Golden Temple: The Call of the Heart—Spring Festival Trip to India (2)

After one night and more than ten hours of waiting and flying, we finally arrived at Amritsar Airport. When we got off the lobby, we saw the welcome picture of Guru Ram Das and the Golden Temple, which made us feel bright. : Finally here, we can see the sacred Golden Temple in our hearts.

When I came to India for the first time, I heard a lot of negative news at home. When I came out and saw policemen and police cars with guns, I was a little nervous, and satbir followed. Get to the car that picks us up.

After almost an hour's drive, it was a different scene when we arrived at the Golden Temple. There were many shops here and a lot of people. Our hotel is right on the street in front of the Golden Temple. Satbir chose it very well. It was very convenient to enter and exit the Golden Temple many times. Moreover, you can hear the sound of Gurbani singing in the hotel. It is also relatively clean and hygienic, and the service is also good. Well, the food in the restaurant downstairs is quite delicious. You can choose to stay here again next time you come.

Now when I look back at the pictures, I realize that the shop plaques and facades are similar in size and color. Is it the same as our facade project? They will be unified once renovated. It seems that managers all over the world have similar thinking. :):)

It was already evening when we arrived at the hotel to have lunch and then sleep for a while. Zixin and I couldn't wait to put on our clothes and walked towards the Golden Temple. There are many shops on the street, and basically there are accessories, handmade shoes, and some snack shops in front of our door. When I went in, I saw an overhead photo of the Golden Temple standing in the water. I couldn't help but take a photo: Oh, this is what the Golden Temple looks like as a whole.

There are also big photos of my beloved and respected Guru Ram Das. Many of them are beautifully painted.

Arriving at the entrance of the Golden Temple, I saw that the lights of the Golden Temple were already on. The door is covered with blue cloth and has a fence. I don't know if it is being repaired.

It was almost the time we agreed on for dinner, and it was getting dark. We took some photos in the square, walked to the door and barely looked inside before leaving.

The next day I completed morning classes with Gurbani. It was a different feeling to do morning classes here. I imagined using the holy water of the Golden Temple to cleanse my aura. After doing it, I felt very grateful for everything. Pleasure. At the same time, there was an urgent voice in my heart saying: Let’s go and have a look at the Golden Temple.

When I arrived in front of the temple, I found that there were already many people at the place where I was changing my shoes. No one is allowed to enter with shoes on. There is a large room with a shoe cabinet for everyone to store their shoes. Volunteers hand out cabinet signs at the window. When you come to the temple gate, both men and women need to cover their hair,

The next morning, the Golden Temple was shrouded in thick fog, and the visible distance was only a few meters. We walked barefoot on the carpeted road and it was still a little cold. As I walked, I saw that the front seemed very busy, and there were some barriers in the middle of the road. It turned out that many men were taking a bath. They just put their clothes there and water got in. Further forward, there were bowls of water in the corner, and a woman kept adding water to the empty bowls. We went over and picked up a bowl, and it turned out to be cold water! ! I reluctantly drank all the water.

Finally arrived at the door. The road in the water is divided into 3 lanes, the left is the largest, the middle lane can accommodate 1-2 people, and the right is the exit passage. It was past six o'clock in the morning, but there were already many people waiting at the door. We chose the largest road to go in. It was relatively smooth at first, but after walking twice with the crowd, it basically stopped. We didn't know what was going on, and when we saw everyone sitting down and waiting, we sat down and waited too. At first our team was faster than the one in the middle, but then the middle passage continued to move forward one after another, and we still didn't move at all. We could only wait and look at the watch again. Since it was our first time to have breakfast together, we were worried about losing time, so we discussed with Zixin whether we should leave first, but Zixin wanted to check again.

After waiting for a long time, we just moved forward very slowly. It seemed impossible to retreat back at this time. There were also a lot of people gathering behind us.

