GOLDEN TEMPLE

The Golden Temple, located in Amritsar in the state of Punjab,is the most sacred shrine of Sikhism. Sikh devotees, for whom the Temple is a symbol of freedom and spiritual independence, come to the Temple from all over the world to enjoy its environs and offer their prayers. The official name of the Temple is Harmandir Sahib. The fourth guru, Ram Das (1574-1581a.d ), excavated a tank which subsequently became known as Amritsar (pool of nectar) and gave its name to the city that grew around it. In due course, a splendid edifice, Har-mandir (temple of Hari-Vishnu), rose in the middle of this tank and became the supreme centre of the sikh sect of hinduism. Its sanctorum came to house the adi granth confining compositions of sikh gurus and a score of other hindu saints from different parts of the country. The songs of a few muslim sufis who had been influenced by advaita were also included in it. The compilation of the adi granth was started by the fifth guru, Arjun Dev (1581 - 1606 a.d.), and completed by the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh. Originally during 1574, the site of the temple was surrounded by a small lake, in a thin forest. The third of the six grand Mughals, emperor Akbar, who visited the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das at the neighbouring town of Goindval, was so impressed by the way of life in the town that he assigned 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. He 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'. It was during the leadership of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1581-1606), that the full fledged Temple was built. In December, 1588, the great Sufi of Lahore, Hazrat Mian Mir, who was a friend of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, initiated the construction of the building by laying the foundation stone. It was completed in 1601. The temple was later attacked by the Afghans under Ahmed Shah Abdali and had to be substantially rebuilt in the 1760s. Much of the present decorative gilding and marblework date from the early 1800s. All the gold and exquisite marble work were conducted under the patronage of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab. The Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of the Punjab), was a heavy donor of wealth and materials for the shrine and is remembered with much affection by the Punjabi people in general and the Sikh community in particular.