Amritsar: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

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AMRITSAR
Population: 1.1 million

PUNJAB
Population: 27.7 million
Area: 50,000 sq km



Our goal in getting out of Delhi as quickly as possible was to find a smaller, less chaotic place in which to calm down and find our bearing as we adjusted to the life of a foreign traveller in India. Upon arriving in Amritsar, we soon realized that we'd jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

With a population of merely 1 million people, Amritsar has 1/16th the population of Delhi. Nevertheless, it is every bit as crowded, congested and hectic to travel in as Delhi, with comparable air pollution - it's just tinier in size.

Coming off the bus, we were immediately set on upon by a group of men crying, "Rickshaw! Rickshaw! Taxi! Taxi! Golden Temple! Golden Temple!" Even though I wanted a rickshaw to the Golden Temple, I ignored the mob out of sheer annoyance. We ended up grouping together with the only other obvious foreigners on the bus, and got a rickshaw that fit all 5 of us to the Golden Temple for only Rs50 ($1).

In Delhi, we'd pointedly ignored the tourist sites, wanting to get comfortable first before hitting up the tourist scene. The Golden Temple was our first tourist site in India. In addition to a popular tourist site in India, the Golden Temple is first and foremost the most important pilgrimage site for Sikhs.

Sikhs are the Jews of India. Relentlessly persecuted by Hindus and Muslims alike since the religion's founding by Guru Nanek in the 15th century, Sikhs have developed a strong warrior and martyr culture that has allowed the religion to survive amidst persecution, and ultimately thrive in modern times. All over the world, successful businesses are run by Sikhs, who are often mistaken in the west as Muslims or Arabs because of their distinct turbans.

India's wealthiest state is Punjab, which is the homeland of the Sikh people, and is India's breadbasket. Even in the UK, the second-richest religious group is Sikh people, second only to Jewish people.

A trip to the Golden Temple is worth it for the Sikh hospitality alone. We checked our shoes at the entrance and our backpacks once in the temple. Sikh guards, complete with their turbans and 3-foot long scabbards, guarded the entrance, ensuring that each visitor enters with bare and washed feet and a covered head. Once inside, we were presented with a view of the Golden Temple, plated in the metal suggested by its name, surrounded by the sacred pool. Men stripped to their underwear and dunked themselves in its waters. 2 bath houses at the corners of the water were built for women, who aren't permitted to bathe publicly, to dip in the pool with privacy.

The Golden Temple itself sits upon an island in the middle of a lake known as the Amrit Sarovar, or "nectar of immortality." Inside the gurdwara, or temple, is the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism. It was built as a temple of worship for people of all faiths and religions, following Sikhism's teachings of nondiscrimination and acceptance for all.

We walked clockwise around the pool on the surrounding marble walkway. The Golden Temple sees over 100,000 visitors - every day - and it shows. The walkway is crowded with visitors and pilgrims from all corners of the globe, though most people appeared to be Sikh or Indian. A man's voice led the entire compound in prayer, broadcast over a loudspeaker. Meanwhile, 2 giant blue screens displayed the prayer in either Punjabi or Sanskrit, along with its English translation.

I was a bit in a daze as I walked around, not really knowing what was appropriate. I eventually reached an area near a window labeled "Communion for Offering." People seemed to be getting food from this window, and bringing it with them to join a line to enter the actual temple, though I wasn't sure what or who I was supposed to offer the communion to.

I stood in line with the other men (women had a separate line), waiting at the window. When I reached the front, I handed over Rs100 ($1.50), trying to communicate that I was getting communion for 2 people. I don't think he understood, and handed me back Rs50. The communion was a kind of brown paste, given to me on a large plate made out of some organic material that I thought might be reed. I walked over with the crowd to a desk, where I gave the communion to the man sitting behind the desk. He added some of the food to a large pile, giving the rest back to me in a bowl made out of the same material as the plate. With my bowl of communion, I stood in the large line on the walkway into the Golden Temple.

Eventually, we reached the front doors. Many people were prostrating themselves towards the temple, with their knees and arms on the ground, as well as touching the door step before entering. Self-conscious and unsure of what to do, I meekly imitated them before entering.

Inside was a very busy and overwhelming site that my brain took a long time to absorb. A fenced-off square contained holy men praying and chanting. Pilgrims outside threw bills after bills of money, so much money that one of the holy men had to use a metal knife to stuff all the bills into a wooden box, though money flowed freely around the top of box and onto the floor. People were gathered and sitting outside the fence, just to be close to the holy ceremony. Unsure of my place, I moved on.

I moved up to the second floor, which was full of more people sitting down, reading and contemplating. I walked around, still unclear of how welcome I was in all this. Had I known a bit more at that point of Sikh hospitality and their welcomeness of people of all faiths, I would have felt more comfortable. But I hadn't yet done my research for my first temple in India.

As I was leaving the temple, I was given a handful of more communion. Hoping it was kosher to do so, I tasted a bit. It was delicious! Maybe it's just the Catholic in me, but I expected communion to taste bland and stale. Not so in a Sikh temple. It was so good (and my stomach still empty from a lack of breakfast) that I also ate the communion in my bowl.

