Feeding Multitudes at the Golden Temple

Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
9 Comments

Seated at a low communal table at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, my neighbors kept correcting me on the proper way to roll discs of dough into chapattis. Their corrections were subtle. A gentle pat on my arm from my seatmate to look at her technique. Two hands on top of mine exerting a different pressure on the rolling pin. Anything to keep my chapattis from looking like a preschooler’s map of India.

The men and women at my table were fast, quickly rolling their discs back and forth, pausing to coat the dough in the flour that covered the table, then tossing their chapattis onto the pile waiting to be cooked. I tried to follow their example.

Man in yellow turban cooking chapattis at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

We were working in the kitchen of the massive langar or dining hall at the Golden Temple, the spiritual center of the Sikh religion. While other parts of the vast temple complex convey a sense of grandeur befitting one of the world’s great religions, the spacious langar sets the emotional tone for a religion that prides itself on feeding all who come, rich or poor, light or dark, Sikh or not.

Men stirring huge woks in the kitchen at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Sikhism is one of the youngest and the ninth largest of the world’s major religions. Its origins trace to approximately 1500, when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith distinct from the Hinduism and Islam practiced at the time in the Punjabi region of what is now India and Pakistan.

Group of women peeling onions at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Joining the Sikh volunteers cooking for the 50,000-100,000 visitors who come to eat at the Golden Temple each day offered a glimpse into the Sikh worldview. We saw groups of men and women peeling mounds of onions outside the dining hall.

Young boy in orange turban and old man with a black turban serving in the dining room at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Other people carried food to the rows of people sitting down to eat. And after the meal, others collected silverware or washed the dishes in a long trough.

Woman in a green outfit in the dishwashing room at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Work and service are obviously intrinsic to the Sikh perspective.

Two men in blue turbans at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

But trying to understand an unfamiliar religion on a deeper level in one visit to a famous holy site can be a challenge. Luckily, Sandeep, our superb guide, gave us a head start.

 

A brief history of Sikhism

“Sikh means student,” he told us. More broadly it can be translated as disciple, seeker or learner. The Guru (spiritual teacher) Nanak subscribed to the idea that there is one father and that we are all children of the one father, and therefore equal. Although Nanak was born Hindu, he didn’t follow the rituals of Hinduism.

Group of people, including woman dressed in orange, in line for food at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

“His new faith eliminated caste, idolatry and practices such as wives having to die with their husbands,” explained Sandeep. “His big goal was to make everyone equal.” It was Guru Nanak who created the tradition of the free kitchen that is integral to all Sikh temples or gurdwaras.

Sikhism evolved over the centuries with nine other gurus or masters following Guru Nanak. The fourth, Guru Ram Das, built the iconic pool, the pool of nectar, for which the city Amritsar is named.

His son, the fifth guru, built a temple with four entrances welcoming people from the north, south, east and west, in the middle of the pool. It is called the Harmandir Sahib. In 1803 the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who consolidated his rule from the Punjab to Kashmir and Pashtun, rebuilt the temple in marble and gold.

View of Golden Temple with across the pool with people in the foreground

In 1708 the tenth guru or master, Guru Gobind Singh, decreed that there would be no eleventh or further masters. From then on, the Sikh holy book, known as the Guru Granth Sahib, would be the only living guru. It is available for viewing during the day in the Harmandir Sahib. From daybreak on readers chant the prayers of the day. At about 9:30 each evening, with much ceremony (check out the video at the end of the post), the book is brought to the Parliament building or Sikh headquarters to go to bed. It is retrieved again at 4 the next morning.

 

Entering the Golden Temple

To visit the Golden Temple is to bathe in an atmosphere of calm and tranquility that is hard to find in most of India.

People walking toward the Golden Temple, with a little girl in a pink scarf on her mom's shoulder in the right foreground

The first look at the Golden Temple through the entrance gate was as breathtaking as a first look at the Taj Mahal. Both employ water and reflections to great effect. But the Golden Temple felt alive in a way the Taj Mahal, a mausoleum after all, can’t possibly.

Man kissing the ground at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

People seem happy to wander around the Golden Temple. Some come to immerse themselves in the pool of nectar. Many stand in line for hours to walk by the holy book. “Every Sikh tries to get here at least once in a lifetime,” explained Sandeep.

Everyplace we went was clean. Red mats lined the promenade to keep people from slipping on wet marble. Guards in white pants, loose blue jackets and yellow turbans are available to assist visitors and keep things calm in case of trouble.

Guards in blue coats and yellow turbans at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Indeed trouble at the Golden Temple is not unheard of. Originally a dozen watchtowers loomed over the temple grounds, the better to see attacking Mughals across the Punjabi plains. And as recently as 1984, Indian government troops attacked Sikh separatists who had turned the temple into their base of operations. The embarrassing and bloody confrontation with 493 official casualties (some say thousands died) led to the revenge assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.

 

The Golden Temple at Night

Night shot of the Golden Temple and the long walkway in Amritsar, India

Walking around the pool and watching the reflection of the Golden Temple all lit up was a delight. The air was comfortable, and there were fewer visitors. Some sleep on the large patio outside. Sandeep explained: “Every Sikh temple must have three basic things for the people—water, food and accommodation, all free.”

Night shot of people sleeping on the plaza at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

This time we skipped the kitchen and headed over to the lined pathway between the Parliament building and the Harmandir Sahib. That’s where yet another set of volunteers would prepare a golden palanquin to carry the holy book to where it spends the night.

Men with flower garlands near the palanquin at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Men in colorful turbans and long white shirts milled around, waiting. Others brought garlands of flowers to drape the palanquin.

