We return to the Golden Temple to learn more about it and Sikhism. First a few numbers, Sikhs are a fairly new religion, going back just 600 years; much younger than Judiasm, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. As mentioned, a visit to The Golden Temple is a once in a life time goal for all devout Sikhs. There are around 25 million Sikhs in the world, with 20 million residing in India, most in Pujab, the north west area of India.
Now the startling numbers: Between 80,000 and 100,000 people visit The Golden Temple each day! Further, around 40,000 people eat a free meal every day. They prepare and serve meals 24/7/365. Most all the labor involved in prep and serve is done by volunteers. There are thousands of volunteers. A few pictures below of our immersion in Sikh culture.
The Golden Temple during the day.
First, our personal guide, Manjeev. Not sure on the spelling….
A lot of this went on. People wanting us to pose with them. Usually it is Gloria they want to pose with, not me. This guy came up to me, grabbed my arm with one hand, and had his 2 foot long dagger in the other. I did what he wanted. Which was to pose with he and his wife.
This is Gloria doing the ‘holy dip’. Two problems. This is in the man’s section of the lake surrounding The Golden Temple, secondly, I took her picture. One of the many guards, armed with, what I hope is a ceremonial javelin, made it very clear this wasn’t appropriate. Note the huge koi.
This dad going through the purification with his little daughter, fun to watch.
Everyone taking photos in front of The Golden Temple. Lots of selfies too.
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