Golden Temple: Call from the Heart —— A trip to India during the Spring Festival (2)

After a night's waiting and more than ten hours' flight, we finally arrived at Amritsar airport. When I got down the hall, I saw the welcoming pictures of Guru Ramdas and the Golden Hall, and my mood was bright: I finally arrived, and I can see the sacred Golden Hall in my heart.

When I first came to India, I heard a lot of negative news in China. When I came out and saw police officers and police cars with guns, I was a little nervous. satbir followed us to the car to pick us up.

It's about 1 hour's drive, and it's a different scene to come to the Golden Temple, where there are many shops and crowds. Our hotel is on the street in front of the Golden Temple. Satbir made a good choice. Later, it was very convenient to go in and out of the Golden Palace many times. In addition, you can hear the sound of singing Gulbani in the hotel. At the same time, it is clean and hygienic, and the service is good. The food in the restaurant downstairs is delicious. You can choose to live here next time.

Looking back at the picture now, I find that the plaque of the shop is almost the same size and color as the facade, and it is the same as our facade project. It will be unified as soon as it is transformed. It seems that managers all over the world will have similar thinking. :):)

Arrived at the hotel, had lunch and slept for a while. It was already evening. Angel and I couldn't wait to get dressed and walked in the direction of the Golden Palace. There are many shops in the street. Our doorways are basically ornaments, handmade shoes and some snack bars. When I went in and saw the overlooking picture of the Golden Temple standing in the water, I couldn't help but take a picture: Oh, it turns out that the Golden Temple is like this as a whole.

There is also a big photo of Master Ramdas whom I love and respect. Many of them are beautifully painted.

When I came to the door of the Golden Temple, I saw that it was already bright. The door is covered with blue cloth and scaffolding. I wonder if it is being repaired.

It's almost our appointed dinner time, and it's already dark. We took some photos in the square, walked to the door and barely took a look inside and left.

The next day, I finished my morning class with Gulbani. Doing it here is a different feeling. I imagine cleaning my aura with the holy water of the golden palace. After writing, I am grateful for everything and very happy. At the same time, there is an urgent voice in my heart saying: Let's go to the Golden Palace.

When I came to the temple, I found that there were already many people changing shoes. No one is allowed to wear shoes. There is a big room with a shoe cabinet for everyone to store their shoes. Volunteers hand out cupboard cards at the window. Both men and women need to cover their hair when they come to the temple.

The next morning, the golden hall was shrouded in dense fog, and the visible distance was only a few meters. We walked barefoot on the carpeted road, but it was still a little cold. Walking, I saw that the front seemed very busy, and there were some spaced baffles in the middle of the road. It turns out that many men are taking a bath. They just put their clothes there and went into the water. Further on, there are several bowls of water in the corner, and a woman keeps adding water to the empty bowl. We once picked up a bowl and it turned out to be cold water! ! I drank the water reluctantly.

Finally arrived at the door. There are three roads in the water, the left is the largest, the middle road can accommodate 1-2 people, and the right is the exit passage. It's past six in the morning, but many people are waiting at the door. We chose the biggest way to get in. It was smooth at first, but it basically stopped after the crowd walked twice. We don't understand. When we see everyone sitting down and waiting, we also sit down and wait. At first, our team was faster than the middle, and then the middle passage continued to advance, but we still didn't move. I have to wait to see my watch. Because this is my first time to have breakfast in a group, I'm worried that it will delay time, so I discussed with Angel whether to leave first, but Angel wanted to see it again. After waiting for a long time, I slowly moved forward. At this time, it seems impossible to retreat again. There are also many people gathered behind us.

The temperature difference between morning and evening in India is quite large, and it is particularly humid today. Despite the dense crowd, the cold wind still came through the gap, just wearing a coat hat to keep out these cold winds. On the way to think of it, I saw many men soaking in cold water. Are they cold?

You can clearly hear the music in the temple outside, and then you become a person reading, and many people outside are singing along with a book in their hands. Finally, with the voice of Wahguruji Kahalsa Wahguruji Kifata, more people came out. We went in a little faster. After several rounds of waiting, we finally got in. Entering from the main entrance, I saw a thin iron railing surrounded by staff who read books, presided over, dusted and handled prayers. There are some people on both sides, men and women, and the band of three people is also singing Gulbani in the man. The staff dealing with people's prayers are very busy, constantly receiving people's gifts and returning things (I didn't see what it was), and there are people standing beside the iron pillars that are not in the way. There were too many people living on the first floor, so we followed the crowd to the second floor, found a seat, sat down and listened to some Gulbani, and then went downstairs to the hotel. There is a big pot of dessert at the exit, and the staff at the door motioned us to get one. It turned out to be a cake-like dessert. It broke up, and the staff gave us a spoonful. That's so sweet. Maybe this is also like making some red and white things in our country and giving everyone some sugar to eat at home, which means it will be smooth and sweet after the experience.

