An Experience

I am not a very religious man by nature.

It does not mean that I do not enjoy the collective chanting of hymns, or the architecture of places of religious worship. The chanting evokes in me a sense of rhythmic energy and I do marvel at the engineering and artistic masterpieces that were created by thousands of workers and artists in the ages gone by.

I also pray to god briefly everyday when I go to bed. This is perhaps the result of what my mother made me do when I was a kid. This prayer is more akin to a silent thanks for what I have and all that I seek from this formless god who is more in my mind than in Temples is strength to face another day.

Rituals are something I have never got the hang of and my inability to sit cross legged for any length of time is perhaps a big contributor to this apathy. I fail to grasp the strict ritualistic moves of praying in any religion – and not because I am an atheist or unbeliever. The significance of rituals simply escapes me and I have no issues with those who are strong believers in the strict codes.

Be that as it may, I was happy to plan a visit with my family to the Golden Temple in Amritsar a few years ago. It was one of those rare occasions when all four of us could get away for a holiday together, what with both children grown up and having exams, vivas, submissions, projects, and what not spread over the year. It was to be a road trip made easier by the fact that my son would be doing the bulk of the driving while I could sit back and enjoy the scenery.

In India, the traffic indiscipline demands so much of the driver’s attention that he does not have the luxury of being able to let his eyes wander from the road for any length of time. This one feature of India is, I believe, the singular factor that has made people so religious. There must be a God above looking out for us. It is a miracle that such a large majority of people make is safely home every day.

However, not to digress, we started early enough not to be subject to a punctuality tirade from you can guess who! It was a long drive, of five hundred kilometers. It would take nearly ten hours or more with a few stops for food and for stretching our stiff joints.

The journey was smooth and the sight of vast expanses of Haryana and Punjab farmlands were a welcome relief from the concrete and dust of Delhi. The air was fresh and one could see for miles, a luxury in the concrete jungle that is Delhi.

We arrived in the early evening and after the long drive a bath and some hot piping tea was in order. The bath was wonderful but the tea was mainly milk with some tealeaves thrown in. I now understand that in Punjab milk and ghee takes precedence over all else.

We checked at the hotel desk about the timing to visit the Golden Temple and it was a relief to know that we could be there even by ten in the night with enough time to take in the sight and sounds of the place.

We also came to know that at about eleven there was a ceremony worth watching when the Guru Granth Sahib (the Holy Book of Sikhs) was moved from the sanctum sanctorum to the Akaal Takth for the night.

It was our first visit to this magnificent temple and the actual view was a lot more than we would have expected. Marvelous organization and clockwork arrangements make the place worth visiting at any time. It s true that such organization demands a large manpower and surprisingly, I understand that most people who work there are volunteers whose belief in “Sewa” or selfless service is so strong that all you can see are welcoming smiles and polite but firm organization.

Well before you approach the temple premises, there are volunteers offering a saffron piece of cloth to cover your head as you are not supposed to enter with your head uncovered - this indicates disrespect to the Granth Sahib.

Incidentally, the Sikhs follow the concepts well documented in the Granth Sahib, the holy book, which contains the beautiful teachings of the Gurus and tell you about the way to live life so that you are free from stress and understand the value of service towards nature and in particular mankind, thus serving God.

Once we reached the premises, we were directed to a chamber to deposit our footwear because you are required to enter barefoot inside the temple. There were, surprisingly, people who appeared to be from the upper echelons of society collecting shoes and sandals and handing out tokens. This was another wonderful example of Sewa for these people were volunteers who had opted to spend the evening in service rather than staying at home or going about other business.

Since it was quite cold, the organizers had laid out strips of carpet leading up to the main entrance. This allowed pilgrims to walk barefoot in reasonable comfort.

Once we reached the main entrance we saw a wide shallow pool with water flowing in it so that it became impossible to enter without washing the feet. The water was thoughtfully warm and as we entered the courtyard we found that nothing had prepared us for the magnificent vista of the temple.

With lights glimmering on the gentle ripples of the pond surrounding the temple the temple seemed to be glowing with gold that had the appearance of fire. Amid the darkness of the pool, the beacon stood tall and magnificent.

For a while we were awestruck with the magnificence, but eventually we started off on the “Parikrama” or the journey along the courtyard surrounding the pool. At one point we stopped to pay our donation at the counter and were duly handed a receipt along with the “Prasad” that we had to offer.

The Prasad was “halwa” which is cooked by the ton every day. When we reached the passage there were volunteers who would be accepting the offerings and as soon as we handed over our small offering, the same was mixed with the offerings of a thousand others.

We took our position in the queue for the “Darshan” and the line moved slowly but in a disciplined manner with the gentle sounds of “Gurbani” the hymns of the teachers in the background.  As we reached the Granth Sahib, one saw a group of people sitting and chanting the hymns from the Granth Sahib. The scene was so peaceful and serene that one cannot but start believing that there is God. However, this was just a prelude of what was about to come.

