Holy Water, Architecture & Organizational Wonders

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Last weekend, I ventured -- and I do mean ventured -- to Amritsar, home of the Golden Temple, Sikhism's most significant place of worship. It's a trip I'd wanted to make for a while but had considered avoiding because of some unrest a few weeks back.

Having gotten the all-clear from my fiance's parents, I decided to venture into Punjab with my co-worker, Debdutta, for a quick weekend trip -- arriving late Friday night Amritsar Shatabdi and returning by the same train to Delhi quite early (5:10 a.m. departure) Sunday morning -- leaving us just enough time to see the Golden Temple, have a rest from the sweltering heat and then head back out for the changing of the guard at the Wagah Border (see next post).

The Golden Temple, as everyone said it would be, was amazing. I've been to a number of sacred places in India -- churches in Old Goa, Hindu temples in Bombay, Jama Masjid here in Delhi, etc. -- and this was one of the most peaceful, to me.

For starters, in contrast to the streets of Amritsar -- a city with the pace, atmosphere and dusty heat of Old Delhi, but with slightly wider streets -- the Golden Temple is a beacon of shining, spotless white marble and gold accents. Everyone entering must check shoes outside the gates and walk through a running stream of water to enter -- a process that ensures everyone's feet are clean. Inside, volunteers sweep and wipe floors clean from dust, leaves, water, etc.

Next -- the temple is immaculately organized. At the langar, or community kitchen, each person grabs a tin plate and waits patiently in line for his or her food -- in a system that cycles the crowd through the kitchen, into the seating area to sit in orderly lines and back out again. They wait again, quietly, to enter the main, golden gurdwara at the center of the Pool of Nectar, or Amrit Sarovar, from which the city gets its name.

We had two excellent Sikh guides for the tour, ensuring that we saw all the crucial parts of the temple, including the bread machine and Holy Book; we enjoyed the fish in the pond and I had some chai at the langar; and we made sure to visit the gory Sikh museum on the way out to reclaim our shoes. A lovely experience overall.

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