Thanks : www.smh.com.au

WHAT Culture, food and a place to stay.

WHERE The Golden Temple, Amritsar, north-western India.

WHY GO India is a country bursting with interesting and unusual religious experiences, from walking across the manicured lawns of the Taj Mahal on a Sunday afternoon to getting ripped off by a bogus holy man in Pushkar or witnessing the spectacle and emotion as the burning ghats are set alight on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi.

As far as religious experiences go, the grandeur and generosity within the walls of the Golden Temple in north-western India is no exception.

The Golden Temple is the most significant location of the Sikh religion, a minority faith in Hindu heartland. Sikhs are characterised by their multi-coloured turbans and steel bracelets on their right wrists, plus the men's flowing beards. The temple in Amritsar is a magnificent shrine surrounded by white marble walls and a moat in the middle of the congested city, a typical Indian metropolis of pollution, wandering bovines and car horns.

People of all creeds are welcome at the temple and, as we approach the entrance with throngs of Indians, we are required to wash our feet and cover our heads with one of the many technicolour bandanas provided to show our respect. This religious and cultural experience allows people to get inside the "belly of the beast" and see the openness of the Sikh religion.

Walking through the gates of the temple, pilgrims and travellers alike are treated to one of the most extravagant and beautiful sights in the sub-continent. Ringed by a shimmering lake of holy water, the gold-plated temple looks like a layered wedding cake and is said by many to be even more impressive than the Taj Mahal. Soaking up the ambience and beauty of the temple on a muggy afternoon, it is a world away from the chaos outside.

After exploring many of the plaques and shrines within the complex, everyone is invited to eat free in the cavernous main hall. Food is an important part of Sikhism and it is shared within the temple to unite people of different backgrounds and create harmony. As we sit among the thousands of people, quietly chatting in rows on the cold marble floor, volunteers carrying stainless steel vats offer hearty helpings of freshly-baked chapatti bread and bowls of spicy North Indian dhal.

 

Sitting cross-legged with Indian families, Sikh pilgrims and fellow travellers for a delicious and completely free meal is a special experience. The generosity of this Sikh temple is astounding - each day shuffling masses of people dine on the floors of the temple in peace, chatting and breaking flat bread together.

With no dodgy waiters or happy meals in sight, this really is a culinary sanctuary. A volunteer in the dining hall told me that up to 30,000 people go to the temple daily for a free meal.

Wandering past the pilgrims beyond the food hall, bathing in the "immortal nectar" of the moat and sitting under the holy trees, there is another demonstration of amazing charity. Within the Golden Temple there is also a dormitory where travellers can sleep free while they are under the care of the Sikhs. People are welcome to stay for three nights with no questions asked. The accommodation won't excite too many people, with sparse bunks and no hot water, but to really experience the Golden Temple and the Sikh kindness it is a treat you won't forget.

The Sikhs of the Golden Temple don't require induction ceremonies or plank-walking initiations to visit their holy place. They ask only that people refrain from eating meat, drinking alcohol, smoking or taking drugs.

FREE STUFF Everything is free at Amritsar's Golden Temple; however donations are appreciated to maintain this spectacular humanitarian endeavour.

BONUS Amritsar is a great base from which to explore northern India and the Punjabi way of life. Outside the Golden Temple there is a wealth of Hindu shrines and the Jallianwala Bagh memorial of the massacre that inspired Gandhi to take action.

Just out of Amritsar is the Atari border with Pakistan where, each evening, the border guards shut the gate between the two nations with great ceremony.

Source: The Sun-Herald