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Mingling of splendour and sanctity: My visit to the Golden Temple

A visit to the holy site is bound to linger, even in the memory of someone not much inclined towards religion
28 May, 2016

A visit to Harmandir Sahib, commonly known as the Golden Temple, is an experience which is bound to linger even in the memory of someone not much inclined towards religion.

The holiest site of Sikhism, the Golden Temple combines sanctity with splendour (call it grandeur, if you like). The façade of the main entrance hits you but what appeals to you much more is the almost entirely gold-plated Temple, which houses the Guru Garanth Sahib.

The facade to the main entrance of the holiest place of Sikhs
The facade to the main entrance of the holiest place of Sikhs

The holy book is constantly recited by the garanthis, except for three hours – between midnight and 3 am in the morning when it is shifted to the temporal headquarters of the complex, called the Akali Takht, the dome of which is gold-plated too.

A lovely view of the Golden Temple, on the left is the  causeway to the holy site
A lovely view of the Golden Temple, on the left is the causeway to the holy site

Centrally located in the Indian border town of Amritsar, the land for the Temple was gifted by the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar, to Bibi Bhani, the daughter of the third Guru, on her marriage to Jetha, who was a pious person. The bridegroom was later made the fourth Guru.

He was the one who invited the Sufi saint Mian Mir to lay the foundation of Harmandir Sahib. By the way, the saint’s shrine in Lahore is not too far away from the Golden Temple. About 50 miles.

As in mosques, you can only enter all gurdwaras, Harmandir Sahib included, barefooted. You deposit the pair in a section near the main gate and get a token. The complex is dotted with very shallow streams of running water, which remove the dirt on your feet. But unlike in the mosques, men and women in all gurdwaras pray together. They also eat together.

As many as a hundred thousand people visiting Haramandir Sahib have free food round the clock
As many as a hundred thousand people visiting Haramandir Sahib have free food round the clock

As many as a hundred thousand men, women and children are served food in the langar every day. The meals are strictly vegetarian. My guide, a Christian, though his name Pyarelal gives the impression of being a Hindu, settles down on the floor of a huge hall and has a hearty lunch.

I am nursing an upset stomach so all I do is sample some firni, a dessert made of rice and milk. It’s fine but what is truly outstanding is the tea which is served outside the hall. Though I normally avoid sugar, I love the sweetened milky drink, which has a sprinkling of cardamom and cinnamon.

Devotees waiting to enter the langar
Devotees waiting to enter the langar

The food is prepared and served by kar sevaks (volunteers), who also wash the huge cauldrons, and of course the trays and spoons. In one section are volunteers, men and women, some of whom seem quite affluent, who peel potatoes and onions.

There are others who cut cauliflowers (the vegetable of the day) and green chillies. A point worth emphasising is that there is never a dearth of volunteers, nor is there a shortage of donation – both in cash and kind.

Taking a dip in the pool of clean and sparkling water around the Golden Temple are three Sikhs. Every time they take their heads out of the water they chant the holy verses. There are men and women performing, what is like sajda, in the case of Muslims. Their heads are in the direction of the Golden Temple.

The building with the golden dome is Akali Takht, the  temporal site of the Golden Temple premises
The building with the golden dome is Akali Takht, the temporal site of the Golden Temple premises

The holy site is connected with the rest of the premises by a causeway. I sample the prasad (like the tabarruk of Muslims), which is made of suji and jaggery, distributed to visitors by a couple of volunteers. The causeway is too crowded, so I can’t see the interior of the Temple.

Every visitor has to cover his (or her) head. I buy a handkerchief before entering the premises of Harmandir Sahib. The hawker would not reduce the price but when he learns that I have travelled from Lahore, the city from where his ancestors migrated in 1947, he refuses to accept the money.

We enter into an argument. Pyarelal intervenes. He pays for the hanky and accepts the money – a paltry sum of Rs 15, when I reimburse it as we melt into the crowd heading for the Temple.

With the covering of head being compulsory on the premises of the holy shrine, I covered my head with a handkerchief
With the covering of head being compulsory on the premises of the holy shrine, I covered my head with a handkerchief

After spending an hour or two and clicking photos, I leave, hoping to pay another visit sooner than later. My next destination is now going to be Nankana Sahib on our side of the border. Until then Sat Sri Akal to my Sikh readers, turbaned or otherwise.


All photographs have been taken by the author.

