The Golden Temple

At a busy circle the taxi driver calmly announced "This is as far as I can take you." and so we piled out of the car to stand by the sidewalk. There was no doubt in my mind we were close to the right place. As soon as we stepped out of the car there were guys trying to sell us head coverings in bright orange or plain white and there was a steady stream of people heading down the street. Hmmm....I think we'll go that way too. Past a few barricades and with several warnings to hold our bags safely we suddenly realized that off to the left was a giant shoe depository, after all no shoes or socks are allowed in the temple grounds. Okay. So the five women plop their shoes on the counter and receive a number in exchange while Tony has to head to the other side to join a men's line.  We then continue to walk along the road, which now has a burlap path laid down over it to protect the feet a bit. At a slightly formal gate I wrap my scarf to cover my head and we enter the Golden Temple complex, although I still don't see anything golden.

After walking through a basin of water to clean our feet we are allowed up a set of stairs, through a grand entrance and suddenly there it is. Standing proudly in the middle of a pool of water is the Golden Temple, otherwise known as Harmandir Sahib. And yes, it is golden. Surrounded by an immense courtyard of white marble the only color comes from the water and the golden shine of the temple itself. Well, until you consider the colorful clothing and head coverings of the visitors.

It becomes clear that foreign tourists are not a common vision for many of the people here as we are stopped time and again and asked to take a photo with an Indian. I don't mind so much with the women but after a  while it gets old and we adopt a don't stop policy to keep the requests down to a minimum.

We slowly make progress around the square. Gawking at the brightly turbaned men prostrating themselves in prayer, smiling at the mom washing her son in the holy water, trying to avoid seeing too many men stripping down to underwear to bathe, being impressed by the blue and yellow spear carrying guards while always keeping an eye on the temple.

Having walked three sides of the square we find ourselves facing the entrance of the temple itself and join the line on the bridge waiting to get in. it is surprisingly calm and orderly and moves at a steady pace. The flow of people is regulated by men raising and lowering an orange clothe wrapped rod. The pushes increase a bit once you get past that as everyone wants in. The ground floor had an enclosed space which had several people reading/praying, a group of men playing a type of accordion as background music to the man chanting into the microphone (is that what has been broadcast around the whole complex?). I'm not really clear what was going on and I had no one to ask as we were quickly swept out the next door.  On the backside was a small stairway leading up which opened into a hallway circling a square allowing you to look down on what was happening on the ground floor. On one end was a man sitting behind a giant (and I do mean giant - wide as my arm span at least) book reading. Up another flight of stairs and I emerged onto the roof of the temple. Amid the golden domed trim I glimpsed down at the sacred pond (which gives Amritsar its name) and across to the white marble structure circling the temple grounds. Under a small pavilion was another group of Sikh worshipers praying as yet another large book was being read out of.

As I made my way back down the stair and across the bridge I found myself pondering how despite having many questions and making it to the holiest site in the Sikh religion I sill didn't know much more than before I arrived. If anything I just had more questions. I also couldn't help but notice how, just like with the other holy places I visited, no matter the religion, this one carried a calm and peaceful air.

I returned later that night for a glimpse of the temple lit up in the dark. There were not as many lights as I expected. I suppose because all of the gold reflects the light easily. We poked our heads into the communal kitchen which serves a free meal to anyone who walks in. This makes me wonder if there are any starving people in Amritsar. There shouldn't be, and honestly I don't remember seeing many beggars in the city. So I suppose they have a pretty successful service program here at the holiest site in Sikhism.