Hajj
. The Journey of a Lifetime
. Hajj - the Rites of Abraham
. History of the Hajj
. Hajj - Celebration of Oneness
. Hajj experiences and reflections
. Going around the Kaaba