Holiest of Holies - Harmandir Sahib

Sikhism is but one of many religions of the Indian subcontinent. It competes with a multitude of others for the hearts and minds of believers, including the mighty Hinduism and Islam, as well as Indian Buddhism, Jainism and Christianity brought over by colonial forces. It is a religion followed by approximately 1.5 per cent of all Indians, amounting to more than 21 million believers. Over 2 million more observe the rituals of Sikhism elsewhere; however the numbers do not lie: Sikhism is an Indian religion. Specifically, it is a Punjabi religion, as the largest concentration of Sikhs in India is in this state - along with neighboring Punjab in Pakistan - although they can be found in most states of India.

As a result of this concentration of its believers, it is only natural that Sikhism has left its greatest mark in this part of the world, in the form of temples and houses of worship. And that it has done, more so than antything else, in the form of gurdwaras.

A gurdwara (from Punjabi for gateway to the guru) is a house of worship for Sikhs, although followers of all faiths are welcome to gurdwaras. A temple can be deemed to be a gurdwara in Sikhism if the Guru Granth Sahib - the 1430 page-long central religious scripture of Sikhism compiled during the late 15th century - is maintained within the main hall of the temple (called the Darbar Sahib) on a throne in a prominent position. Once announced as a gurdwara, the temple becomes a holy place for Sikhs to converge to and pray.

Most gurdwaras are elaborately decorated, striking buildings that demonstrate the value given to the Guru Granth Sahib by Sikhs; they are heavily ornamented, and they often are built of materials of great value, such as gold. As such, most gurdwaras are structures that appeal to the eyes of believers of all religions alike. And no other example of these temples comes close to the sheer beauty of one that sits in the middle of a pool in the city of Amritsar in Punjab: the Harmandir Sahib.

Harmandir Sahib (literally Temple of God), also known informally as the Golden Temple, is one of many gurdwaras in India. But it is easily the most well-known of all Sikh temples. Built in the 16th century by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjun Dev Ji, its holy scripture was installed in 1604. But the idea of a temple at this location was first conceived after the fourth guru, Guru Ram Das, excavated a pool in the area between 1570 and 1577 on land purchased by earlier gurus. The pool subsequently became known as Amritsar - "pool of the nectar of immortality" - and the city with the same name grew around it at about the same time. Later, the temple itself was built to house the holy scriptures of Sikhism, and hence Sri Harmandir Sahib (the temple, or abode, of God) was born.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji himself designed the building after he came up with the idea of a central house of worship for the Sikhs, and the construction began in earnest in 1588 under his supervision. After it was completed in 1604, Guru Arjan appointed Baba Buddha as the first reader to the temple and the place of worship was ready for its visitors.

The temple is built on a pedestal in the middle of a pool - or holy tank - known as the sarovar, which consists of Amrit (holy water or immortal nectar; hence the name Amritsar) and is fed by the river Ravi. The temple itself is in fact built on lower ground compared to the surroundings, although it is in the middle of the sarovar, so that followers will have to go down rather than climb up when going in to pray.

There are four entrances to the temple on each one of the facades of the building, signifying the iimportance of openness in Sikhism. This means that people of all races, sexes, religions are welcome at the Harmandir Sahib, as long as they obey three principles:

• Purity - removing shoes and not consuming alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or meat inside
• Modesty - dressing appropriately
• Respect - sitting on the ground while there is a religious procession

The gilding, along with majority of the marblework, dates to the early 19th century works overseen by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Inside the temple itself one can see plaques conmemorating Sikh historical events, saints and martyrs, and outside the temple but within the complex of the gurdwara, shrines to gurus and saints can be found.

The temple suffered significant damage due to Afghan attacks in 1760, and it had to be rebuilt in 1764 by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia with help from other Sikh Misls (any one of the twellve sovereign states in the Sikh Confederacy). Most of the structure that remains today dates to this period, although the gilding on the upper floors are from the early 19th century as mentioned before.

A much more recent case of trouble was brought upon the temple by none other than Indira Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi, who initiated Operation Blue Star at the temple in order to put an end to Dharam Yudh Morcha - an opposition group with demands for more rights for the Sikh inhabitants of the region. The operation brought tanks and artillery to the temple and resulted in widepread protests and arrests, and it eventually led to the assasination of Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. In the fighting that ensued, many people were killed and the temple suffered significant damage that took decades to fully repair.

All religions have left behind a trail of destruction and pain to some extent. They are one of the main causes of strife among peoples, and still lead to wars around the world. But they have also left behind some of the most elegant works of architecture and helped architecture become what it is today. Harmandir Sahib is no exception, and it is proof that, yes, some that glitters is gold.