“Goodness must travel”, said Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. Today (8 November) is the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and it’s considered as an auspicious occasion for the Sikh community across the world. Guru Nanak taught Sikhs to lead a family life and to follow a three-fold motto which helped them connect with God in and amid everyday life:
■ Naam Japo – remembrance
■ Kirat Karo – truthful living
■ Vand Chakko – share with others
The concept of seva (selfless service) is a core element of Sikhism. Living a life of compassion for fellow human beings and doing seva is the essence of Sikhism. Guru Nanak taught that seva can be done in three ways: Tunn (physical service, i.e., labour), Munn (mental service, serving others with love), and Dhan (material or financial support for those who are in need).
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is the most revered shrine of Sikh religion. Apart from being the central religious place of the Sikhs, it is also a symbol of universal brotherhood and equality. Keeping the thoughts and teachings of Guru Nanak in sync, the beauty of the Golden Temple is that everybody irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, religion or race can offer their prayers here. It also represents the distinct identity and rich heritage of the community.
The temple was built by the efforts of the Fifth Sikh Guru known as Guru Arjan. In fact, it was him who designed the whole temple. Before the temple was built, Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru used to meditate here. He also designed the entire architecture of Sri Harmandir Sahib. The construction began in 1581 and it took nearly eight years to complete the work.
There is a reason behind the reason why the Golden Temple is called so. The structure has a 24-karat gold foil covering. Initially, the temple wasn’t golden. In 1762, the heritage worship site was destroyed by Islamic rulers. Later Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a much respected Sikh ruler, rebuilt the whole place in marble and copper in 1809, and covered the sanctum with gold foil in 1830.
Celebrating universal brotherhood and equality
A visit to the Golden Temple is an experience in itself. Like many other holy places around, shoes are not allowed in the temple complex. Before entering the shrine, you walk through a foot bath to ensure your feet are clean. You have to keep your head covered while you are in the Golden Temple.
The pond surrounding the Golden Temple is called Amrit Sarovar meaning Pool of the Nectar of Immortality. It is considered supremely sacred by the devotees and they believe that taking a bath in the holy waters of the sarovar will purify them of their karma. When you are paying a visit to the Golden Temple, you can sit on the steps leading to the Amrit Sarovar but make sure to not to put your feet inside the sarovar as this is considered as disrespect.
Those of you who want to experience the surreal spiritual beauty of the Golden Temple, make it a point to visit the Golden temple before the crack of the dawn. Seeing the Palki Sahib ceremony, and watching dawn break over the Golden Temple, is absolutely breathtaking as an experience.
The serenity of the shrine with the continuous recital of the Gurubani is soul soothing. The complex is sparklingly clean and even when there’s a long queue, there is a sense of discipline. The principles of oneness and seva are the guiding lights of Sikhism which was founded by Guru Nanak and this gets reflected in the physical space of the Golden Temple too.
The Golden Temple is all about community involvement and respecting the art of offering services. The entire operation and maintenance of the Golden Temple is managed through donations and the people work here as volunteers absolutely for free. They cook, clean, serve food and manage a lot of other things.
If you want to donate money, there is a counter at the complex to do so. After receiving the receipt, you can also get the dry prasad at another counter to carry back home for your loved ones.
Offering Langar :The world’s largest community kitchen
The Golden Temple is also known for its langar seva. It offers the largest community kitchen in the world which serves food to everyone.
Langar, a free community meal prepared and served is all about the philosophy of equality and hospitality. Food is offered to everyone and everyone sits on the floor during the langar and before each person, a large steel plate and a steel tumbler is placed. While serving, the bread is not dropped on the plate. The person has to receive it with both hands and thereby creating a connection between the giver and the receiver. The tradition of langar started more than 500 years ago when Guru Nanak was given some money by his father to go to the city and do business in order to make some profit. However, on the way, Guru Nanak saw a group of hungry men. He decided to use the money from his father to buy food instead, and served food to the hungry. Guru Nanak got in trouble with his father because of this, but he explained that making a profit was not true business, but sharing, helping others and doing good deeds through selfless service was ‘true business’. As per records, there are days on which more than one lakh people are fed in the langar. The Langar Seva moves in clock precision.
There are always hundreds of volunteers who are ready to be a part of this cook and serve process.
Amritsar is well-connected by both air and rail with major cities of India. There are a number of hotels and homestay options available.
Deepika Sahu has been a journalist for 27 years and she has worked with some of India’s leading media houses. Right now, she is independently engaged in content creation and curation. Twitter: @menondeepika; Instagram: @moodydeepika; Facebook: Deepika Sahu
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