I realized that "communion for offering" meant that I had to offer money for the communion, not that I was to offer the communion to anybody else.

Next, we got a true taste of Sikh hospitality.

We headed over to the communal dining hall, which feeds visitors for free, though donations are accepted. On the walkway leading into the dining hall, we were handed plates and bowls and spoons, still dripping with water from being freshly washed. Not wanted to eat or drink any of this untreated water, we wiped it dry while waiting in line - a huge crows of people filling up the hallway and stairs. I waited patiently, until suddenly, all at once, the crowd surged forward. We followed along until we reached the dining hall - a simple, large room, with strips of cloth laid down forming long rows. We sat on one of the cloth strips, cross-legged, with our plates and bowls in front of us. Men walked through the halls, each serving ladles of food out of large pails onto the lines of plates on the floor - dhal, rice pudding, chapatis, and chickpea stew. Another man pushed a giant vat of water on wheels. Lining it up, he would pull a lever that poured water right into each bowl, rapidly moving down each row. Another great thing about this setup - it's all you can eat. These men continue walking through the rows, refilling your plate or bowl as needed. The whole experience was truly humbling - I sat on the same ground, eating the same food as the poorest homeless man and as the richest tourist - for the length of a meal at least, we were all equal.

As diners finished eating, they left the hall in a loose group. Men quickly mopped between the aisles, nudging out the remaining diners, and getting ready for the next wave. In this fashion, the dining hall provides over 50,000 meals a day to the rich and poor from every corner of the globe. Sikhs believe that people of all creeds and backgrounds can sit down and enjoy a meal together. The Golden Temple proves them right.

And the most impressive part - it's 100%!r(MISSING)un by volunteers, from the servers to the cleaning crew to the cooks, to those who wash the dishes. When I finished eating, I attempted to volunteer with dish duty, but I didn't overcome the language barrier to say that I wanted to help. Without speaking Hindi or Punjabi, I probably had little chance to help anyway.

After breakfast, we left the peace and tranquility of the Golden Temple for the chaos of Amritsar. We spent the afternoon resting in our hotel, which didn't protect us from the noise of Amritsar's traffic, and a Jallianwala Park, which did.

One thing I learned in Amritsar: Sikhs love their martyrs. This peaceful park commemorates that 1500 Indians killed at the park's location in 1919. British soldiers followed their officer's orders, shooting the unarmed protestors. An eternal flame of remembrance and several thoughtful quotations, stories, and even pictures lend sombrence to the peace and refuge of the park.

When we returned to the Golden Temple the following day for sunrise, we saw further evidence of how Sikhs honor their martyrs. Sunrise is the best time to visit the Golden Temple. To our surprise, the temple was even busier before sunrise than in the middle of the day, as pilgrims and locals alike begun their day with morning prayer and a dip in the holy lake. It was truly a sight to never forget, sitting on the banks of the Amrit Sarovar, watching the sun rise over the surrounding temple, as lit candles surrounded the water's edge, Christmas lights hung from the temple's walls and pilgrims walked the pathway behind me. I still don't know whether the candles and lights are a constant presence in the temple, are whether they were present just for Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. As we headed to the dining hall for another communal meal, we noticed that everybody in the crowded walkway had come to a halt. We looked around, as people were in various states of prostration, or standing in respectful postures, listening to morning prayer. In was another unforgettable moment.

All at once, the entire temple dropped to their knees, bent over and kissed the floor, stood up, and the temple's flurry of activity resumed.

In the attached Sikh museum, a long hallway showcased the Sikh culture and history through paintings and a few photos. It was here that I realized Sikh's pride for martyrs. Many paintings graphically displayed Sikh heroes and their butchered corpses, bragging about how they died for their religion.

For some of the more recent massacres, the museum even displayed photos of each martyrs' dead face - very gruesome.

Sikhs owe the fervor of their martyr culture in part to the brilliance of the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh. After his father was executed by the Mughal empire for refusing to convert to Islam, the guru called for 5 brave Sikhs to lay down their lives for their religion. One by one they entered the guru's tent, and each time Guru Gobind Singh emerged with a bloody sword, calling forth for the next volunteer. After the fifth martyr entered the tent, the guru revealed that he had spared the lives of the five heroes, creating the Khasa brotherhood and a Sikh reverence for martyrs.

We wondered through the paintings for an hour or so, learning some of the history of Sikhism, the tolerance the religion has for all nationalities and religions, the the suffering Sikhs have faced by those who do not have the same tolerance - the Mughals, the British, and the modern Indian government (particularly Mrs. Indira Ghandi.)

We then left the peace of the Golden Temple and returned to the "fire" of Amritsar's streets.

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Comments

[Bridget]

Wow!
Vince & Meg I love everything about your trip so far! Thank you for being so descriptive I feel like I'm there with you. That Golden Temple is so amazing, I didn't think it could look prettier until I saw the night photos. I am so beyond jealous! Have fun and be safe!