HOMAGE TO AMRITSAR - PAGE 2
A panoramic view of the Harimandir Sahib during sunset.
Hallowed by the meditations of holymen, the blood of martyrs defending the Sikh faith against imperial oppression, a refuge to the sick and weary, the faithful held on to the center against many onslaughts and the rhythms of the universal life seemed to secure the pilgrims in the belief that the essential self exists in and through and behind the flow of the obvious states.
And as the universe of calm survived in the midst of all the inclemency of change, the first Sikh Emperor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, made the pool of nectar the spiritual capital, while Lahore was the temporal seat of his newly founded kingdom. The gilding of the embossed plate, above the marble skirt of the Hari Mandir, the renewal of the pietre dure, the embellishment of the interior, with lovely ceilings, adorned with Horal reliefs and little mirrors, were all renovated, finished and perfected under the patronage of the great general, so that men and women may brood upon the inner splendor, after gazing at the beauty and wonder of the outer house and body of God.
The Sikhs have always retained, in spite of the militancy they were forced to adopt to defend their order against the, enemies of their reformation, the injunction of Guru Nanak that you can range from yourself to the stars and the moral law, if you contemplate the Nam in the quiet of your heart.
As an eclectic monument, which has grown from the devotion of the folk, as much as through the skill of the craftsmen of the guilds, the Golden Temple achieves the kind of romantic glory which flouts convention, answers to the mood of astonishment, and compels humility before the inner sight. - by Mulk Raj Anand
PICTURE 2: The ceiling of the Golden Temple on the second floor.
All Photographs Copyright © 1999 Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa - http://www.sikhphotos.com - (Unless specified explicitly)
All Text Copyright © 1977 Marg Publications, Army & Navy Building, Fort, Bombay. Published by J.J. Bhabha for Marg Publications - Vol XXX , Number 3, June 1977