In yesterday’s post, Zoe gave a great overview on Amritsar. But she didn’t talk about the most beautiful building in the city. It is the Golden Temple, a place of beauty and religion.
The Golden Temple was constructed in the 16th century during the time of Guru Arjan Dev, the 5th guru. He built the temple as a pilgrimage site for Sikhs all over the world. The city was built at the same time as the holy tank where the temple is located. In fact, Amritsar was originally the name of the pool, which means “Pool of Holy Nectar”. The temple was destroyed quite a few times by the invading Muslim armies, but each time it was rebuilt, it kept getting better and more beautiful. Today, thousands of Sikhs come here to pray.
The temple is open for 24 hours, 7 days a week. Anyone can enter, no matter what religion, and admission is free. When you enter, you must remove your shoes and socks and check them into the shoe house 🙂 , wash your feet in the pools in front of the entry, and cover your head. Both the men and women have to cover their heads, which I find interesting because in other religions, it’s usually only the women who cover their heads. There are lots of people on the street who sell kerchiefs, but there is no need to buy them because they are provided at the temple entrance. We used our scarves from Morocco, so we didn’t need to worry.
Once you are inside the gates, the first thing you see is the temple right in the middle of the pool; it almost looks like it’s floating! There were some people who were washing their legs, hands, and faces, as well as swimming in the pool, because the water is considered holy. The pool is surrounded by marble and is used for people to walk on; in fact, most of the temple is made out of marble. It was really cold under our feet because we went at night, but I bet it feels nice on a hot day. There were mats put out all around the temple, so walking wasn’t too bad. The carpets are removed during the day because the coolness of the marble is like feet air conditioning!
Like I said in my post about religions in India, Sikhs are required to do things for others. An amazing thing we saw and experienced was the volunteering of the Sikh people. They took care of the grounds by cleaning the marble floors, rolling out rugs, cooking and serving food, cleaning the dishes, preparing lodgings, and much more. These people do this because their religion says to help others. The amount of time, devotion, and commitment is incredible!
Another part of the temple which is free are lodgings. The lodgings are located in the temple, and are very basic. We were planning on staying there, but sadly, we weren’t able to find where they were! I think it is amazing to have space for anyone who wants to stay there. It shows how kind and hospitable this religion is towards everyone.
The food is served 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, and is also free. We had been told we shouldn’t miss the food by many people, so we followed the crowd. First, there is a line where we were handed a plate, a bowl, and a spoon (no forks or knives are used for eating). Then we went into a big room where there were people sitting on long carpets. The food was a kind of stew with lentils called dahl, a type of rice pudding called kheer, and lots of chapatis! The dahl and rice pudding were ladled onto our plates, and the men with the chapatis had a lot of fun giving them to us and making sure my dad ate well! The bowls were filled with water for drinking either from a jug or a big tank with a spout. To eat, we used the chapatis to scoop up the dahl and we ate the rice pudding with the spoon. The food tasted delicious!
After eating, we brought our dishes to the lineup of volunteers doing the dishes. We got a chance to see where all the food is prepared. It is made in these giant pots with lots of people helping out. Some of the chapattis are handmade while others are machine made. These kitchens feed 70,000 people every day!
Visiting the Golden Temple was incredible because not only was the temple beautiful, the people were too. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this, and it was a great experience. No visit to Amritsar is complete without a visit to this amazing place.
Comments
19 responses to “Gorgeous Golden Temple!”
Food with a view!
Hello Terry,
The food was really delicious! It was made by volunteers who want to serve others, so that definitely enhanced the taste.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post Mikhaila, it sounded so wonderful to be part of the “group”. It looks like you all fit right in! Another wonderful experience for all of you. The Golden Temple looks beautiful and so glad that it is kept in such fine form. I think the one man has eaten too many chapatis!!!!! Have fun and travel safely, Love Teta Doreen xoxo
Hi Teta Doreen,
There was a big feeling of community there seeing everyone eating together. The people there were so kind and made sure we were well fed! 🙂
Hi Mik,
Thank you for this very lovely blog! Imagine feeding 70,000 people a day! It is great to see that many people volunteer to keep this program going!
The temple is beautiful! It definitely is an amazing site to see! Love, Baba
Hello Baba,
It was amazing to see how many people volunteered in the temple. The amount of devotion and commitment was incredible!
Fantastic post, Mikhaila, so interesting. Thank you.
Did you learn how the Golden Temple is funded? I always wonder who is paying for all that food and the upkeep of the temple, even the lighting.
And what to you do if you can’t sit cross-legged on the long mats? Do they have a spot for “old people” like me? Ha!
Hi Chris,
I think the temple is funded on donations from people who visit. I noticed some donation boxes around the temple complex, so this might be the case.
As for sitting, I’m sure they would be more than happy to provide chairs upon request! 🙂
Beautiful temple, very cool look at the behind the scenes….the scale of the entire thing is amazing! Entirely opposite to your need for foot air conditioning? Super Bowl Super Storm – walloped Hamilton really good but got us also, snowed straight through the night….didn’t even bother taking the girls to school so they are now in the yard with 2 pairs of socks on, along with all their winter gear, playing in ~8 inches of fluffy (not packing) snow as we get alot of blowing snow and winds are high…total opposite to your scenery today! Ask your dad if he misses the shovelling!
Hello Nicole,
I can speak for my dad when I say he is not missing shovelling at all! Neither am I for that matter. I’m rather enjoying the nice weather here. 🙂
I realize now how little I knew about the Sikh religion. This seems a very giving and gentle faith. What a wonderful experience for your family to participate in this type of communal meal. It must take massive organization and effort to achieve. The photos of the temple from various angles and times of day were a treat too.
Hi Herta,
It is amazing to see all the work that goes into this temple all in the name of religion. I think this is a great way to show how much faith they have, by volunteering to serve others.
Hi, Mikhaila, this is a most enjoyable posting with beautiful pictures and a lot of information. Totally amazing. Love Oma & Opa
Hello Oma,
The Golden Temple looks amazing in the pictures, but looks even more spectacular in real life! The temple was beautiful and I want to go back there some day.
Mikhaila,
What a beautiful place! The pictures tell as wonderful a story as you did! 70,000 people a day is simply staggering! We thought 20 for Christmas dinner was daunting! I wondered as well how I would be able to sit on the floor and, of course, get back up!
Living in a multicultural area as we do in Toronto makes your writing all the more interesting as I am getting a deeper understanding of my neighbors!
Ginny
Hi Ginny,
It’s incredible how many people are served everyday! I thought our family functions had a lot of people! 🙂 There is always something we can learn about others in the world.
70 000? A Lot of dishes to wash! The seeing the behind the scenes photos and the stack of dishes was impressive. Glad you are smiling!
Hello Maria,
I can’t imagine washing 70 000 dishes everyday! The amount of dishes at the temple was incredible! 🙂