Amritsar and the Golden Temple, India
Amritsar and the Golden Temple (Har Mandir Sahib), Northern India
The Golden Temple is built where once a small lake and forest were located.This location was known as a place of meditation since ancient times. The Lake known as Amrita Sara (the Pool of Immortality or the Pool of Ambrosia) and it is said that Buddha spent time there in contemplation.
The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, also found the lake a place of peaceful meditation and the place became a point of pilgrimage after his death. The Lake was enlarged by order of the 4th Sikh Guru Ram Das and his successor Arjan Dev orchestrated the building of the Golden Temple (or the Har Mandir Sahib). The Temple is considered one of the most sacred shrines and a place of pilgrimage to the Sikh religion.
On a Nearby strip of landed granted to him byt the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Ram Das Also founded the city of Amritsar (named from the lake that surrounds the Golden Temple island) in 1574. The Lake also serves a defensive purpose and can only be crossed by a guarded causeway which inturn is protected by a gate.
The current Golden Temple dates from the early 19th Century when it was reconstructed by Marajah Ranjit Singh, the Sikh leader who conquered the Punjab. The temple is covered in Gold leaf and the Architectural style with its decorative gilding, precious stone and marble work draws from both Hindu and Muslim styling.
The temple also houses a Holy book called the Guru Granth Sahib which contains a collection of devotional poems, prayers and hymns composed by 10 Sikh gurus and various Muslim and Hindu saints.
In modern history the city of Amritsar was the place of importance due to a massacre that took place there in 1919. The massacre by the british-rule government could easily be the foundation event for the independance of India.
Today Amritsar is thrumming with quiet activity. The sounds of hymns, flutes, strings and drums float from the temples whilst pilgrims immerse themselves in the lake waters cleansing their souls. All visitors are lodged and fed for free in nearby pilgrim’s dormatries and dining halls, irrespective of race or religious inclination.
