holy places and sacred sites

[Guest guest]

In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, Vraja is of special importance as

a holy place, because it is the place where Lord Krishna is believed

to have sported with the Gopis.

There are, however, two Vrajas:

- the earthly Vraja, which is subject to human influence and

historical change, where people build their houses, trains and

airports, and contaminate the earth with industrial waste

- and the heavenly Vraja, Krishna's eternal paradise, which is of course unaffected by such things.

 

My question is: Do only the Vaishnavas know the idea that a holy place

or sacred site is merely the reflection or mirror image of an

"original" existing on a higher plane?

Or is that is a general concept regarding the sacred places of India?

 

Take for instance Kashi (Varanasi): The Muslims conquered it and

destroyed many temples, which then sometimes were rebuilt at other

places. Many lakes have dried up or drained, and where they once were

are parks now.

I think there is also a train station in Varanasi nowadays.

So earthly Kashi was subject of changes of various kinds due to its history.

Is there a "heavenly Kashi" which remains unaffected by such changes

and of which the earthly Kashi is just an imperfect copy, as an image

in a mirror is just a reflection and not the real thing?

And is this a general concept regarding the holy places and sacred sites of India?