Golden Temple Experiences

A long series of flights and layovers delivered us the popular city of Amritsar in Northern India. Founded by Sikhs more than four hundred years ago, the city surrounds the Golden Temple--the holiest site of the Sikh religion. The main shrine lies in the middle of Amrit Sarovar (Pool of Nectar), a lake from which the city acquired its name. The entire temple complex is rectangular, with intricately inlaid marble walkways around the lake and grand entrances on all sides. Attention to detail has not been left out anywhere and we readily found ourselves standing in awe at the workmanship and careful symmetries.

To enter the gurdwara (temple), you must cover your head with a scarf, turban, sari or similar; remove your shoes; and wash your hands and feet at the entrance. Even under the mid-day sun, the white marble is cool and buttery smooth--if blindingly bright. After walking around the pool in a clockwise direction, we crossed the crowded causeway to enter the main shrine. Singing and the playing of instruments continues throughout the day on the main floor and is broadcast throughout the temple complex. The walls are all painted, gilded with gold, or inlaid with stone in natural designs. The roof top is blazingly hot from gilding and contains the Room of Mirrors, whose floor is swept with a broom made of peacock feathers. The second floor contains the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book) during the day time; every night, the book is ritually secured in a side building and the floors of the shrine are washed with milk and water.

Standing on the exterior of the shrine with music echoing throughout the temple, koi swimming in the water below, brilliant light reflecting in all directions, and the warm, smooth marble underfoot generated a very surreal, once-in-a-lifetime sensation. Though these experiences did not convert us, we have great respect for Sikh philosophies and gained a greater understanding of the history and struggles of the Sikhs.

While exiting the shrine via the causeway, we were approached by a friendly gentleman named Amrit Singh. He invited us to eat lunch at the Guru ka Langar--a dining hall which serves thousands of temple visitors hourly. The meal is comprised of dal (lentil), rice, chapati (flat bread), and water. The public enters one of the two floors of the hall and sits on the floor in a series of long rows; there is no segregration of status or privilege. Volunteer servers rush down the rows distributing dollops of dal and rice, splashes of water, and pieces of chapati on every plate. Seconds of everything are offered again a few minutes later. Within twenty minutes the floor empties, more volunteers move in with mops and sweepers to clean the floor of food and water, and serving commences on the alternate floor of the hall. In this seamless manner, the Guru ka Langar continuously serves all who enter.

We generously scooped spicy dal into torn chapati, licking our lips of the sauce which was made saltier by the sweat. I fired off a few pictures of our neighbors down the row. Our host talked about the Sikh faith, the volunteers of the dining hall, and how tirelessly everyone works to serve all who enter. After lunch, he showed us where the plates were washed to the sound of clattering plates, spoons and bowls. We also spotted where the enormous kettles of dal and rice were constantly cooked over wood-burning stoves. Mr. Singh then asked if we would like to volunteer in the serving of the food. We agreed--me with hesitation and T with exuberance. At first we distributed chapati together, then separately we offered water and dal. We served hundreds of temple visitors in less than fifteen minutes. All of them were stunned to look up and see our faces offering additional portions; most smiled warmly as they understood we were performing a fundamental tenet of the Sikh faith: volunteer manual labor. When it was over, the bottoms of our feet were covered with squished dal and rice but it did not matter to us. We were invigorated from the experience and thanked the serving staff and Amrit Singh effusively for allowing us to assist.

We returned to the Golden Temple twice over the following days to explore the art/history archives and several of the smaller temples. Though these visits were enriching, they will always pale in comparison to that rare opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone, take a risk, and become swept up in the spirit of the experience.