758
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 20]
kim anvaprcchan maitreyam  
 virajās tīrtha-sevayā  
 upagamya kuśāvarta  
 āsīnam tattva-vittamam
kim —what;  anvaprcchat —inquired;  maitreyam —from the sage Maitreya;  virajāḥ —Vidura, who was without material contamination;  tīrtha-sevayā —by visiting sacred places;  upagamya —having met;  kuśāvarte —at Kuśāvarta (Haridvāra or Hardwar);  āsīnam —who was abiding;  tattva-vittamam —the foremost knower of the science of spiritual life.
TRANSLATION
Vidura was purified of all passion by wandering in sacred places, and at last he reached Hardwar, where he met the great sage, who knew the science of spiritual life, and he inquired from him. Śaunaka Rṣi therefore asked: What more did Vidura inquire from Maitreya?
PURPORT
Here the words  virajās tīrtha-sevayā  refer to Vidura, who was completely cleansed of all contamination by traveling in places of pilgrimage. In India there are hundreds of sacred places of pilgrimage, of which Prayāga, Hardwar, Vṛndāvana and Rameshwaram are considered principal. After leaving his home, which was full of politics and diplomacy, Vidura wanted to purify himself by traveling to all the sacred places, which are so situated that anyone who goes there automatically becomes purified. This is especially true in Vṛndāvana; any person may go there, and even if he is sinful he will at once contact an atmosphere of spiritual life and will automatically chant the names of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. That we have actually seen and experienced. It is recommended in the  śāstras  that after retiring from active life and accepting the  vānaprastha  (retired) order, one should travel everywhere to places of pilgrimage in order to purify himself. Vidura completely discharged this duty, and at last he reached Kuśāvarta, or Hardwar, where the sage Maitreya was sitting.
Another significant point is that one must go to sacred places not only to take bath there, but to search out great sages like Maitreya and take instructions from them. If one does not do so, his traveling to places of pilgrimage is simply a waste of time. Narottama dāsa Thākura, a great  ācārya  of the Vaiṣṇava sect, has, for the present, forbidden us to go to such places of pilgrimage because in this age, the times having so changed, a