Amritsar Trip: The Golden Temple

I took a rickshaw to get to the Golden Temple on Saturday morning. The first surprise of the whole trip was when the rickshaw didn't know where the Golden Temple was. I estimated he was cycling in a north-westerly direction (based on the Sun) and I knew that the temple was in a south-easterly direction from the hotel. So after a few minutes I asked him if he knew where he was going and at that point he started asking people for directions. It was bizzare, sort of like going to Agra and meeting a native who didn't know where the Taj Mahal was. (Later I was told that this might be a ploy to get more money out of me, he did charge Rs. 20 while usually they charge only Rs. 10 to go there.)

And there it was, in all its shining glory. My first impression was that it was a nice combination of devout pilgrims and casual tourists with cameras, with neither bothering the other too much. I loved it. It radiated a certain peaceful atmosphere, with devotional songs being played over the speakers. There were pilgrims taking dips inside the holy pond.

(I read somewhere that the GT was the most visited shrine in India - it's not even close. I finished my "darshan" in about 30 minutes, and even considered going a second time. I dare anyone to even think of doing two darshans in a day in Tirupathi.)

One thing I was repeatedly reminded of was to cover my head the entire time I was in the Temple. And while I had my own kerchief to tie around my head, there were bucketfuls of pieces of cloth to pick for those without. I was very nervous heading inside, since, as with any religious establishment you have to be sensitive to the traditions and rules over there. For one, I didn't know if I could take pictures in there. So I asked a person who was looked like a palace guard if I could take pictures. With a small smile he told me to take as many pictures as I wanted, and then proceeded to tell me to protect myself from pickpockets etc. It was to be a repeating theme. No one ever strictly forbid me from anything or forced me to do anything during my visit there. The guy in the baggage storage suggested that I might want to leave my bag there since it might inconvenience other pilgrims while going to see the Guru Granth Sahib. The only exception came while sitting at the pool around the temple - I was asked not to sit with my feet in the pool, or even with my feet on the step above the watel level. This is presumably disrespectful to the pool, which is not any random pond after all. But even that was conveyed politely.

Another striking thing I noticed about the GT was the "seva" population. Apparently a lot of people volunteer there, and perform a large number of duties. They man the baggage storage room, they serve water, they even man the shoe storage shed. After I went to retrieve my shoes, I asked them if I needed to pay anything and the lady just folded her arms in a namaste. I was touched. You can buy prasad before you enter the temple and then you can offer it to the temple - either all of it or half, in which case the person in charge of collecting the prasad cuts the prasad (which is sort of like sweet wheat) with a knife (presumably his and dumps half of it in a communal bucket and gives you the rest. I think the devotees are served this prasad after their darshan.

After coming back from Wagah that evening, the cab driver suggested I visit the temple at night again. And I did. It was beautiful, and even more peaceful. I seriously considered just laying down there on the marble surrounding the pool and drifting off into sleep but I was really worried about mosquitoes and didn't want to take a chance. Maybe another time.