Comments

Avtar May 28, 2016 04:21pm
Thanks for an update on the Golden Temple. Missed by many, including Sikhs, is that this temple is the only one every one has to enter as equals. Every one has to go down a few steps and enter the main temple at through the causeway. In other Sikh temples, the well to do can drive their car right to the entrance or get dropped off at the entrance.
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RAM May 28, 2016 04:21pm
The founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev was born and raised in a Hindu family.
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MAHMOODUSA1 May 28, 2016 05:29pm
nice
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jami May 28, 2016 05:51pm
this is beautiful
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indian dude May 28, 2016 06:39pm
Golden temple has two different beauty at night and days.Next time visit at night.
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Zak May 28, 2016 06:58pm
Beautiful article. Sikhs are a gentlemen nation. Friendly, loving and fierce fighters - all at the same time. We in Pakistan respect them and their religion.
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atis May 28, 2016 07:00pm
A very clean and peaceful place
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Pradip May 28, 2016 07:44pm
Thanks for the narration and the photographs. Next year in Amritsar!
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Ahsan Gul May 28, 2016 08:25pm
Good article. Today humanity needs to respect others religion. Basically, we all can get along with each others if not for the politicians. Good readings.
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Abdullah May 28, 2016 11:45pm
One has to visit a Sikh or Hindu temple to really understand how many of their customs the Pakistanis have adopted & mixed them in to their version of Islam.This is typical how darbar & lunger culture as well as the Urs came into being as well as mixing of men & women......I hope some lessons are learnt....
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Thoroughthinker May 28, 2016 11:52pm
Reading about the Sikh religion and history is always fascinating! But, answer to one of my queries is still needed. Why do they call every important name as a gentleman? Like, their Holy Book is Garanth Sahib and their places of worship are Haramandir Sahab, Punja Sahib, etc.
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Harmony-1© May 29, 2016 12:12am
@RAM - But he found a new religion nevertheless!
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Sugeet May 29, 2016 12:17am
In India, we have many roads having Temples, Gurudwaras, Mosques and Church all on the same road next to each other! Many of us have visited all of them.
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Khan May 29, 2016 12:32am
All Sikh Gurdwaras are open to all people from all religion. Any caste, rich, poor, disable is allowed to go to Gurdwara. This is pure beauty and perfect example of Humanity!
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gary May 29, 2016 02:48am
In every European cities and in USA and Canada, the Sikh temples provide free food to thousands of people irrespective of religion, colour and race. This is amazing.
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Bal K. Gupta May 29, 2016 03:00am
Thank you Dawn for publishing visits of Pakistani politicians to Harmandir Sahib. I think descendants of Mian Mir are now living in Pakistan. There are five Gurudwaras holy to all Sikhs and one of them is Nanakaan Shaib (birth place of Guru Nanak) in Pakistan. Another important Gurudwara is Panja Sahib (Hasan Abdal) which is also located in Pakistan. May be you would publish similar stories of Hindu and Sikh leaders visiting Pakistan. Good job!
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Jasjeet Pannu May 29, 2016 06:57am
Sat Sri Akal and Salaam my Muslim brother !
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Arafar May 29, 2016 07:28am
@Thoroughthinker Sahib means lord, and used as sacred word doe utmost respect.
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raj May 29, 2016 08:02am
"a Christian, though his name Pyarelal gives the impression of being a Hindu" Don't know why there is no Pakistani article where they don't talk about ones religion.
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dnyanesh May 29, 2016 10:52am
great described in our Hindustan unlimited temples are alike golden temple in south india. worlds richest shrine tirupati shrine.
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ROHIT PANDEY May 29, 2016 12:10pm
@Harmony-1© Sikhism was a reform movement in Hinduism. Buddhism is one similar movement,and so is Jainism. The Guru Granth Sahib has mention of Lord Ram in many places.
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Khwarezmi May 29, 2016 12:40pm
Side note: marble from Mughal monuments, such as Lahore Fort and Shahdara in and around Lahore, were stripped and reused in the golden temple.
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Bupi May 29, 2016 10:59pm
@Khwarezmi It's not realty do research & one should speak truth.
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baljit May 30, 2016 12:50am
@Khwarezmi qutub minar in delhi is made of dismantled hindu and jain temples.u can still see the deities.
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baljit May 30, 2016 12:51am
@ROHIT PANDEY it continually quotes from the srimad bhagvat gita and the ramayan
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jaspreet May 30, 2016 12:58am
good article but seems to suggest that the golden temple is there due to the benevolence of muslim rulers of india.the fact that the khalsa was created because of cruel muslim rulers is not mentioned.also muslims raided it several times is ignored.also seems to want to sow a seed of difference between hindus and sikhs though hindus volunteered to form the khalsa and sikhs and hindus are the same genetics just as are most muslims of pakistan.
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Muhammad May 30, 2016 04:34am
@Abdullah This is wonderful that we kept to our culture. Islam is a religion not a culture. You can keep your culture and still be a "pious" Muslim.
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Muhammad May 30, 2016 04:37am
@Abdullah It wonderful that people don't have to abandon their cults to become Muslim. Islam is a set of beliefs not a culture.
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Just Human May 30, 2016 10:39am
@Thoroughthinker It has got nothing to do with religion or the teachings of Sikhism, but it is cultural in nature, as the culture that was prevalent when Sikhism evolved.
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A Fairdeal Muslim May 30, 2016 06:29pm
Guru Nanak first Guru of Sikhism was born as Hindu, died as Hindu. It was only tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji was born as Hindu, but he died as Sikh as he coined the word 'Khalsa' and invented new religious Panth Khalsa i.e. the pure. It was his military people i.e. Khalsa to fight against the invaders, the cruel people who used to killing general public with different ways of cruelties. In sum up, He made a group of people to save Hindus, which he called Khalsa. But during the period, it become a religious sect.
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Bari May 30, 2016 09:00pm
@Thoroughthinker Word "Saheb" signifies respect. The one whose knowledge and grace is above all is entitled to this As we also refer to someone as "Janaab" or "Shri". I hope this helps. Love from India
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idiot Jun 01, 2016 01:48pm
@Khwarezmi so what. what do you want to infer.
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idiot Jun 01, 2016 01:49pm
so what . what do you want to infer. it was never looted . every thing was willingly contributed.
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