The Golden Temple of Amritsar

Written from a Hostel Dorm Bed in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 5, 2014

The Sikh Philosophy

I am far from an expert with regards to the Sikh religion but I do know that, as part of their culture, they are some of the most gracious hosts in the world. Sikhism was founded as a reaction to India's caste system and promotes equality and inclusiveness of all people regardless of social status, religion or economic means. A core part of Sikh way is around openness with other people and building a strong sense of community, and this is really showcased at the Punjabi city of Amritsar. 

Amritsar’s Golden Temple is the holiest of the holiest sites in Sikhism and left completely wide open for visitors from all countries and backgrounds. Unlike most of the places I’ve been to in India, there are no security checks to enter the temple, an impressive statement given the importance of the Golden Temple and the national level of paranoia around terrorism. 

I will never forget the hospitality I received from the Sikh people at Amritsar, not to mention the many hilarious encounters with locals that grew up on Kung Fu movies and loved my Jackie Chan-like appearance.

Onto the temple... I’ll let photos speak a thousand words here…

The Lean Mean Pilgrimage Machine

Sikh's don't screw around when they set up pilgrimage operations. They provide food and lodging right at the temple free of charge. I heard they feed an impressive 70,000 people a day in their dining halls. Check it out:

One of the housing complexes for pilgrims. Most of the rooms are free of charge and are financed on purely a donation basis. Sometimes there is an overflow of pilgrims and the square lines up with overnight campers

They set aside one of the dormitory rooms just for foreign tourists, also free of charge. They had security lockers and two guards just for us, a real gesture of hospitality

The washrooms stalls all have a window so people can peek in and stare menacingly at you if you're taking too long to do your business

Each day starts with chai (Indian tea). They serve chai from these industrial-size vats 

The chai area

The line-up for the dining hall

One of the two dining halls where diners sit on the ground and are topped up with food until they are stuffed. I would have loved to have set up a time lapse camera here... up to 70,000 pilgrims a day pass through these dining halls

A typical meal at the dining hall comprising chapati (bread), dal (a bean dish for protein) and subzi (veggie dish). Sometimes they also dole out rice and desert

A massive vat of potatoes

Plates ahoy!

One of the many dishwashing pits. Community service is central to the Sikh culture so most of the entire operation from food preparation to dish washing is carried out by volunteers. Everyone from young people to the wealthy will carry out even the most menial of tasks as part of this service mentality, something I greatly respect

Now that I'm well fed, it's time to go onto the temple! Shoes have to come off and there is a really efficient shoe storage system (again run by volunteers)

Benches for people to take off or put on their shoes

What It's All For... The Magnificent Golden Temple

The Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple of Amritsar, is equivalent to the Vatican for the Sikh people. Over 100,000 people a day visit this holy site and the place is always busy even at 5am in the morning. Because I stayed right at the temple, it was really easy to visit the temple at all times in the day, whether right at dawn, dusk or in the pitch dark. 

I read that the temple got a fresh coat of 600kg's of 24-carat gold in the late 1990's. The inside (where photos weren't allowed) was as golden as the outside. Seriously.

A panorama of the entire complex. The Golden Temple is set in the middle of a serene man-made lake of holy water

A shot of the temple at dusk. Absolutely magnificent

One of my favorite shots from my entire time in India. I had to wake up at 5am to shoot this but it was totally worth it

An hour later into the morning and the sky began coming to life over the temple in striking splashes of blue and orange hues

I think this was an entrance gateway off to the side of the lake but I could be mistaken. Either way, it's some great architecture

There are line-ups to get inside the temple all day long...

...and all night long.

The locals told me it was okay for non-Sikh foreigners to take a dip so I graciously jumped right in

Just praying with a dagger in my turban. No big deal

Just bathing in holy water with a dagger in my turban. No big deal

Dear lord, can I also have a dagger for my turban? Thanks =)

Pakistan: A Distraction From the Golden Temple

So India and Pakistan have had turbulent relationships for a long time, but I guess the guys running the Pakistan-India border near Amritsar decided to have a good sense of humour about the whole thing and created a hilarious daily show for tourists and patriots alike. They really took the negative energies between the nations and created a tasteful mockery of it all. 

Both sides of the border march furiously around with greatly exaggerated gestures which were just entirely comical

I wonder how long he had to train to do that

The gates flung open and the Indian border guards (in red) power pose against the opposing Pakistani border guards (in green) to show their contempt for each other

The show ended with the Indian and Pakistani flags lowering and the gates closing until the next show