But we didn't get away smoothly. Out of the exit, I suddenly want to go to the bathroom. I think I saw a small house on the road with a picture of a woman on it. I ran in and looked, but it wasn't at all. There were only a few women inside. They seem to be taking a bath, and there are some swimming fish in the water. After asking several people, I still couldn't find the toilet, and finally decided to go back to the hotel. As I am really unfamiliar with the Golden Temple, it took me a lot of time to find the entrance where we came in. After asking a lot of people, I realized that we just passed by and didn't pay attention.

After everyone finished breakfast, we went to the Golden Palace again. Putting shoes is also very interesting. It seems that no matter how many people just put the same cabinet and give a brand. When you come again, Yue Ying will lead the way. She has been here before, so she knows the road will get to the entrance faster.

It's past ten in the morning, and there are still many people, but it's much better than our morning. At least the road is clear and you don't have to wait that long. It was not until the third morning that I knew why we came early and waited for a long time.

The patterns in the golden palace are also very beautiful. These carvings are all inside and out, or a whole piece of pattern.

This time, we can enjoy it slowly, and at the same time, with the flow of people being fooled into the third floor again, we can go upstairs to the top.

After the visit, we went back to the second floor and listened to Gulbani for a while. Gulbani is basically sung by a three-person band in turn for 24 hours. This form of singing is called Kirtan. On the other hand, Gurbani refers to the words spoken from the mouth of the sage Guru, which is included in the Guru GRANTH SAHIB JI (Saint Grand Sutra), which is a sacred poem.

After listening for a while, we decided to go out again. At this point, the fog outside has dispersed, and the golden palace standing in the water is clearly presented.

Many people can't wait to take a photo with the Golden Temple.

We can't help filming.

The weather in India is very special. At noon, the sun is shining. The sun is very energetic, so it's okay to wear a light coat. It's still hot. Especially back home, I haven't seen the sun for more than ten days, and I think the sun there is so precious. It is also a good idea to spend the Spring Festival in India. How comfortable it is to bask in the sun in winter.

Everyone suggested serving food in the kitchen. The kitchen in Jindian is very famous. It can accommodate tens of thousands of people to eat at the same time, and all food is free. At the same time, all the people who cut vegetables, wash vegetables, cook, make cakes, wash dishes and transport are volunteers. They all provide services for free. This form of service is also called seva.

I turned around and finally found the kitchen. At the same time, I saw the sign of the toilet. It turns out that there is no toilet in the Golden Temple, so people who come to pilgrimage, especially those who come here to do services, will freshen up at home before going out and try not to go to the toilet. It is said that some of them need to take another bath before entering the golden palace. They are very devout to the Golden Temple and integrate it into the details of life. From this, I can understand why as soon as they arrived at the steps at the entrance of the Golden Temple, they began to point the steps with their hands and then nod their foreheads to salute. When they saw the pool and the golden temple, they began to bow and perform the initiation ceremony.

The kitchen is several floors big. There is a place to drink milk tea and prepare food on the first floor.

Go inside, the dining room is on the left, and the washing place is on the right. I didn't know anything when I first came, so I followed Sister Ruihong. I glanced at the restaurant and went up to the second floor. Because Sister Ruihong was eager to make cakes, we went straight to the third floor when we saw that the second floor was not the place to make cakes. The whole kitchen is very big, and the whole third floor seems to be a place to make cakes. From kneading dough, kneading it into balls, grinding it into cakes, baking it on the fire, recycling it and sending it to everyone, there are different divisions of labor. We want to join, but we find that everyone is basically full, and there are very few contacts. Just follow the flow, look around, and finally at a booth that rolled us into balls and cakes, they looked at us and asked us if we wanted to do it. We greeted them, and more of them made room for us to join.

We talked briefly in English one by one, basically asking where we are from. After learning that it was China, everyone said that China was very good. We welcome them to China, and they are all very happy.

Teacher Chenxi and Yue Ying said that there was a hall where Wahguru would be sung from evening till 2 am, and then everyone began to clean the Golden Temple and prepare for the second cleaning welcome party. Knowing the location of this hall, Ziran and I decided to go to the Golden Palace at night.

The golden palace in the night is brightly lit, more resplendent and magnificent, standing in the water, very quiet and beautiful. People will meet in twos and threes from time to time on the road, but it is much less than during the day.

