The reasons
Over 60 percent of Goa has forest cover. Additionally, a large portion of the state is agricultural land. By nature, indigenous people of Goa are peace loving and welcome tourists. However, large influx of workers from neighboring Karnataka and an increase in number of crimes by migrants have led to xenophobia of sorts.
Added to these are environmental concerns and rumors floated by self-styled activists that tourism activities and infrastructure development leads to pollution and consequently, health problems. The state-run Department of Tourism and Goa Tourism Development Corporation continues focusing on attracting traditional sun-and-sand tourism while other excellent avenues implore for attention.
Here we list some locations in Goa of spiritual interest that tourists seldom visit or know little
Sancoale
Located about 24 km from Panaji, the state capital, Sancoale is one of the most significant places of interest to historians and followers of the Roman Catholic faith.
On January 14, 2015, Pope Francis canonized a personality from Goa known as Blessed Father Joseph Vaz. The canonization ceremony was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka were Joseph Vaz was canonized as saint. Today, he is venerated as St. Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon and Patron Saint of Sri Lanka.
It was in Sancoale that Joseph Vaz, born in Benaulim, Goa on April 21, 1651 and studied in Sancoale. In 1677, he took an oath to serve Mother Mary at Nossa Senhora de Saude Igreja em Sancoale or, Our Lady of Good Health Church of Sancoale. He dedicated himself as ‘Slave of Mother Mary’ and sealed his oath as a document called “Letter of Enslavement.” The oath took Blessed Father Joseph Vaz to Canara (now Karnataka), remote parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and eventually to Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) which was then a Dutch colony. St. Joseph Vaz played a pivotal role in spread of Roman Catholic faith in Sri Lanka despite persecution by the Dutch and local rulers. His life story is nothing short of an adventure.
The ancient church of Sancoale was destroyed by invaders and rebuilt by Portuguese. The new church structure houses a crucifix given to him by the Pope Clement XI. A jackfruit tree dating over 350 years old, where the saint played as a kid, remains till date and so does his ancestral house in Sancoale. Though the church now features a statue of Blessed Father Joseph Vaz offering “enslaving” himself to Mother Mary, this shrine is relatively little known outside Goa. An annual feast dedicated to St. Joseph Vaz is held on January 16 every year at Sancoale.
Mashel
Also called Marcel, Mashellan and Marcella, the town is located about 24km away from Panaji. Unknown to most, Mashel is home to some 26 shrines dedicated to almost every Hindu deity. Mashel has the unique distinction of having the world’s only ancient temple where Lord Krishna is worshipped along with his earthly mother, Devaki. Legends about Lord Krishna also refer to Mashel as Mahashaila.
The Devaki Krishna Temple has several interesting legends. According to one legend, Lord Krishna found abode in Goapakaparbata (now Goa), after leaving Dwarka (in modern day Gujarat) after defeating Jarasandha, the ruler of Magadh. Indeed, this flight from war, where Lord Krishna’s small army was defeated by the stronger one from Magadh, earned him the name Rancchoddas (deserter from war). Lord Krishna is called Ranchhoddas in Gujarat till date.
His earthly mother, Devaki had not heard from Lord Krishna for long and decided to travel to Goapakaparbata the meeting occurred on the island of Chodan. However, Devaki could not recognize Lord Krishna since he had grown up. To convince his earthly mother, he assumed the form of a child, which forced Devaki to carry Krishna in her arms. Devotees of Sri Krishna built an ancient shrine on Chodan Island to commemorate this unique meeting.
Hence, there are two statues in the Devaki Krishna temple- one depicts Devaki carrying Lord Krishna in her arms while another shows him standing before the mother.