Question: Will visiting a holy place, such as the Himalayas, help our spiritual progress?
Sri Chinmoy: In India all western tourists go to visit the Himalayas. When they come back from the Himalayas do you think they are God-realised? True, as in the past, even now Indian sages and seers meditate at the foot of the Himalayas, but God-realisation and meditation are two different things. Just because many have realised the Highest there, we are apt to say that this place will give us realisation and fulfilment immediately, but it is not so. It is not where we are that is important; it is the Will of God that will give us realisation.
Sri Chinmoy, The hour of meditation, Agni Press, 1977