We also walked into the corridor on the first floor, and many people were already sleeping on the edge with blankets. Why are they sleeping here? Because there is no time during the day? Or is it because you have to prepare for the morning service to clean the golden palace? I can't believe I never asked Satbir and Teacher Chenxi, but now I remember to ask why. Maybe it's because I always feel that I don't have enough time in Amritsar. Every time I enter the Golden Palace, I always think of something to do, and I always go to that thing.

Following the sound, we found an open-air gallery: everyone sat on three sides, with few women and most men. There are ordinary people, and there are people who feel that they work specifically for Jindian (the clothes seem a little different, I can't tell them apart). There is no requirement for sitting posture, but there are also ordinary sitting postures, such as lifting feet and wrapping them with blankets. We are used to sitting in a simple sitting position. Then someone added a blanket to the big guy. It turns out that the blanket that covers people's legs belongs to the golden palace.

The form is also interesting and simple. There was a lead singer who sang Vah as a guru, and then everyone followed Vah as a guru. Tuo, who took the lead, didn't know that as long as someone wanted to bring it himself, he or she would speak loudly or sing a little differently. Everyone knows that someone is going to stand up and lead, and everyone will follow this voice again.

I was singing with my eyes closed when I suddenly found someone knocking on my foot. It turned out that some of them came to communicate with me and asked me if I could sing Wahegulu. Would you like to lead the singer? I'm willing to try, he said. Speak up so that everyone can hear me. So I use the strength of my abdomen to guide chanting. It's really loud, too loud. I felt the boiling heat in my body with it:):). After a while, another voice sounded on the field and everyone sang along with him. I secretly compared why they worked so hard that they would sing more easily. Indeed, it may be more appropriate to relax on such a night. Be sure to try again next time, or try to challenge the chanting all night.

After a while, the man came to us again and invited Yan Zi to lead us. Yan Zi also led us with great enthusiasm, haha. ...

Look at the time, it's past 1 1, and we reluctantly left the golden palace, and we have other plans the next day.

The golden palace in the night is so beautiful. Let's have two more drinks.

Before I came, Dodo in the Golden Palace recommended me two major activities: listening to Gulbani and holy bath. So when we entered the Golden Temple three times, we specially observed the place where women can take holy baths.

Holy water bath is one of the most important activities. Men usually soak directly outside, and the water in the pool is cleaned every day and replaced with new water. So you can often see goldfish and people moving freely by the water without interference. Women have special huts to cover themselves and soak their feet, and the Golden Temple has three such huts.

I didn't take a picture of the holy water bath. The following photos are taken from other official WeChat accounts.

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

No matter where men and women take a holy bath, there are these chains for the public to grasp to prevent slipping.

The first time I went to the holy water bath, I chose a few people, and there was no room facing the Golden Temple. On the one hand, we feel a little embarrassed. On the other hand, the rooms facing the Golden Temple are particularly small and crowded, and there are long queues.

To our surprise, we really went in and saw Angel soaking in a cold bath. She should have a rest after going to the Golden Palace with me. I didn't expect not only to come over now, but also to take a holy bath. It is late winter and early spring in India, and it is colder than Guangzhou in the morning. Let's discuss how to soak together after meeting. There is an Indian aunt who is very brave. She soaked in the water once, then ran out to flush the tap water and went in to soak, going in and out of the water three times each time. We decided to do it. I am very happy to see that we are all so bold, and I took off my clothes to soak with us again.

In fact, after the holy water bath musters up the courage to enter the water, the body will get hot because the circulation is immediately mobilized. We also soaked in it five times, up and down three times each time. After soaking, our bodies were hot and our faces were slippery.

Sister Ruihong insisted on going to the pool opposite the Golden Temple because she felt that the energy there was different. Yan Zi and I also discussed going there early tomorrow morning to see the situation.

After the morning class the next morning, we went to the pool opposite the Golden Temple. It's much smaller here than yesterday, because it's early and there are not many people. With yesterday's experience, I suddenly had a flash of light. I learned from my experience of taking a cold shower at home. I warmed my whole body before going into the water. Although I didn't bring almond oil, it was much easier to get into the water after hot rubbing. I actually went in and out of the pool seven times, looked at the golden palace outside through the small hole and looked forward to taking a dip. I also felt that my body and facial skin had become very good.

It is an important, daily and grand ceremony to invite guru Saheb to the temple every morning, and there is also a ceremony to invite the guru back to the dormitory every night. I saw the process of Guru Grantham Sassi being invited back in the Fifth Guru Temple, and I can see how he was invited back in the Golden Temple next time.

