ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly describes the main features of the sacred spaces in two fieldwork locations. It reflects on the kinds of remembrance induced by the space of the shrine and explores the importance of dreams. The chapter scrutinizes concepts of sanctuary, healing, and understandings about saints as "Friends of God". It argues that shrines offer a space for remembering and connecting with the past. At the same time, as shared spaces, they blur rigidities in religious affiliation and nationality, encouraging fluid, inclusive identities. In interrogating the advantages of a comparative perspective, the chapter also reflects in the conclusion on the play of remembering and forgetting that constitutes the central appeal of the shrine universe. It also argues that in India the chance to encounter the other, and through this proximity, the chance for the Self to experience "wholeness" or "completeness", constitutes a large part of the appeal of the shrine universe.