Our "Darshan" over, we moved outside to receive our “Prasad” at the exit and wonderfully, we found that all persons, irrespective of the quantum of his offering received the same generous amount of wonderfully tasty “Prasad”. By the end of the day the Prasad would be distributed to all people who asked for it and this along with the “Langar” actually ensures that no one in the vicinity of the temple goes hungry. This serves a great social responsibility, in sync with the basic precepts of Sikhism.

I shall not document here the “Langar” or community kitchen which is probably the largest kitchen anywhere in the world and about which so much has been documented that my contribution would not be significant.

Since the highlight of the day’s visit was to be the closing ceremony, we took our place at the barricade outside the entrance to the main temple in order to get a good view of the proceedings. There were another hundred or so people waiting for the event like us and we understood that the proceedings would begin shortly.

Suddenly I noticed someone standing beside me. I turned and saw a short, slim man in the dress of a Sewadar or regular volunteer. He looked quite young and maybe he felt that I was looking at him because he suddenly turned to face me.

He had a smile on his face which brightened up the surroundings. He nodded and then gestured to me indicating, or rather asking me whether I would like to carry the “Paalki” with the Granth Sahib on my shoulder.

This was wonderful!

I had not expected to be a part of the ceremony at any time so I nodded my assent. He indicated to me and to my son to follow him. We duly did so and he took us to a side entrance and indicated us to sit on the ground.

Shortly, the Paalki was brought out and placed right in front of us. A group of people began decorating the Paalki and we too joined in. Once the decoration of flowers and perfumed cotton was nearing completion, the young Sewadar beckoned to us to follow him.

He took us to the passage at the exit of the main temple which was guarded by other Sewadars. When they saw that we were accompanied by the young man, they allowed us to enter the passage. Once inside, he indicated to us to wait by the barricade and put our shoulder to the Paalki when it came out. 

By now, it was amply clear that he was mute and could not speak. But his face spoke a thousand words and the inability to speak never appeared to be a handicap.

In due course, amidst the blowing of the “Turahi” (a wind instrument) and beats of the “Nagada” (a type of drum), the procession with the Granth Sahib in the Paalki emerged.

The handful of people standing with us briefly put their shoulder to the Paalki and so did we. As soon as one person left, another took his place. It was a deeply religious experience as if one had a brief but immensely gratifying contact with God.

As soon as our turn had come and gone, the young man indicated that we needed to move. We followed him and he led us to the Akaal Takth – the seat of the Gurus- and asked us to wait neat a beautifully carved door.

As we waited, we could hear the procession moving towards us. Shortly we could see the Paalki stop at the foot of the stairs and the Head Granthi, reverently lift the Granth Sahib on his head and started climbing up the stairs.

As he approached the top amidst a lot of pomp we found that we were at the perfect spot to observe the events. The ceremony was reflective more of the reverential respect for the Holy Book than the pomp surrounding the event. The Holy Book was placed to rest for the night and the door finally closed.

The ceremony over, we looked around for our guide and benefactor and sure enough he was there with his hands folded in a Namaste and a wide, bright smile on his face. He was smiling and his gestures were asking us whether we were happy to have witnessed the ceremony at such close range.

We nodded and I held his hands in mine. He did what I would have liked to do – he touched his forehead to my hands in thanks to God to have allowed him to perform his task well.

Then, he was gone. Mingled suddenly in the crowd and in spite of trying we could not locate him. We craned our necks and though both I and my son are quite tall, he was nowhere to be seen.

When we came out, we met a few people who had been waiting with us at the barricades. Each one was asking us how we were able to go inside and put our shoulders to the Paalki.

Apparently, people have to use a lot of influence to get this privilege. We tried to explain that the young man had appeared out of nowhere and asked us to accompany him. The disbelieving looks made it clear that they were not buying our story.

We knew the truth. Far from using influence, we were first time casual visitors who hardly knew anyone in Amritsar. I believe we had been blessed. The reason for this blessing eludes me.

I am no believer or saint – far from it! But we had been selected to have this experience. Perhaps, we were being told something. We were being told that there are things beyond our understanding. Perhaps, it was a coincidence that we were chosen. But with so much demand, it is unlikely that there would be random people to be given this privilege.

Whatever it was I learned from the events that not everything needs to be analyzed or understood – there are things which need to be felt and believed. It is a purely personal experience. One can share it but not argue about it. That day I felt the finger of God touching me through his messanger. I felt cleansed and blessed. Perhaps it is all in my mind, perhaps it is true!

I do not know nor do I think I shall ever know the truth.

I must confess that I wanted to meet the young man again – if for nothing but to convey our gratitude, which we had not been able to do owing to his sudden departure.

In reality, his face had an inexplicable quality that made it serene and attractive. The brightness in the eyes was extraordinary and his smile was divine. Fact of the matter is that we visited the Golden Temple couple of more times during the same trip and spent a reasonable amount of time there in the hope that we would catch a glimpse of him.

We never saw the young man again.