The Golden Temple Amritsar

From Wagah border after watching the procession we travelled by our tour bus to Golden temple .

As the passage is too narrow we had to get down in the main road and take an auto to the temple .

Both sides of the roads are shops selling kurtas materials chickenkari works and fast food shops of Punjabi dishes .

While entering one has to clean their feet in the flowing stream of water and cover our heads and slippers stands are within the complex .

Here too handbags are not allowed and mobiles are allowed .

The Golden Temple is also referred to as “Darbar Sahib” or “Harmandar Sahib”, and is one of the oldest and holiest shrine of worship places for the Indian Sikhs . It is located in Amritsar, Punjab.

The entire top of the temple is made of pure gold, adding to the beauty of the temple.

The most famous and sacred part of the Golden Temple complex is the Hari Mandir (Divine Temple) or Darbar Sahib (Court of the Lord), which is the beautiful golden structure at the center of a large body of water. … The structure is decorated inside and out with verses from the Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book).

The temple is surrounded by a manmade lake that boasts a lot of exotic fish in it. To get to the temple, you will literally have to walk on water.

The temple is entered from four different sides to show openness and acceptance,
has a circumambulation path around the pool. The temple is a collection of buildings around the sanctum and the pool.

The temple was initially built without any gold coating. It is during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab in the early 19th century that the temple went under full renovation and made into what it is today.

Before the temple was built, the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, used to meditate at the site. It was not until the fifth Guru, Guru Arjana that the temple was built.

The manmade lake around the temple is known as ‘Amrit Sarovar’ which is translated as ‘Pool of Holy Nectar’.

The temple is considered holy such that 35% of the pilgrims that visit it are from faiths other than Sikh.

The Langar is the dining hall in a Gurdwara, here the food is served , given to all regardless of their caste or religion as a gesture of equality.

It consists of a simple roti dhall rice sabji and a kheer .

The Golden temple serves up to 200,000 people during special religious events. Amazingly, all the food served are donations from faithful.
Approximately daily they serve 50000 people per day .

With hand painted mosaics and patterns, the Golden temple is one of the most significant symbols of Mughal and Indian architectural genius.

It is a must for not only for Sikhs but others to visit The Golden Temple and pay your homage. Not only the experience will be blissful but it also has a healing effect both on their mind and physical body. It is difficult to quantify the blessings and what one takes with them after their visit to the temple .One
can spend hours inside the Golden Temple without ever getting bored of the unique atmosphere.