The Golden Temple
For several weeks I wondered what it would take to drag me away from Rishikesh. My flight back to Europe from Delhi was for 8 April, and I knew I would have to leave eventually, to make the flight, but how close of a call did I want it to be? Truthfully, I didn't really want to leave at all. So to make the transition easier, I decided to stick in a visit to the most important Sikh pilgrimage site in India: the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The Sikhs make up a significant part of the religious and economic demographics of India (and they're the ones who wear the very distinguished, perfectly wrapped turbans). The Sikhs believe in one God, and they follow the ten gurus that they believe God has sent to lead His people. The Golden Temple is it as far as religious significance goes for the Sikhs. It is located in the busy (aren't they all?) city of Amritsar, which is located very close to the India-Pakistan border.
Let me stick in a word about Pakistan here. A bunch of crazy bad things are going on over there. The Indian papers report incidences on the border nearly ever day, as well as giving the details of the violence and destruction taking place in Pakistan's major cities. India and Pakistan have been disputing their border for years, and some of the most beautiful territory is being fought over. For the record, I was nowhere near the fighting and violence.
Back to the temple. This year of travel is about pilgrimage for me. How fitting to be at a Sikh pilgrimage site, and how interesting to be there on Easter Sunday. (I was in a Sufi Monastery on Christmas Eve, in Istanbul - a theme?) What I love about pilgrimage sites is the pilgrims themselves. Pilgrimage crosses all religions, meaning that in every tradition disciples, devotees, followers - whatever you call them - journey to a significant site to acknowledge their love for and devotion to their diety. For some reason this just lights my fire and makes me really happy and peaceful.
The Golden Temple is located in a large complex where footware is prohibited and head coverings are mandatory. The temple itself sits in the middle of a square pond, where devotees can bathe and symbolically wash away their transgressions. Inside the temple holy men chant continuously, I think from the holy book of the Sikh religion (I didn't go inside the temple-proper; the queue was too long). The chants are broadcast by loudspeakers throughout the complex, and this adds a reverent tone to the already reverent environment.
My India guidebook says that close to 100,000 people visit the temple every day. One of the hallmarks of Sikh temples is that they serve free meals to the visitors, and the estimate there is that 60,000 to 80,000 meals are served every day. The temple also offers accommodations to pilgrims, although not for free. When the rooms and beds fill up, people sleep in the courtyards, much like they do in Indian train stations. That is to say, on the floor, in rows, with lots of luggage and strangers.
Because of the crowd I decided to stay at a hotel, and my first night's room was shared with the Latvian mother and daughter I'd met coming off the train. India's like that for westerners: we stick together, to the point of sharing hotel rooms with people you've known for an hour or so. The hotel was just around the loud/busy/crowded corner from the temple, which was nice and not nice.
Amritsar, like many Indian cities, functions under power cuts, and each day from 7:30a to 9:30a and from 1:00p to 3:00p (give or take an hour), the hotel had to operate by generator. I mention this only because of how completely Indian this is. Not the generator part, but that the generator was positioned against the wall of my hotel room, and when it was running it sounded like a helicopter was in the room and banging up against the wall. Pounding up against the wall. But I digress.
The Golden Temple:
The Sikhs were very friendly and really wanted their photos taken. Super sweet and welcoming people, but not so good at operating a digital camera.
The children were especially insistent, and I'm sure we broke some of the 'act reverent' rules.
The Sikhs make up a significant part of the religious and economic demographics of India (and they're the ones who wear the very distinguished, perfectly wrapped turbans). The Sikhs believe in one God, and they follow the ten gurus that they believe God has sent to lead His people. The Golden Temple is it as far as religious significance goes for the Sikhs. It is located in the busy (aren't they all?) city of Amritsar, which is located very close to the India-Pakistan border.
Let me stick in a word about Pakistan here. A bunch of crazy bad things are going on over there. The Indian papers report incidences on the border nearly ever day, as well as giving the details of the violence and destruction taking place in Pakistan's major cities. India and Pakistan have been disputing their border for years, and some of the most beautiful territory is being fought over. For the record, I was nowhere near the fighting and violence.
Back to the temple. This year of travel is about pilgrimage for me. How fitting to be at a Sikh pilgrimage site, and how interesting to be there on Easter Sunday. (I was in a Sufi Monastery on Christmas Eve, in Istanbul - a theme?) What I love about pilgrimage sites is the pilgrims themselves. Pilgrimage crosses all religions, meaning that in every tradition disciples, devotees, followers - whatever you call them - journey to a significant site to acknowledge their love for and devotion to their diety. For some reason this just lights my fire and makes me really happy and peaceful.
The Golden Temple is located in a large complex where footware is prohibited and head coverings are mandatory. The temple itself sits in the middle of a square pond, where devotees can bathe and symbolically wash away their transgressions. Inside the temple holy men chant continuously, I think from the holy book of the Sikh religion (I didn't go inside the temple-proper; the queue was too long). The chants are broadcast by loudspeakers throughout the complex, and this adds a reverent tone to the already reverent environment.
My India guidebook says that close to 100,000 people visit the temple every day. One of the hallmarks of Sikh temples is that they serve free meals to the visitors, and the estimate there is that 60,000 to 80,000 meals are served every day. The temple also offers accommodations to pilgrims, although not for free. When the rooms and beds fill up, people sleep in the courtyards, much like they do in Indian train stations. That is to say, on the floor, in rows, with lots of luggage and strangers.
Because of the crowd I decided to stay at a hotel, and my first night's room was shared with the Latvian mother and daughter I'd met coming off the train. India's like that for westerners: we stick together, to the point of sharing hotel rooms with people you've known for an hour or so. The hotel was just around the loud/busy/crowded corner from the temple, which was nice and not nice.
Amritsar, like many Indian cities, functions under power cuts, and each day from 7:30a to 9:30a and from 1:00p to 3:00p (give or take an hour), the hotel had to operate by generator. I mention this only because of how completely Indian this is. Not the generator part, but that the generator was positioned against the wall of my hotel room, and when it was running it sounded like a helicopter was in the room and banging up against the wall. Pounding up against the wall. But I digress.
The Golden Temple:
The Sikhs were very friendly and really wanted their photos taken. Super sweet and welcoming people, but not so good at operating a digital camera.
The children were especially insistent, and I'm sure we broke some of the 'act reverent' rules.
posted by No Day But Today | 6:20 AM
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