The following is an introduction to Master Grace. If you look at the ancient Rugeland Saheb from the outside, it is a book, a sacred book of Sikhism. The word Sikhism comes from Sanskrit shishya, which means "disciple" or "student". Before * * *, there were ten physical gurus, and the tenth guru, as the eleventh guru, took his place in this book and was honored as Guruge Lancer Sassi. Since then, Sikhism has never had a physical guru.

Guru Granth Sahib is a living guru in the eyes of Sikhs, so there is a grand and respectful welcoming ceremony every day.

To witness this process, Yan Zi and I walked into the Golden Temple after 5 o'clock. I saw that the big umbrella, sedan chair and other objects needed for the ceremony had been prepared in the open space in front of the pavilion, and there were people sitting on the ground waiting behind. We also sat on the ground, but after waiting for a while, we thought we still wanted to see how we got into the temple, so we went to the water passage, and we wanted to stop and wait in front of the door. At this moment, a samurai came over and motioned for us to enter the temple. We said to look at the ceremony first, so he opened the middle passage and let us wait first.

The procession came, and people with big horns walked in front until they reached the door of the temple, holding up their horns and preparing to blow.

Directly behind the speaker is a chess player. He saw that someone had not covered his hair properly, so he motioned for another person to cover his hair properly.

Guards in yellow clothes and sedan chairs also came.

Sikh samurai have always existed, and the dark blue in the picture is the samurai. He went over and ordered people to stand back and keep order.

The sage in white (I don't know what to call him) is ready to welcome Guru out of the sedan chair.

Dust also immediately followed. In fact, the dust in Amritsar is quite heavy. But people here pay great attention to hygiene, and the Golden Temple is cleaned every day. Blowing dust is always shaking to prevent the dust from falling on the grunt.

Seeing that Guru Granser Sassi was welcomed, the people around him sang more vigorously, and the saints in the temple also called: Guru Satnam, Siriwah? Sir, sir, sir, sir? Sir, sir, sir, sir? Sir, sir, sir, sir? Sir.

Take a recent photo of Master Grantham.

When Guru Granser Sibu Ji was welcomed into the temple, the horn sounded again, and the guards nodded their heads to pay tribute to the Guru.

The sedan chair and the yellow shirt army responsible for the sedan chair guard also returned to the temple from the original road.

Everyone sat down quickly, ready to listen to the host in the temple and read after it.

The temple is also crowded with people who have been sitting at the door.

It was not until the whole ceremony was over that everyone began to walk. Some people go to work, some people go home satisfied, and the crowd moves before we can enter the temple.

This is also a very special experience, where we can see Amritsar people (not just Sikhs) sincerely respect and love the guru. I'm afraid this moment has been repeated for many days and years, and everyone still retains their initial intentions and always wants to go to the guru. This respect and obedience is not fake, nor is it verbal, but is implemented every day and every moment.

When I entered the Golden Palace for the seventh time, it was the second day after I came back from the mountain. Early in the morning, nature and I can't wait to see the golden palace. Today is really lucky, the blue sky and white clouds are rippling in the sky, and the temperature is not that low.

I didn't make any plans today. I just wanted to get close to the Golden Palace before everyone had breakfast. We took a photo in front of the temple. It turns out that the square here is also very big, and we didn't have a good look at it the last few times.

Influenced by the local people and Sartre Bill, we were surrendered by the Golden Temple, and we all bowed in and out. The Golden Temple under the blue sky and white clouds also blooms in different colors.

Here you can see devout people praying silently everywhere.

The house decoration of Jindian is also a well-deserved boutique.

Just when we found that it would be beautiful to shoot the Golden Temple through the top of the long corridor, we accidentally met Teacher Chenxi.

Just a few words, teacher Chenxi suddenly said to us: Let's go and take you to seva. We left without saying anything. This time, the teacher took us to the kitchen at dawn, and she was familiar with it. She took us to the bathroom on the first floor. I really have something to do with washing dishes, and I have applied for seva many times, which happens to be the dishwashing group.

Washing dishes here is also divided into several areas, receiving dirty dishes, washing them with soap, drowning, cleaning up clean dishes and transporting them away. Everyone is in full swing and even has a feeling of rushing to work. There will also be a clock on the wall to show you the time, and a loudspeaker to let people here synchronize with Gurbani in the Golden Palace.

Busy at work, no time to take pictures. When I came out, I saw someone handling food, so I took a random picture. I also enjoyed a cup of sugar-free milk tea, which was delicious.