Prayerful men carrying the palanquin covered with yellow and orange flowers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Good-natured crowds lined the railings expectantly.

Prayerful men carrying the palanquin covered with yellow and orange flowers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

Suddenly a dozen men hoisted the palanquin and carried it slowly inside the Harmandir Sahib. After about a twenty-minute wait they came back.

A close-up of the inside of the palanquin carrying the Sikh holy book at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

All I could see inside was a blue embroidered pillow topped with even more flowers, presumably protecting the book itself. This time they walked quickly, taking the book for its evening rest.

As the crowd dispersed, yet another group of volunteers started sweeping. A woman carefully picked up flower petals that had fallen to the ground.

Being at the Golden Temple reminded me of a modern Buddhist teaching: after enlightenment, the laundry. Sikhism is a religion designed for householders, not mystics. Taking care of the necessities of daily life—food, water, accommodation—is at its heart.

Check out these two short videos to get an even better sense of our visit to the Golden Temple. It’s a place not to be missed on your tour of India.

See the Golden Temple kitchen in action:

And here’s the nightly ceremony for putting the Sikh holy book to bed:

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9 Comments

  1. Thank you for a wonderful article about your visit to the Golden Temple and about Sikkhism. Your words and photos are beautiful.

    Reply
  2. We visited a smaller Sikh temple but didn’t help prepare or serve the food. However, I was so struck by the complete and absolute cleanliness in the kitchen, food prep areas and the dining area. There wasn’t one crumb on any of the floors and nary a fly to mar the healthiness the food. Amazing.

    Reply
    • Carolyn, they even had a device, kind of like a Zamboni, they used to polish the floors in the dining hall between seatings. Everything was tidy. And they trimmed the onions outside.

      Reply
  3. Amazing to share your journey! Thanks for the beautiful words and photos

    Reply
  4. Lovely and insightful. The vivid and engaging photos invited me into the story so well. Great synergy; I learned a lot. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Thanks Paula. I think you’d really enjoy touring India and seeing the many forms of belief up close.

      Reply
  5. I feel wonderful reading this Issue; yes, Golden Temple is an abode of spiritual and chaste feeling and anyone visiting it is imbued with it. Guru Nanak was preaching Oneness in Northern India, while the same ethos and religious universality was being preached by many Other Social and Religious Reformers in various parts of India. This period was, as if, a sudden Outburst of Purity, Simplicity, and Chaste living. In Assam, we had the Great Guru Sankaradeva –essentially trying to inculcate the same ethos of Simplicity, Oneness of Divinity, Social awareness and Cultural regeneration. Now, Professor Erik Vogellin from Oxford came out with the Idea that sometimes the Universal Spirit bursts out and all across the Universe, and there is a Regeneration into such sacred ethos. Anway, all over India, there were Movements to simplify Hinduism into its essentials. The Sikh religion came as an Eye Opener and a new Awakening was taking place in this North India region. As this Movement grew, the Civil power of the Mughal rulers tried everything to suppress and neutralize it. Successive Sikh Gurus were persecuted, One was even blinded alive. The outward distinctness of the Sikhs –Five Things –keeping beard, hair, wearing of a Kara (hand bracelet), a Turban, and the wearing a Black Underwear–are all instituted as a Mark of Protest against the Brutalities of the Islamic Rulers. Earlier or initially every Hindu family had at the least One son becoming a Sikh –also signifying the resolve to fight against Injustice of the Mughal rulers. India is a mosaic of many peoples uniting for a beautiful and just future, and like all of us, Sikhs in India signifies the motto –Unity in Diversity. I must say one thing here about the greatness of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The Intelligence people removed the particular Sikh guard from duty, and Mrs. Gandhi noticed his absence, and asked about him. When she was told that based on Intelligence, his loyalty was questionable and thus he was removed from guarding her, Mrs. Gandhi ordered him back and essentially said –How can I distrust my Own People? On the given morning when Mrs. Gandhi was assasinated, this Guard was nervous and he went to the bath room many a times, and now the question still remains –as to why the Interview with the Irish TV set for a certain time, was postponed to a few minutes later, thereby giving time for this Guard to come back from his toilet visit and shoot Mrs. Gandhi as whe was walking into the other building for the Interview to be tapped! Unfortunately, in India many such important questions remain unanswered. My own elder brothers and sisters always use to say to us –Forget and Forgive! But, then India’s history itself was changed because of this attitude –Prithiraj Chauhan released the Muhammad Ghori from captivity on the occasion of his (Prithiraj Chauhan’s) daughter’s Marriage ceremony. Ghori, history records, warned Prithiraj Chauhan that he (Ghori) will come back and attack his (Prithiraj’s) Kingdom, Prithiraj admonished him while releasing him saying that on such an auspicious occasion (his daughter’s marriage), he did not want to hear such bad things/warnings. Lo and behold, one of the Kings who was spurned by Prithiraj’s daughter (old days, the Bride simply selects a Husband from the Open Assembly of great Princes –the Suitors –assembled for the Occasion!) felt insulted, and joined Ghori and came to attack Prithiraj Chauhan. Prithiraj was killed and the History of India turned, with this beginning of the Muslim Rule of India (begun by Md. Ghori). We remain captive of our own history and tradition! I wish India will quit this habit of Never saying– Never Again! Love and regards for doing such a wonderful series!

    Reply
    • Mono, thank you for adding your intimate knowledge of Indian history to what I can learn as a visitor to your amazing country. It has been a real pleasure to meet the Indian people. You are blessed to come from such a diverse and fascinating place. Namaste.

      Reply

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