The temperature difference between morning and evening in India is relatively large. It was extremely humid today. Even though there were a lot of people, the cold wind still came through the gaps. I just put on the hood of my coat to block the cold wind. I saw a lot of men taking a dip in cold water on the way back. Are they cold?

The music in the temple can be clearly heard outside, and then it becomes one person reading and chanting. Many people outside hold a notebook in their hands and sing along, and finally follow wahe guru ji The voice of ka khalsa wahe guru ji ki fateh rang out and more people came out. The speed at which we entered also increased slightly. After several rounds of waiting, we finally got in. Entering from the main entrance, you can see that there is a thin iron railing in the middle. Inside are the staff who hold scriptures, hosts, whisks, and handle prayer objects. There are some people, male and female, on both sides. A three-person band is also singing Gurbani on the men's side. The staff who specialize in handling people's prayer items were very busy, constantly picking up people's gifts and returning some things (I didn't see clearly what they were). There were also people sitting on the edge of the iron pillars that did not block the road. There were too many people to stay on the first floor, so we followed the flow of people to the second floor, found a seat, sat down and listened to a few Gurbani songs, and then we went back downstairs to the hotel. We saw a large pot of desserts at the exit, and the staff at the door motioned for us to go over and get one. It turned out to be a cake-like dessert. It was loose. The staff gave us a spoonful of it. It was so sweet. Maybe this is just like when we in China do some red and white things, we give some candy to everyone to go home to eat, which means that after the experience, it will be smooth and sweet.

But it didn’t go well for us when we came out. After leaving the exit, I suddenly wanted to go to the toilet. I thought I had seen a small house on the road with a picture of a woman on it, so I ran over to it. When I went in, I saw that it was not there at all. It was an empty place with only a few women inside. They It seemed like he was taking a bath, and there were a few fish swimming around in the water. After asking several people, I still couldn't find the toilet, so I finally decided to go back to the hotel. Since we were really not familiar with the Golden Temple, it took us a lot of time to find the entrance where we came in. After asking many people, we found out that we had already passed that door just now and walked past it without noticing.

After everyone had breakfast, we headed to the Golden Temple together again. Putting shoes is also very interesting. It seems that no matter how many people there are, they will just put them in the same cabinet and give them the same brand. This time, Yueying will lead the way when we come in. She has been here before, so she knows how to walk and will reach the entrance faster.

It’s now past ten in the morning, and there are still a lot of people there, but it’s better than what we did in the morning. At least the roads are clear, so don’t wait so long. It wasn’t until the morning of the third day that I realized why we had to wait so long when we came early.

The patterns in the Golden Temple are also very beautiful. Both inside and outside are full of these carvings, or whole patterns.

This time we can enjoy it a little slower and follow the flow of people to the third floor again. It turns out that we can go up to the top.

After the visit, we went back to the second floor to listen to Gurbani for a while. Gurbani is performed by a three-member band that rotates basically 24 hours a day. This singing form is called Kirtan. Gurbani refers to the words spoken from the mouth of the saint Guru. These words are included in Guru GRANTH SAHIB JI (Saint Grant's Bible), the sacred Psalms.

We listened for a while and decided to go out for a walk again. At this time, the fog outside had dispersed, and the Golden Temple standing in the water was clearly visible.

Many people can’t wait to take photos with the Golden Temple.

We couldn’t help but take pictures too.

The weather in India is very special. The sun is shining brightly at noon. The sun is very powerful, so wearing a singlet is no problem, you will still be warm. Especially when I returned to China and hadn’t seen the sun for more than ten days, I felt that the sun there was so precious.

It is also a good idea to spend the Spring Festival in India. The warm sunshine in winter is so comfortable.

Everyone suggested going to the kitchen to do service. The kitchen of the Golden Temple is very famous. It can accommodate tens of thousands of people eating at the same time, and all the food is free. At the same time, everyone who cuts vegetables, washes vegetables, cooks, makes cakes, washes dishes, and delivers them are volunteers. , they all provide free services, this form of service is also called seva.

