I have always wanted to taste the flavor and colour of Punjab. When I was in Amritsar it is obvious I went to the Golden Temple. For it was destiny calling and I realized it immediately when I set foot in this holy temple.
The Golden Temple in Amritsar also called the Sri Darbar Sahib is a place where all those who believe in beautiful faith should visit. The scenic beauty of this place is so mesmerizing that it was a hypnotic effect that lured me to the city.
The marriage was just an excuse, I felt that my soul wanted to visit this temple and thus the entire journey of going to the marriage never seemed difficult in spite of having a delayed flight and unequally difficult Travel to the Temple. All the obstacles and hurdles that came our way seemed completely forgotten when I found myself in the temple premises.
All the Sikhs come here from India and cross the world to pray to the Supreme and wish for a better future. They pay their obeisance at the Sri Harmandir Sahib in their Ardas.
It was Guru Arjan Sahib, the fifth Sikh Guru who thought of creating this unique place of worship for the Sikh community. He designed the entire temple and the architecture of the temple is entirely his mastermind. There was initially a plan to dig the holy tank. This was the Amrit Sarovar or Amritsar thus the city got its name. Guru Nanak had made a plan to dig this tank. The land was obtained by the earlier Sikh Gurus and the landlords or the zamindars gave this free of cost. This is when the plan to establish a town here also germinated. The work on the city and the temple thus began in the year 1570 and by 1577 AD the work got completed.
It was Hazrat Mian Mir a Muslim saint who laid the foundation. He belonged to Lahore and he laid this holy foundation on the first of Magh, in the year 1645 according to the Indian Calendar. Guru Arjan Sahib himself supervised the construction and many famous personalities were involved in making this construction a grand success. People like Bhai Sahlo Ji, Baba Budha Ji, Bhai Gurdas ji and other dedicated Sikhs, contributed to making the temple a success.
Guru Arjan Sahib conceived the idea of constructing the temple at a lower level, unlike the other Hindu temples which are built at a height. They also made it different from Hindu temples by giving it not one but four gates. Thus a new concept and ideal developed across the world as the symbol of faith grew. This faith Sikhism struck roots with all the Sikhs and Guru Sahib was a place where anyone could to irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. There was no sex discrimination either. Thus the Golden Temple took birth and today stands as a great symbol of faith.
Guru Arjan Sahib installed a new Holy book of the Sikhs – The Guru Granth Sahib. Then the place got the status of the “AthSarth Tirath”. Today the Golden Temple has its own Tirath centre and is a great pilgrim spot not only for the Sikhs but for all those who visit the country around.
The platform on which it has been built is around 67 square feet and is in the centre of the Sarovar or the tank. The main temple itself is around 40.5 ft square. With doors on the East, North, West and South, the Darshani Deori is what makes these doorways beautiful. This beautiful arch is at the shore end of the causeway. The arch is about 10 ft high and around 9 inches broad. The panes of the door are very decorative and I was struck by the sheer artistic work on the temple doors. The door led to the causeway or the bridge. As I walked along the bridge I went into the main building of the Harmandir Sahib. The bridge was 202 feet long and 21 feet wide.
The bridge connected to the circumambulatory path which ran around the Golden temple. This then led to the steps of God or the Har Ki Pauri. As I went up I saw that on the first floor there was a continuous recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib.
I saw that the Golden temple has 3 Storeys. There was the front facing the bridge and has beautiful arches and the first floor where I was, gave the best ceiling I had ever seen. Around 26 feet high the ceiling had beautiful work in it.
Then there was a parapet here which had four Mamtees on the four sides. Then the central hall below had the third storey above. There was a small room and three gates here. Here too the Guru Granth Sahib was being read.
On top of this room was the dome which had the most beautiful lotus motifs. It has had the Kalash and the Chattri which is the main feature of the Golden Temple.
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