Harmandir Sahib - the most important Gurdwara
Located in the Punjabi city of Amritsar, very near to the Pakistan border (more on that in a post to come), is Harmandir Sahib - or known in English as The Golden Temple. This incredibly beautiful place is the holiest gurdwara of the Sikh religion. According to the Sikhism website, sikhiwiki.org, the 3rd Guru, Guru Amar Das, is responsible for the idea of this gurdwara; though its construction was initiated by the 4th Guru, Guru Ram Das, in the 16th century. The Sikh religion is known for its openness to any and all people, thus the temple was built lower than the level of the city outside - equalizing all with no regard to religion, caste, gender, etc. You can feel the welcoming spirit as you enter the grounds, and especially as you take part in Langar - "Free blessed food." You must enter barefoot, head covered and feet washed. In the rainy weather of this weekend, hundreds of meters of mats were laid out along the marble floor.
Stormy weather provided the perfect backdrop for the gleaming temple.
Martina - my Italian roommate - and I.
The water in the lake that surrounds the temple itself is said to be filled with holy water. While on the train from Varanasi to Amritsar, a fellow passenger - a young Sikh student - told us the story of a wheelchair-bound man whose wife brought him to the temple. The story goes that he could not so much as control a finger. As he sat beside the lake while his wife walked the compound, he dipped one finger in the water. Immediately feeling a change, he slowly submerged his whole hand, arm, so on until his entire body was in the water. Upon returning his wife could not recognize the man before her for he had been cured of all ailments! When walking around the lake many visitors dip their feet and hands in, while other devotees strip down and dip fully into the water. Pictured above, a devotee dips in the water, praying.
Since my first class on Eastern religions, I have known that one can go to any Sikh gurdwara and be fed with blessed food free of charge. Here at the Harmandir Sahib, it is said that the kitchen sometimes feeds up to 100,000 people in one day. They serve all day long, including delicious chai! This is known within the tradition as Langar and it is seen to be a way of expressing Sikh ideas of community, oneness, etc. as any and all can come to share in a meal. Pictured above, a devotee stacks clean plates to be distributed.
The Golden Temple houses multiple dining halls where one can sit in a line on mats and be served a wholesome and tasty meal!
Roti is gingerly tossed into eager hands.
It wouldn't be India without chai - after lunch you can go to have a large bowlful of piping hot, sweet chai. One thing to note is that a lot of the work done at the gurdwara (cooking, cleaning, etc.) is not done by staff but by devotees who give their service. We had hoped to do so, but with just over 24 hours in Amritsar we did not have the time to figure out how to arrange it.
We returned to the gurdwara after dinner around 9pm to watch the closing rituals. Prayers are said and around 9:45pm Guru Granth Sahib - the central holy book of the Sikhs and also the 11th and final Guru - is wrapped and put to rest until morning. The book is put in an ornate palki, which is carried on the shoulders of devout followers. This ceremony was incredibly beautiful and moving with the glowing temple, light flickering across the water and enchanting prayer chants being sung by devotees.
Above, the palki is carried, with devotees walking alongside it to usher it on its way into the gurdwara.
Once the Guru Granth Sahib is put to rest, the doors to the temple are closed. Afterwards, presumably devout followers lingered to read scripture outside the doors.
More to come on Amritsar - the Wagah Border Ceremony and the monument to Jallianwala Bagh.
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