After walking around, I finally found the kitchen and also saw the sign for the toilet. It turns out that there are no toilets in the Golden Temple, so people who come for pilgrimage, especially those who come here to provide services, will wash themselves at home before going out, and try not to go to the toilet. I heard that some of them need to take a shower again if they go to the toilet. temple. They have great reverence for the Golden Temple and pay attention to every detail in their lives. From this, I can also understand why when they arrived at the steps at the entrance of the Golden Temple, they already started to tap the steps with their hands and foreheads to salute. When they saw the pool and the Golden Temple, they began to kneel down and perform the entrance ceremony.

The large kitchen has several floors. The first elevated floor has a place for drinking milk tea and preparing food.

As you walk in, you will find the dining room on the left and the dishwashing area on the right. The first time I came here, I followed Sister Ruihong without knowing anything. Passing by the restaurant, I took a quick look and went up to the second floor. Since Sister Ruihong was obsessed with making cakes, we saw that the second floor was not a place for making cakes, so we went directly to the third floor. The entire kitchen is very large, and the entire third floor seems to be a place for making cakes. There are different things from kneading the dough, kneading it into small balls, grinding it into pancakes, baking it over the fire, recycling it, and serving it to everyone. division of labor. We wanted to join, but found that the seats were almost full and none of us could get involved. I followed the process and looked around, and finally at a stall where they were kneading into small balls and grinding into dough. When they saw us coming, they asked us with their eyes whether we wanted to do it. We went up to them, and more of them made room for us to join them.

We talked briefly in English, basically asking where we were from? After knowing it was China, they all said that China is very good and we welcome them to come to China. They were very happy.

I heard from Teacher Chen Xi and Yueying that there is a hall here where wahe guru will be chanted from night to 2 a.m., and then everyone will start cleaning the Golden Temple to prepare for the second cleanse. After Ziran and I found out where this hall was, we decided to enter the Golden Temple at night.

At night, the Golden Temple is brightly lit and even more resplendent. Standing in the water, it is very quiet and beautiful. From time to time, you will encounter groups of people in twos and threes on the road, but they are much less than during the day.

We also walked into the corridor on the first floor, and there were already many people sleeping on the side with blankets. Why are they sleeping here? Because there is no time during the day? Or is it because I have to prepare for early morning services to clean the Golden Temple? I have never asked Satbir or Teacher Chen Xi, and now I remember to ask why. Maybe because I always feel that I don’t have enough time in Amritsar, every time I enter the Golden Temple, I always think of something to do, and I go to that thing every time.

Following the voices, we looked over and saw an open corridor: everyone was sitting around on three sides. There were very few women, mostly men. There are ordinary people, and there are also people who feel like they work specifically for the Golden Temple (the clothes seem to be a little different, and I can't tell). There is no requirement for the sitting posture. There are ordinary sitting postures, legs erect, and blanket wrapping. We are used to sitting in simple sitting postures. Later, someone added blankets to the big guys. It turned out that the blankets covering people's legs were from the Golden Temple.

The form is also very interesting and simple. There is a leading voice singing wahe guru, and then everyone just follows wahe guru. And we don’t know how long the leader will lead. As long as someone in the field wants to lead, he or she will be louder or sing in a different way. Everyone will know that someone is going to stand up and lead, and everyone will follow this voice again.

I was singing along with my eyes closed when I suddenly noticed someone tapping my foot.

It turned out that someone from them came to communicate with me and asked me if I could sing wahe guru and if I would be willing to lead the chanting? I'm willing to give it a try. He just needs to speak louder so that everyone can hear. So I used the power of my Dantian to lead the chanting. It was really loud, too loud. I felt like the heat in my body was boiling as I carried it :) :). After a while, another voice came out from the field, and everyone followed him and started singing. I compared it secretly, why I was working so hard, and they sang more easily. Indeed, on a night like this, relaxing may be more appropriate. I will definitely try it again next time, and I may also try to challenge myself by singing all night long.

