Mid-night Visit To Golden Temple – This is something that you MUST DO in Amritsar. People often visit Golden temple during the day time or night time, observe darshan and ardas and come back. But when you visit after mid-night and stay back till early morning around 4ish, you get to observe the holy ceremony of Palki Granth Sahib and get to hear the first Ardas of the day.
We also visited the kitchen of Golden Temple and I was astonished to know that they approx. 1 lakh people eat there daily. You must have read this paragraph in my previous blogpost Explore Amritsar like Never Before, which is something I highly recommend. In this article, I am sharing the story of Golden Temple and some interesting facts.
Story of Golden Temple:
In 1570, the 3rd Guru Sahib launched the plans of excavating a holy pond and building a town settlement in the area. Around a man made pool, the Gurudwara is built that was completed by the 4th Sikh Guru “Guru Ram Das” in 1577. The first Harmandir Sahib was built by Arjan; the 5th Sikh Guru in 1604 who placed on a lower level so that even humblest had to step down to enter it. He also made entrances on all 4 sides which signify that the Gurudwara was open to the worshippers of all castes. The foundation was laid by Mian Mir in 1589.
The temple was attacked a few times over the next few decades and suffered damages but eventually got fixed every time. The complex was further developed by the 6th Guru Sahib. Under his supervision the Akal Takht was constructed. It was Maharaja Ranjit Singh who took the initiative of bedecking the Gurudwara and with his generous support; the gold plating was completed in 1830.
Along the main gate is the peripheral building which runs along the entire complex and houses various dining halls, administrative offices and dormitories. The artificial body of water in the center is believed to have sacred healing powers. The ravishing Gurudwara is connected in the center of the water body by a causeway which works as the waiting area for the people lined up in a queue to enter the main temple.
With large quantity of precious stones and gold, one can see the inside of the 3 storey house of God where the Guru Granth Sahib; the sacred scripture of Sikhism is placed and read throughout the day along with other musical instrument and hymns. The Akal Takht is used to deal with the temporal issues and has the highest designation of earthly authority.
One of the biggest of its kind is the Guru Ka Langar in which hundreds of volunteers cook meals that are served to around 1 lac visitors daily. The kitchen has a big dining area where people sit in multiple rows and eat together without being discriminated on any grounds, whatsoever.
Interesting Facts about Golden Temple:
- Name of Golden Temple is Harmandir Sahib
- Records suggest that lord Buddha came here for meditation and because it was surrounded by dense forest, he declared this place as an ideal place for meditation
- Golden Temple was named after the outer layer of gold foil that covers the entire temple.
- This temple is open to all devotees irrespective of caste, nationality, creed and religion.
- The sacred pond is known as Amrit Sarovar which is believed to have healing powers
- The first floor of the temple is submerged in the Amrit Sarovar and is only visible during kar sewa.
- Guru ka langar feeds over 1 lakh people every day
The facts and history that I have written in this blogpost is what was narrated to me by the local guide during my visit to the Golden temple.
Watch the Amritsar Vlog for more:
Fact: I clicked all of these photos from my iPhone and they have not been edited at all. I was also amazed to see how beautiful photos came and didn’t even require editing.
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