Professional Documents
Culture Documents
~emple
oft Ipirituo;lity
OR
~olden '~mple,
It,mritoar
BY
JAGJIT SINGH
Those who look 011 tnefely the alabaster (HlJ the /.!old
of this jewel of architectu,.e miss tht Imler Spirit
~'ic" il {f'O"ld
.which pervades the whole building'6Ut,Jor
,
bee" Q"ollu,. colorl... T~I"I>U.
It"".
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
To Sikhs their temples, whICh have played ..
great part in their history, are more important than
the as.ooiations. So muoh.n that their history oonsists
of either establishment of temples or their proteotion
against different kinds of aggressors. Sikh temples,
bet.ter known as GurdtcaraR, constitute institutions
of Hari Kirtan, where the Discipl.. ponder to
quench the outer fire and plunge agoin into deep
peace of life. The Golden Temple at Amritsar, the
the premier Sikh Shrine, forms the nucleus, around
whioh oentres the major part of the Sikh History and
the .ucOPeding pages would aifor,i to our readers a
peep into this Temple of Spirituality'.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to S. Jagjit
Singh, who has very kinnly .pared time from his
oollege studies. to revise hi. writing, in appreciation
of which he .... as awarded a prize-medal worth Rs. 100
'by th.. Macauliffe Memorial Committee, Khalsa
'College, Amrit.ar. Weare proud to place this publiQation in our readers' hands to unveil to theni tbe
history of this 'Wond~rfnl Institution', We need
".ot write more beside. what Master Mota Singh ji
Akali, a venerable Sikh leader, .ays about this b .. ok ;
ii
"S ..TalZ.jit Singh, the younger son ofSriyut Vaidraj Bh"i Sahib Mohan Singh ji, the eminent writer
and scholar, and ODe of mo.t distingui.hed member
of tbe Sikh Community, i. a born author, gifted with
spiritual philo_opbic&! conatu.. The public may be
glad to receive from the pen of this young autho,'
the history of the Golden Temple, entitled as 'Temple of Spirituality'. ' We 'owe to him a tribute of
... thanko l[or having thr<;>wn .so fre~~ a.lig!)t .. '.'d, glow
lio"er ," compa.r..ti"ely lurid period of histor~'. I te
:h..s , deline80~d the whole n ..rrr.. tive in ' .. vivid alid
,attractivl' DU\lmer. The hcts are arr ..nged fnto a
, .well.pl .. nned form, and are ,discretely wov~n into an
,inspiring .tory accompa.nied by a spirit of co'm mentary. ,The Chronicled note. are brief .. nd judicious.
The Cbronicle... nd legend.~hich form" sigmfiCl\nt
part of the book ,and enhance it. litera.ry gra~e ~re
nowhere g .. rbled and tinged with 8uch ..ccretio'ns" ...
conld be exposed ..nd condemned ..t the b~:r ' of
reason. Such prodigious legends .. nd mir .. culous
event. h ..ve been most , prudently .. nd
~rientific9.lIy
",
. r
purged . off, ,which m ..y,tempor..rily stimul .. te our
thought, but do in n.o w ..y add dignity to the re ..li, ties oOife, and which ..re de.tin,ed, to f.. de und~r the
glare of so.und and pure r .. tion ..lism. .IJ:e has ' also
done well to escape .f rom dry "I)d, sceptic .r..tion ..
which deviating from . pure faith, ~uthle.;'ly le,!-ds ,us
to' "Destrllctive Nihilism.~'F Thqs. ~n ...ri ..dmirable
manner,'the author h ....mQ8t, ..g~~e~[jly pal .. nced, 'the
history. of, 'F..ith .,"'1dl Fr'l,e ,Th?ll~ht,' ' '\1d reprodltoed .altevent. quite
. - . in
, ,con8on~nce
.
. .. ... . witli ,)1io<ifern
lism,
TAItN TARAN.
OCTOBER
1, lU3".
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Words fail to express the feelings of admiratioB
and gratitude which I ent.rtain toward. S. B. Bhai
Sahib Kahn Singh ji, Nabha; S. Guroharn Singh Ji,
Delhi; Prof. Teja Singh ji, M.A. ; Master Mota Singh
ji, Akali; and S. Kartar Singh ji; who very Irindly
went through the manuscript and gave very valuable
suggestions. To ,each of them I tender my most
sincere and heartiest thanks.
I am indebted to all my friends, who helped me
in the preparation of this book in various ways; to
all authors whose works I have consult"d; to the
Publicity Department, Indian State Railways, Delhi,
. and Mana![er, Pritllm, Lahord for the loan of certain
blocks; and the Sikh Relil1;ious Tract Society, Tarn
Taran for undertaking the publication of this book.
Suggestions for the improvement of the book will
be gratefully received.
