The Golden Temple

Mark, Stephen and me.

The women in our group.

Our first view of the Golden Temple.

The other buildings around the sacred lake.

A tourist family.

One of the Sikh guards.

Sunset over the temple.

Feeding the poor.

It was even more beautiful lit up at night.

March 19th continued.

After Prerna’s session we walked to the Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib). It is immense. There is a large outside courtyard and a number of places to check your shoes. Everyone has to cover their heads with a dew-rag type cloth.

We were wowed when we first saw the Golden Temple which sits in the middle of a large square man-made sacred lake. There were devotees all around the perimeter and hundreds lined up to enter the actual temple. As we wandered around soaking up the atmosphere, we listened to the soothing sounds of the devout chanting verses from the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

As I walked around I offered to take photos for people who where taking pictures of their families, so that they could get in the photo too. Everyone was very appreciative. It was wonderful to watch them and talk to a few. I am not a religious person at all, but there is something about religion that does appeal. Not the belief in supernatural deities, but rather the gathering of like-minded people for a shared event. I think that it brings people together in a good way. Everyone was there for the same reason and you could tell they were happy in their culture. Of course we all know that sometimes this type of this also goes wrong and then it becomes more like a mod mentality when the faithful follow leaders who think they are better than other groups. However, today I really enjoyed the vibe, the energy and the atmosphere of this place. I have gained a great appreciation of Sikhism.

When I got back to the hotel I met Prirna who was talking to another Intrepid group who is taking the same tour as us but one day ahead. They were sitting in the lobby waiting to take the same overnight train that we will take tomorrow. That should be fun.