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Punjab
is the land of soldierly traditions where the nation of India
rose as one to battle all aggressions from the North West and
all others who dared to challenge the honesty and rule of this
golden land. This land of the brave Sikhs echoes with the
melodies Gurbani of the holy Guru Granth Sahib
from the gorgeous gurudwaras increase all over Punjab.
This tour is particularly set to present the best of the great
Sikhs shrines in the region. Golden Temple is the other namesake
for Harimandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib, which stands
for "Temple of God". The Fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan
Dev, was the first to act on the design of building a
fully-fledged place of worship for Sikhs.
The Harmandir Sahib, more generally known as the Golden
Temple is regarded as the most holy pilgrimage site of the Sikh
community. Harmandir Sahib accurately means temple of
Hari or the Supreme God. Golden temple's outside is gold
plated and the structure stands in the middle of a square tank.
Sikhs from all over the globe come here to pay respect to Guru
Granth Sahib and take a dip in the Amrit Saras
Kund for self cleansing. The shrine is not only symbolical
of the doctrines of Sikhism but is also a symbol of power for
all Sikhs. Really, doorways on all four sides of Golden temple
indicate that it welcomes Sikhs of all the four castes. Golden
temple is situated in Amritsar in western Punjab. The holy city
of Amritsar exactly means pool of the nectar.
The design of building the Golden
Temple was conceived by Sikh Guru Arjan
Dev. His aim was to provide an innermost place of worship
for the Sikh community. The charity of the temple was laid in
the year 1588 by the Guru himself. The idea to dig the holy tank
or Amrit Sarovar was that of Guru Amar
Das and Baba Budha ji started it under his
management. The first Sikh Maharaja Ranjit
Singh made Amritsar his spiritual capital and
appreciably developed the architecture of the temple.
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