After a while, the man walked up to us again and invited Zi Ran to lead him. Zi Ran also led with great enthusiasm, haha...

Looking at the time, It was past 11 o'clock, and we reluctantly left the Golden Temple. We had other arrangements for the next day.

The Golden Temple in the night is so beautiful, let’s take two more photos.

Before coming, Duoduo, who was at the Golden Temple, recommended two major activities to me: listening to Gurbani and taking a holy water bath. So when we entered the Golden Temple for the third time, we deliberately observed the place where women can take holy water baths.

Holy water bathing is one of the most important activities. Men usually soak directly outside, and the water in the pool is cleaned and replaced with new water every day, so goldfish and people are often seen next to the water. Move freely without interfering with each other. Women have special cabins for shelter and soaking. There are only three such cabins in the Golden Temple.

I did not take photos of the holy water bath. The following photos were obtained from other public accounts.

There are special railings outside for men to put their clothes.

Wherever men and women take holy water baths, there are iron chains for the public to grab to prevent slipping.

When we went to the holy water bath for the first time, we chose the room with fewer people and not facing the Golden Temple. Firstly, we felt a little embarrassed. Secondly, the room facing the Golden Temple was very small and crowded, so there was a long queue.

We were surprised to see Zixin taking a cold bath inside. She was going to rest after going to the Golden Temple with me, but she didn't come over. Unexpectedly, not only did he come here, but he was actually taking a holy water bath. It is late winter and early spring in India, and the morning is colder than in Guangzhou. After meeting, discuss together how to soak. There was an Indian aunt who was very brave. She got into the water, took a dip once, ran out, flushed the tap water, and took a dip again. She went in and out three times each time. We decided to follow suit. Seeing how brave we all were, Zixin took off her clothes again and soaked with us.

In fact, after you muster up the courage to enter the holy water bath, your body will heat up because the circulation is immediately activated. We also soaked in it 5 times, rising and falling 3 times each time. After soaking, our bodies were warm and our faces were smooth.

Sister Ruihong insisted on taking a dip in the pool facing the Golden Temple because she thought the energy there was different. Zi Ran and I also discussed going over there early tomorrow to check out the situation.

After finishing morning classes the next morning, we went to the pool opposite the Golden Temple. This place is much smaller than yesterday. Because it was early, there were not too many people. I had yesterday's experience, and at the same time I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. I learned from my own experience of taking a cold bath at home, and rubbed my whole body until it was warm before getting into the water. Although I didn’t bring almond oil, it was much easier to tolerate after rubbing my body to warm it up and then getting into the water. I actually went in and out of the pool 7 times. I looked at the Golden Temple outside through the small hole and soaked in hope. At the same time, I felt that the skin on my body and face had become very good.

Inviting the Guru Granth Sahib to the temple every morning is a very important, daily and grand ritual that must be done. There is also a ritual of inviting the Guru back to his dormitory every evening. I have seen the process of the Guru Granth Sahib being invited back in the fifth Guru’s temple. Next time I can take a look at how the Guru Granth Sahib is invited back in the Golden Temple.

Here we first introduce the Guru Granth Sahib. If you look at it from the outside, the Guru Granth Sahib is a book, the holy book of Sikhism.

The word "Sikh" for Sikhs comes from the Sanskrit "shishya", which means "disciple" or "student". There were ten physical Gurus before. The tenth Guru passed on his position to this book as the eleventh Guru, respectfully called Guru Granth Sahib. From then on, there was no physical Guru in Sikhism.

In the hearts of Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib is a living Guru, so there is a very grand and respectful welcome ceremony every day.

In order to witness this process, Ziran and I went to the Golden Temple at around 5 o'clock. I saw that large umbrellas, sedan chairs, and other items needed for the ceremony had been prepared in the open space in front of the Sutra Pavilion, and some people were sitting on the ground further back to wait. We also sat on the ground, but after waiting for a while, we felt that we still wanted to see how to enter the temple, so we walked to the water channel, and we wanted to stop and wait in front of the door. At this time, a warrior came over and motioned us to enter the temple. We said we should watch the ceremony first, and he opened the middle passage and asked us to wait in the first place.

