I have immense faith in Guru Nanak and visit gurudawara
every Sunday and it was my dream come true to visit Golden
Temple….
When I first visited Golden
Temple and my first step into the
gurudawara I felt my feet were not on the ground. it was my dream coming true.
had gone with my grand mom…. You know till two days I felt the peace within me
after visiting it. I could feel that all my tension and sorrows flying off…(
sounds filmy but true) .When I got married I asked Tarun to take me to Amritsar as I
wanted to seek god’s blessing for our marriage and the very next day after a
wedding we left for Amritsar there after Vaishnodevi.
Today will talk about Amritsar
and in next review Jammu and
Vaishnodevi.
*Golden Temple
*is a place of both stupendous beauty and sublime peacefulness.
Originally a
small lake in the midst of a quiet forest, the site has been a meditation
retreat for wandering mendicants and sages since deep antiquity. A philosopher-saint
came to live and meditate by the peaceful lake. He was Guru Nanak(1469-1539),
the founder of the Sikh religion. After the passing away of Guru Nanak, his
disciples continued to frequent the site; over the centuries it became the
primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs. The lake was enlarged and structurally
contained during the leadership of the fourth Sikh Guru(Ram Dass, 1574-1581),
and during the leadership of the fifth Guru(Arjan, 1581-1606), the Hari Mandir,
or Temple of God
was built.
Hari Mandir was richly ornamented with marble sculptures,
golden gilding, and large quantities of precious stones. Within the gurudawara,
on a jewel-studded platform, lies the Adi Grantha, the sacred scripture of the
Sikhs. This scripture is a collection of devotional poems, prayers, and hymns
composed by the ten Sikh gurus.
*Beginning early in the morning and lasting until long past
sunset, these hymns are chanted.*
Throughout the day and night pilgrims immerse themselves in
the water, a symbolic cleansing of the soul. Next to the gurudawara is the dining halls
where all persons, irrespective of race, religion, or gender, are lodged and
fed for free which is called as LAANGAR.
Amritsar, the
original name of first the ancient lake, then the temple complex, means
"pool of ambrosial nectar”.**This is certainly a place to visit regardless of your cast, creed, religion and sex. Trust me once in your
life time visit this place for mental peace.
Places to visit in Amritsar, around the Golden Temple, a devotee can seek blessing at: The Akal
Takht, Har Ki Pauri, Dukh Bhanjani Ber(Jujube Tree), Thara Sahib, Ber Baba Budha
Ji, Gurudwara Ilachi Ber, Ath Sath Tirath, Bunga Baba Deep Singh. One can also visit: Durgiana
Temple(Lakshmi
Narain Temple),
Wagah Border, Jallian Wala Bagh, Ram Bagh, Ram Tirath, Pul Kanjari Samadhi of
Guru Angad Dev Ji.
Amritsar is
connected by direct trains to major Indian cities like Delhi,
Jammu, Mumbai, Nagpur,
Calcutta and Puri. You can drive
into Amritsar from neighboring
states. Bus services also connect Amritsar
with most north Indian towns, including Chandigarh
(235 Kms), Delhi(450 Kms), Shimla,
Kulu, Manali, Dharamshala and Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh, Dehradun and
Rishikesh in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu.
Thank you for stopping by
