By Eusebiu Tihan, PhD. student, Laura Tihan, PhD. student
GOLDEN TEMPLE - a living symbol of spiritual Sikh’world.
Since its establisment in AD 1589, Harimandir, popularly known as the Golden Temple, has been a living symbol of spiritual and historical traditions of the Sikhs. It is much more to the Sikhs than a mere place of worship, the Sikhs have their roots in the immortal water of the
sacred tank surrounding the temple. According to popular accounts, when contemporary Emperor Akbar was returning to his capital after military campaign, he halted at Goindwal to have an audience with the third Guru, Amar Das. The emperor was so much impressed by the guru’s teachings of equality and the institution of langar that he made a gift of land on wich the guru’s successor, Guru Ram Das, built the town of Ramdaspur, later know as Amritsar. There are other accounts, wich mention that the town was established on a piece of land purchased by Guru Ram Das from the landlords of village Tung, district Jhabal.It was the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, who widened the pool of nectar existing on the land and made the tank pucca. He also provided stairs on all four sides of the tank. In consultation with Baba Budha, the revered Sikh saint, the guru decided to built a temple in the centre of the sacred pool and called it Harimandir, the Abode of God. At the guru’s request, a Muslim saint of Lahore, Mian Mir, laid the foundation of Harimandir in AD 1588. The guru purposely provided four doors, one for each direction, signifying its accessibility to people from all the four directions, irrespective of caste and creed. Construction of Harimandir and the sacred tank witnessed the first ever kar-seva performend by the Sikhs under the overall supervision of Guru Arjan Dev assisted by two devout Sikh leaders, Bhai Gurdas and baab Buddha. The ber tree, popularly know as lachiber, near the Darshani Deohdi, under wich the guru sat while overseeing the construction stands a witness to the great project conceived and completed by the guru.
Because of constant flow of cash contributions made by the followers of the guru from different parts of the country, construction work was carried out with great speed and enthusiasm. While the construction work was on, devotees from far and near visited the place to offer voluntary service in this unique project. Some of the leading chiefs of nearby villages also made cash contribution for the construction of the temple. Along with construction of the temple, the guru also paid attention to the development of the town. New markets were opened and people from nearby areas were encouraged to start business there. Persons belonging to different castes and professions were encouraged to settle in the vicinity of the temple in order to provide a cosmopolitan and egalitarian character to the city in keeping with the teachings of the Sikh faith.
Though the Golden Temple is frequented by the devotees everyday, there are occasions wich are celebrated with great pomp and show when the whole complex is illuminated. These special occasions are the birthdays of Guru Nanak, Guru Ram Das and Guru Gobind Singh. Guru Granth Sahib installation day is also celebrated with gaiety and enthusiasm, when precious relics in the toshkhana of the Golden Temple located on the top of the Darshani Deohdi are displayed, wich is called jalao, meaning a show of splendour.
The original structure of the Golden Temple constructed in the midst of the pool of nectar by fift guru was destroyed by the afgan invader, Ahmad Shah Abdali, in AD 1762. since the Golden Temple has the premier Sikh shrine and the main source of inspiration for the Sikhs, they reassembled at Amritsar soon after teh retreat of Ahmad Shah Abdali and decided to rebuild the temple. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Commander of the Dal Khalsa, gave a call for collecting funds for rebuilding of the Golden Temple. Money thus collected was kept with the bankers of Amritsar and Bhai Des Raj was entrusted with the work of superision of the construction and collection of the additional funds, if needed, for the project.In keeping with the Sikh guru’s philosophy of humility and living pure among impurities of life, the Harimandir was intentionally built by the founder at a low level and it floats like a lotus in the pool of nectar. According to Dr. J.S.Neki, the spirit behind the architecture of the Golden Temple is that of spiritual enlightenment and the lotus is the symbol employed to express this spirit. This flower remains crossed with its stem bent down till the sunlight falls on it, when it becomes upright and opens up to blossom. This symbol has been appropriately incorporated in the architectural design of the temple. The main dome of the temple has the form of inverted lotus of flower. The ame flower is depicted in the arches and design of the pillars.
Acoording to Dr. K.S.Kang:
„The main structure rises from the centre of sacred pool, 150 metres square, approached by a causeway about 60 meters long. An achway on the western side of the pool opens on to the causeway, bordered with balustrades of fretted marble and, at close intervals, there are standard lamps, their great lattens set upon marble columns. The 52-metre square-based Harimandir, to wich the causeway leads, stands on a 20 metre square platform. Its lower parts are of white marble, but the upper parts are covered with plates of gilded copper”.
The more informations are available at http://www.sgpc.net/golden-temple/amritsar.asp
An another point of maximum interest is also in Punjab, Beas, and is Radha Soami Satsang Beas.
All this aspects of the trip are very good explained by Mr. Jeetah Singh the owner of Pulkit Travels: tour operator and travel agents .
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