An Incredible India tour is just incomplete without a visit to Golden Temple in Amritsar. Situated in Amritsar in Punjab, Golden Temple is the Mecca for Sikhs. Like Taj Mahal is famous for its marble work, similarly the Golden Temple is famous for the work of Gold in its construction.
Golden Temple is the English name given to Sri Harmandir Sahib on account of its heavenly beauty and golden coating. Sri Harmandir Sahib/ Sri Darbar Sahib means the Temple of God. Architecture of the Golden Temple is breath taking. The temple is so designed that even its architecture propagates the message of equality and acceptance. The doors on all four sides of the Golden Temple indicate that people of all the four castes are welcome to the temple of God.
The unique architecture of the Golden Temple represents the harmony of Hindu and Muslim work. The Gumbaz (dome) having lotus petal motif in relief at the base inverted lotus at the top supports the 'Kalash' having a beautiful 'Chhatri' at the end.
The great architecture of Golden Temple was designed by the fifth Nanak, Guru Arjun Sahib who conceived the idea of creating a central place of worship for the Sikhs. The plan to excavate the holy tank, Amritsar or Amrit Sarovar, was conceived by the third Nanak, Guru Amardas which was executed by Guru Ramdas Sahib. There was a plan to make town settlement too. Hence, the construction work on the Amrit Sarovar (tank) and the town started together in 1570 and were completed in 1577 AD. Foundation of the Golden Temple was laid by a Muslim saint Hazrat Mian Mir ji of Lahore in December 1588. The construction work was supervised directly by Guru Arjan Sahib in assistance with Baba Budha ji, Bhai Gurdas ji, Bhai Sahlo ji and many other devoted Sikhs.
Reviews of the visitors can provide a glimpse on the great architecture of Golden Temple.
Mark the words of Michael George, a visitor from Canada, "I was on my pilgrimage tour and Golden Temple was a part of it. The name itself created a lot of curoisity but I never imagined that this place would be real gold .. It gave me golden moments to cherish."...... " The first thing that I noticed was the Golden Dome and my instant question to my guide was " Is this real Gold?" For a moment I thought when India have so much gold to put on monuments that why is it called a poverty struck state. But slowly as I moved on the very thought faded out and I was completely mesmerized by the beauty of Golden Temple."
