Temples In India-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKAthe first Granthi to read and recite theSikh scriptures and organised a devotedreligious institution. The very fact that aMuslim, Mian Mir of Lahore, laid thefoundation stone of the temple shows theliberal religious ideas of the two faiths.During the time of Ranjit Singh, the astuteruler of Punjab, the lower half of the templewas decorated with marble, while the otherhalf was inlaid with copper coated with athin plate of gold. There is a large poolsurrounding the temple connected with amarble causeway. The causeway is reachedthrough a gate. The perambulatorypassage around the pool is paved withmarble slabs covering more than 10,000square yards and the slabs were offeredas a homage by the sikhs and Hindus. Themarble on the temple is richly carved withvarious motifs.The temple has three storeys with acanopy at the top of a gilded domesurrounded by golden turrets. The GranthSahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, iskept on the ground floor.The first floor has abalcony around an opencourtyard with wallsrising upto the base ofthe dome. Delicatefiligree and enamel workin gold work adorn manyparts. The specimens· offrescoe in line are veryartistic. It is one of themost dignified and solemnshrines in the world andis over-crowded onspecial days observed assacred by the Sikhsduring which lakhs ofTEMPLE INDIAvisitors pay their homage to the Lord andto Guru Gobind.About 50 yards away, facing the porticoof the Golden Temple is the Akal Takht,the seat or the immortal throne, the seatof the highest theocratic authority of theSikhs. This Takht or seat is the throne fromwhere Guru Har Gobind, the 6th Guru,proclaimed that the spiritual head of theSikhs was also the supreme temporalauthority and henceforth he would havetwo swords, representing his spiritual andtemporal authority. Even today all mattersspiritual and temporal, so far as the Sikhsare concerned, are finally decided from here.It is worthwhile to mention here that nopoliceman is allowed to enter the templeprecincts to execute any warrant of arrest.This temple complex has several othergurudwaras and sacred sites. Thegurudwara of Baba Atal, nine year old sonof Guru Har Gobind, stands by another tankcalled the Kaulsar. It is a magnificent towerlikeedifice and is remarkable both for its161