The Golden Temple or the
Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar stands at the core of Sikh belief
system and also as a testimony to the 600 year old history of the birth and
evolution of Sikhism.
The construction of Harmandir
Sahib was started by Guru Ram Das, the
fourth Sikh Guru, and it was completed by Guru Arjan Dev. Guru Arjan Dev
installed the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhs, in the gurdwara in 1604.
Originally
built in 1574, the site of the Gurdwara was surrounded by a small lake in a
thin forest. Mughal Emperor Akbar, who visited the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das, in the neighbouring town of Goindval, was so impressed by the way of life in the town that he gave a jagir (the land and the revenues of several villages in the
vicinity) to the Guru's daughter Bhani as a gift on her marriage to Bhai Jetha,
who later became the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru
Ram Das ji. Guru Ram Das enlarged the lake and built
a small township around it. The town was named after Guru Ram Das as Guru Ka Chak', Chak Ram Das or Ram Das Pura.
The upper floors of the
gurdwara was covered with gold in the early nineteenth century by Maharaja
Ranjit Singh. This covering of gold on the upper floors gives the shrine its
distinctive appearance and its English name of “Golden Temple”.
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| Golden Temple |
The
Harmandir Sahib is considered holy by Sikhs. The holiest text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, is always present inside the Gurdwara.
Its construction was mainly intended to build a place of worship for men and
women from all walks of life and all religions to come and worship God equally.
Over one lakh people visit the holy shrine daily for worship.
The film looks at this
complex history of a spiritual sect emerging out of the confluence of Hinduism
and Islam and it’s metamorphosis into one of the most prolific religions of the
world by looking at a day in the life of the Golden Temple.
It follows the pre-dawn
preparations and cleaning of the temple and the daily awakening ceremony at
dawn to the re-installation of the Guru Granth Sahib in its chamber at 10 pm
and in this duration explores the lives of the people associated with the
temple, diasporic and otherwise, and their contributions to the upkeep of the
temple specifically and of the faith at large.
Deeply embedded values of
spirituality and selfless service play themselves out in the form of everyday
activities like the langar.
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