Day 10. Golden Temple, Sikhs, history and spirituality.

Golden Temple... dawn

I was so exhausted about the whole journey and the problem with the Aussies that I went to bed around 9.30pm. it was great I got up before the dawn and just got my cameras and I went straight away to the golden temple which is just 2 blocks away from the hotel.

Some experts claim the golden temple as the most beautiful and important Indian monument, even more relevant than the Taj-Mahal. I still don’t know the Taj-Mahal, but I can declare that the Golden Temple is AMAZING. Even with a fantastic architecture, the spiritual atmosphere can touch anyone. The golden temple is the holiest spot for the Sikhs.

I would write about the Sikh people in a different post, but I will do right now. If you don’t read and get my opinion about the Sikhs, just ignore the next 3 paragraphs.

So far the Sikh people has been the most friendly bench of people in India, and one of the most friendly that I have ever met. They are genuinely good and helpful, obviously there are scammers too, but not so many, and as soon as a scammer comes to talk to you, other guys come around and tell you about the scammer.  They also love to talk with foreign and take photos with you or of you. You have not feeling self-confident about yourself, I strongly recommend Amritsar.

Despite of the grumpy face, they can’t resist a smile and my trip has been a great smile, I think they think I am friendly, and they come to talk to me every single time. All photos seen in the post friendship in India, they asked to take, I have never asked. I had already realized that the there wasn’t Sikh scammers in Delhi. Another assumption that I made, it means can be wrong, was about some characteristic of them. In the festival that I saw in Delhi 10 days ago, the most important fact was the free distribution of food. It happens in the Golden temple too. There are free foods from 5am to 10.30pm and THE FOOD IS GREAT!!!!! THE KITCHEN IS SPOTLESS.  So if you come here, don’t worry about food you just have to go to temple, walk clockwise, and go to the dinner hall whenever you were hungry.

And like the Hindis they love colours. The turbans and the long bears give them a especial and peculiar outfit, the girls also wear coloured clothes but pretty much the same as the Hindus (probably I am making a terrible and historical mistake but my lack of fashionable capacity doesn’t allow me to realize any difference).

Getting back to temple. When I got there, the place was kind of empty just some pilgrims were there. In the center of the temple, inside the golden building some gurus sing religious songs with a great percussion. In my opinion, based on my own experience, the songs are happy and energetic if I was outside of the temple I couldn’t say that they were religious songs.  Despite of my intestinal situation I was partially forced to drink some water from the holy tank. I did an insignificant amount, but I did. Behind the golden building there is a spot where the pilgrims go down to drink the water. I haven’t seen until I got there. So a huge Sikh got me by the neck and barely screams to me DRINK DRINK… I did. Once in Rome be a Roman. I spent the whole morning there, sharing the temple whit one the most friendly people of the world, I was sitting and reading and interacting with the locals. When I was starting this blog, I was thinking that some days would be boring, but in India… this crazy sacred chaotic friendly unfriendly magnificent land I don’t think I will have even a single stable day…

I am a non-believer, but I can’t deny that the variety of this land with thousands of Gods and legends, with thousands of religious ceremonies with devotion all over place authentic and genuine believers basically made up by simple people changed my perception about spirituality.

Anyway I have also gone to the ceremony of closing the board with Pakistan, but after lots of religious facts, a military parade is not appealing at all.. but it has to be seen.

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