The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India
INSPIRING, GIVING, AMAZING
When I booked a flight to New Delhi to attend a college friend’s wedding, I never imagined that I would wind up near the border of Pakistan with my shoes off and my head covered, an honorary Sikh for the day. It turns out that every time my friend and her new husband make a trip home to India, they brave the 7 hour drive from her parent’s house in South Delhi to The Golden Temple - Sikhism’s equivalent of the Vatican.
We had risen early (ish) that day and hopped in the car with one of the groom’s family drivers. After a quick stop at McDonalds, which my friend insisted was different in India (it wasn’t really), we headed into the heart of Punjab, to the holiest Gurdwara on earth.
My entire agenda for this trip had been to attend a wedding. I had exactly zero plans for when the festivities ended. And so, winding up at the foot of the most important pilgrimage site of Sikhism, a religion founded on the tenets of divine unity and equality of all humankind, was completely unexpected.
I learned a lot during this day trip. For instance, the fact that Sikhism is unique in India as a monotheistic religion, and that Sikhs have faced a lot of historical persecution. I also formed a new appreciation for what equality can mean. The Langhar (a free community kitchen) at the Golden Temple feeds a free vegetarian meal to whomever arrives to dine. Gender, religion, and economic status fail to matter as everyone sits on the floor as equals to enjoy a community meal. It was one of the few places I felt inconspicuous, despite of my reddish blonde hair and pale face.
Overall, my visit to the Golden Temple was informative and fortuitous, and an experience I am not likely to forget.
INSPIRING:
Despite my personal choice to live life without religion, I always find peaceful gatherings of faithful people to be inspiring. There is something about coming together under a common goal of hope and thankfulness that reminds me that humans are inherently good. Everyone I encountered at the Golden Temple, from the officials helping worshipers to form an orderly line, to private citizens volunteering their effort to sweep the pathways believed that what they were doing was good and important. They were not shouting at each other, or pointing out anyone who was “other”, they were simply engaging in the respectful worship of the higher power they believed in. I found their dedication to their Temple’s upkeep, to community service, and to demonstrating their devotion to be humbling and inspirational.
GIVING:
In one of the photos above, you will see a close up of my hand gently holding Karah Parshad. This is a mix of whole wheat flour, clarified butter, and sugar, and is a sacred food that is given to every person who visits a Gurdwara, everywhere on earth. As i munched, I joked to my friend that in Catholic church growing up all they gave us a dry, flavorless wafer, and then we promptly looped back around for another serving. Everything at the Golden Temple was generously given. From the free vegetarian lunch, to the blessing of the Karah Parshad, to the committee run hostels that pilgrims can stay at for a nominal fee, the attitude at the temple was "everything is ours to share.”
AMAZING:
Northern India, while interesting and beautiful in its own way, is pretty monochromatic. While many of the outfits people wear day to day are vibrant and colorful, everything else from the dirt to the buildings to the sky are a light shade of brown. It is a sad reality that the air is polluted. So polluted that 11 of the 12 global cities with the highest rates of particle pollution are in India. As a result, Indians miss out on vibrant blue skies, picturesque sunsets, and environmental variation. After six days surrounded by the muted colors of New Delhi, Patalia, and the roads between them, stepping into the immaculate clean and brightly colored Golden Temple felt like stepping in to Oz. The gold leaf on the temple itself looked stunning against the surprising blue sky. Many of the men wore bright orange head covers, and the cool white marble looked immaculate next to the blue pool of water surrounding the temple. The entire effect was rather magnificent, and was truly nothing less than amazing.
THE 3 THINGS YOU WILL NEED WHILE YOU’RE THERE:
Traveler’s stomach is a grim reality of international travel, and something that almost everyone with an adventurous spirit and an adventurous palette will experience at one point or another. There are, of course, steps you can take to keep yourself healthy. First, don’t drink the tap water. While I was in India I even used bottled water to brush my teeth. Second, avoid anything fresh or raw. You may technically be closer to Japan but the sushi is not worth the risk Third, take preventative steps. These activated charcoal tablets are porous and attract any toxins you may have ingested. If you take one of these tablets every day, anything sketchy you may have ingested will bond to the charcoal and be flushed from your system before it is absorbed - helping you to prevent traveler’s stomach entirely.
At the Golden Temple, everyone must cover their hair before God. It is part of the traditional dress required of Sikh’s by their Guru. Vendors outside of the temple will sell you bright orange bandanas on the cheap, but if you plan on coming away from the temple with photos…I would recommend something a bit more fashionable. These scarves will cover your head nicely while still looking like a fashion choice rather than an obligation.
Another requirement for visiting the Golden Temple is removing your shoes. That’s right - everyone inside is barefoot. There is a shoe-check area right outside of the main entrance, with a few benches that are regularly packed with people lacing and unlacing their footwear. If you come adorned in slip-ons, you can avoid the lines and the hustle by taking off and putting on your shoes quickly and simply.
