History of Golden Temple | Shree Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar
The Golden Temple is considered holy by Sikhs because the eternal guru of Sikhism, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is always present inside it and its construction was mainly intended to build a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religion to come and worship God equally.
The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the holiest literature in the Sikh religion, the tenth guru of
Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh, on 7 October 1708 at Nanded made it the eternal
Sikh Guru and the leader of Sikhism. Anywhere in the world where the
Guru Granth Sahib is present is equally holy and
precious to Sikhs. Amritsar is the location of
Harmandir Sahib.
The temple is surrounded by a large
lake, known as the
Sarovar, which consists of Amrit ("holy water" or "immortal nectar"). There are four entrances to the
temple, signifying the importance of acceptance and
openness; ostensibly, this concept is reminiscent of the tent of the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, whose tent was open on all four sides in order to be able to welcome travelers from all directions.
Inside the
temple complex there are many shrines to past
Sikh gurus, saints and martyrs. There are three holy trees (bers), each signifying a historical event or
Sikh saint. Inside the
temple there are many memorial plaques that commemorate past
Sikh historical events, saints, martyrs and includes commemorative inscriptions of all the
Sikh soldiers who died fighting in World Wars I and II.
One of the most important festivals is
Vaisakhi, which is celebrated in the second week of April .
Sikhs celebrate the founding of the Khalsa on this day and it is celebrated with fervour in the
Harmandir Sahib. Other important
Sikh religious days such as the martyrdom day of
Guru Teg Bahadur, the birthday of
Guru Nanak, etc., are also celebrated with
religious piety.
Similarly Diwali is one of the
festivals which sees the
Harmandir Sahib beautifully illuminated with Divas/Diyas (lamps); lights and fireworks are discharged. During these special occasions many thousands of people visit the holy shrine named
Harmandir Sahib.
For the
global Sikh pilgrim or
international, domestic tourist visitor the fastest way to reach the
Harmandir Sahib is by
air travel or bus. The holy city of
Amritsar, where the Harmandir Sahib is located, has a rapidly expanding modern airport called Amritsar International Airport. The airport can be reached directly by the international traveller from most major cities of the world including London and Toronto. Moreover, there is a rapidly expanding array of international hotels in the holy city that can be booked for overnight stays. Lonely Planet Bluelist 2008 has voted the
Harmandir Sahib as one of the world's best
spiritual sites.