As the procession of congratulations came, the man holding a big trumpet walked in front, walked straight to the door of the temple, held up the trumpet and prepared to blow it.

Immediately behind the loudspeaker was the chess player. He saw that someone had not covered his hair and signaled the other party to cover it.

The guards in yellow clothes and the sedan decorated with flowers also came over.

Sikh warriors are always present, and the one wearing dark blue clothes in the picture is the warrior. He walked over and directed the people to step back to make way for the passage and maintain order.

The saints in white clothes (I don’t know what to call them) were ready to welcome the Guru out of the sedan chair.

Whisk followed immediately. In fact, Amritsar is quite dusty. But people here pay great attention to hygiene, and the Golden Temple is cleaned every day. The whisk is also constantly swung to prevent dust from falling to the Guru.

Seeing that Guru Granth Sahib has been welcomed out, the people watching around sang more enthusiastically along with the saint who was calling in the temple: Sat nam, Siri Wahe Guru? Sahib Ji, Sat nam, Siri Wahe Guru? Sahib Ji, Sat nam, Siri Wahe Guru? Sahib Ji, Sat nam, Siri Wahe Guru? Sahib Ji.

Here is a recent photo of Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

When Guru Granth Sahib Ji had been welcomed into the temple, the trumpet sounded again, and the guards also saluted Guru with their hands on their foreheads.

The sedan chair and the yellow shirt guards responsible for the sedan chair also returned to the temple from the original route.

Everyone sat down quickly, ready to listen to the abbot in the temple and chant along with it.

The temple was full of people, sitting all the way to the door.

It was not until the end of the whole ceremony that everyone started to move around. Some went back to work with satisfaction, and some went home. People started flowing around, and we could enter the temple.

This is also a very special experience. Here you will see that the respect and love for Guru in the hearts of the people of Amritsar (not only Sikhs) comes from the heart. Even though this moment has been repeated for who knows how many days and years, everyone still retains their original intention and always thinks of Guru. This kind of respect and surrender is neither pretended nor verbal, it is implemented every day and every moment.

When I entered the Golden Temple again for the seventh time, it was already the second day after returning from the mountain. In the morning, Ziran and I couldn't wait to visit the Golden Temple. I'm so lucky today, the blue sky and white clouds are waving in the sky, and the temperature is not that low.

I didn’t make any plans today, I just wanted to go into the Golden Temple and get close to each other before everyone had breakfast.

We took a photo in front of the temple. It turns out that the square here is also very big. We didn't take a good look at it the last few times we came here.

Influenced by the local people and the satbir, we surrendered to the Golden Temple and bowed when entering and leaving. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the Golden Temple also blooms with different colors.

You can see devout people praying silently everywhere here.

The decoration of the houses in the Golden Temple is also worthy of careful consideration.

Just when we discovered that it was beautiful to take pictures of the Golden Temple Fair through the top of the promenade, we unexpectedly met Teacher Chen Xi.

After just a few words, Teacher Chen Xi suddenly said to us: Let’s go and take you to do seva. We didn’t say anything and just left. This time, teacher Chen Xi took us to the kitchen quickly. She also took us to the dishwashing area on the first floor in a familiar way. I have a real connection with dishwashing. I applied to be a Seva many times and it just happened to be the dishwashing team.

The dishwashing area here is also divided into several areas. Those who receive dirty dishes are stacked, cleaned with soap, rinsed with water, put away the cleaned dishes, and transported. Everyone is working in full swing. , there is even a sense of rushing to work. There will also be a clock on the wall to show everyone the time, and a broadcast speaker so that people here can synchronize with the Gurbani of the Golden Temple.

I was busy working and had no time to take pictures. When I came out, I saw people handling food, so I took a random photo. I also enjoyed a cup of sugar-free milk tea, which was delicious.