Amritsar

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Our stay in Amritsar has been short, but we have been very busy. The first morning we crossed the street to the Golden Temple - we couldn't be any closer. Since we are so close, my four travel companions and I have spend a lot of time there, walking around, meditating, etc. We visited the Sikh Museum that shows this history of the ten Gurus, right up the present day Sikh leaders. The spirituality here is so strong, you can feel it as soon as you step on the grounds and are asked to leave your shoes at the gate. You wash your feet before entering the sacred area around the temple.

They feed many people on the temple grounds free of charge. You can stay as long as you want and you are only expected to give what you can as a donation. The lineups are very long to go into the Golden Temple. The only time I went in was at 4am today to hear the morning prayers. It was still quite busy and got very busy with people coming to bathe in the sacred waters around the temple by 5am. By the time I left the temple grounds around 6am, it was quite busy and there was already a line-up to get into the temple.

It is all so breathtaking and you feel so blessed to be on the grounds. You can do Seva, selfless serve, at any time. If you want to wash the floors of the temple, you have to be there at 2:30am. We did not do this, but met students at the festival from Miri Piri Academy (the school started by the Kundalini Yoga master, Yogi Bhajan), who did the seva. We visited their school which is outside the city of Amritsar on the way to the Pakistan boarder. The academy is a beautiful oasis where the high school-age children get an amazing education and become Kundalini teachers by the time they graduate.

Speaking of the boarder to Pakistan, I went to see the boarder closing ceremony a couple of nights ago. It is quite a show. Since it was Sunday, it was very busy and we could not get a set in the stands, so had to watch from the road level. We could not get a good view of the border show, but had a great view of the Indian soldiers in the ceremony. I went with my friend Marika who was at the festival in Rishikesh, and is also staying at our hotel.

We are just packing up now and getting ready for our next adventure. I can hardly wait.

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Photos

Virginia at Golden Temple
That's me at the Golden Temple.

Golden Temple
You can see the long line-ups to get into the temple.

Miri Piri Academy
This is the main entrance into the academy.

Pak-Indo Border Ceremony
These guards put on a great performance.

Comments

[Phil]

Great picture of you at the Golden Temple! How is the food so far? Enjoy the rest of your trip.. Phil

[ginpell]

Golden Temple - Amritsar
The food during the whole trip has been great. We had one of our best meals at Amritsar - a place called The Crystal. I just came back from our evening meal in Delhi - it was also very good. I'll have to go on a diet when I get back. See you soon.

[Tonya]

Beautiful!
I love this photo of you!! Your trips sounds like it was an amazing adventure.