Anyone who visits Amritsar is sure to visit the Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib, the sacred place of the Sikhs. On the day we reached Amritsar, we went to visit the temple in the evening. It was only 2 km from the hotel where we stayed and there was free cab service from the hotel to the temple. We got on to the cab and reached the temple shortly. The sight of the temple was so beautiful that we stood in front of it, mesmerized by it grandeur. It was golden in color and reflected in the evening sunlight. The architecture of the temple was unique to its own, built in white marble and coated with gold. It was more than 400 years old and is one of the most visited places in India.
The temple is surrounded by a lake called Sarovar and there are four entrances to the temple. Before entering the temple premises we had to remove our shoes and wash our feet in a pool of water. People also had to keep their heads covered when entering the temple. Adi Grantha, the sacred book of the Sikhs, was put on a platform decorated with jewels. The temple was open to all people, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. Inside the Gurudwara there were shrines dedicated to the Sikh Gurus and saints. We also saw many memorial plaques in the name of Sikh gurus and saints. The verses from the scripture were chanted in the temple throughout the day and it could be heard from a distance. We sat down and listened to the melodious sond for some time. Each verse had a meaning and it taught us a lot about our life and how to lead a meaningful life.
The kitchen in the Gurudwara was a large one and it served meals to thousands of visitors daily. The dining hall had the capacity to accommodate 35,000 people at a time. Here people from all walks of life sat together and had their food. The visit did not take long and soon we were on our way back to the hotel.