J AGJ1T
SlNGH
j.'OREWORD
PREFACE
"The fir<t feeling that we have on entering
church (temple) is one of peace and repose. Th.
wor)d is in such a hurry, and is moving, 80S some
people tell us, so much faster than before, that we
seem -to wa.nt a few minutes of rest, an oooa.slonal
viii
.Jowett, to them, who demand to know why they
should go to their temples.
The world may rejoice in it many temples of
many religions, and many mora might be the temple.,
great and small from different standpoints, but the
G,ldeD Temple at Amritsar i. unique. Sri Guru
Arjan Dev left U8 an image of Hi. diviLe midd in
this Dream of Marble 10 i. not .. .building, it is life in
its myria<l glow of wor.hip going endlessly, ih selfattraction round itself. It is the great Soul that
rio,. like a golden lotus on the blue watHa and is
made manifest here in it. perfume and in it. live
swarm of honey-bees buzzing about it.
Those wbu look on merely the alabaster and the
gold mi the Inner Spirit whioh pervade. the whole
building of this Te,nple of Spirituality- the tabernaole where the 'Eternal Nam resides and for whioh
it is one of unique wonder. of the world. Only the
"living ones" know this seoret influence of the
Temple. A great Vai.hnava Faqir came from Brinda- '
ban, and was so impre.sed by the clear spiritUal
'aura of the Golden Temple that hi. Dhyanam passed to the Ma.ter. of this Temple, and he 'never left
it. A Mohammed ..n .. dept residing in the Western
Punjab Obll never p.... Amritsar in .. rail way-train'
without ..lighting and p ..ying hi. homage to the H~rl
Mandir (Golden Temple). Says he, "So wonderful" is
the link .between e..rth .. nd He ..ven ,here, that e"/en
now, ..fter the Guru has been personally absent for
hu."dreds of years from thiS land, ,the place .still
Gor.u literally meau~ True Teacher.
ix
Temple
on him. He said, "The light seems to come
from within the Golden dome of the Temple,
and
.
. it is this inner light that kindles the whole prospect
around it."*
This Temple is the favourite resort of the
aspirants to the spiritual life; thither they come to
dip their torches in its light, and they might fill the
land and its heart with the gleam that M. J arl and
others saw. The fresh vigour and in8piration that
flooded the land can only be traced to the hc!&rt
of the Guru.
To quench thA flames of outer fire the Sikh.
hurried to this Temple.Tank. The time came when
everyone was forbidden to have even 'darshallas'
of this Temple, but its inner magnetio force drew
the Sikhs and its lovers to it. Though they were
8U often orowned with martyrdom yet there was
no abatement in their zeal to approach it. The
Sikhs sa9riticed their lives Ilnd everything in Ilttempt
ttl procure the light of this Soul. That very l!ght
Illpng with the sacrificed blood has prol!lpted the
author to pen' this short historioal sketoh of the
~mitter of thl't light-the Golden Temple
p, 5.7-56.
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.
2.
a.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
r1
CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
"4.
5.
6.
7.
s.
9.
Dedication
Publisher's Note
Acknowledgement
Foreword
Preface
Founders of the Faith
Amritsar
The Sikh Gurus
Persecution of Sikhs
(a)
(b)
(e)
(d)
10.
i
IV
V
Vl1
13
15
26
Banda Bahadur
Bhai Mani Singh
Massa Ranghar
Afghans
40
11.
Brit,ish Period
46
12.
}S.
59
63
~ii
72
(a) Kar-Sewa
(b) Pipli Sahib
) Khalsa College
(d) Pradakshina
15.
78
16.
92
98
Abdulla.h Wa.ul
* A cU'Itom am'Hl!.!:st
.,
Hon'ble J. M. Kenworthy,
Indi~
a wal"lltllg. p. 84,
foolish Moslems, too, had been fasci(Jated by His ways and teachiugs. He was noised about as a great religious aud worldly leader.
'l'hey called Him 0 uru, aud fram all directio1l8 crowds of pelrple
would come to Him 3ud express great devotion to Him. This bU8Y
traffic had b~en carried 011 for three or four geileratioHs. POl' maUl!
years th~ thought had been preJJellfiu9 itself to my mind tllai ~ifher 1
IthOl'tld put au elltl to this t1'uffic, 'J" that lIe should be lJl'ought u'it/lju
th~'fohl of18Iam."
'
,
He wa, attacked too becau.e of tbe heretical doctrilles, detected by the orthodox, in theGr~nth Sahib,
G"rn Arjan was not to be moved. H~ was of the seed
of the martyrs, and His doom was inevitable, U.
was put to unthinkable tortllre. Burning sands
were !'oufed on His bare body. H. was compelled to sit
on hot iron sheets. Besides this H. bore the torture
of b'lrning and boiling water but all with unfailing
firmness. His cause was righteous, and bravely
H. sutfered for it. No martyr'. lot was harder than
Guru AT,ian's and yet no body has sung of life more
cheerfully than He. The disciples came to resc.'e
the Guru but forbidding them He says, "Whatever
.Thou givest, I treat as happiness. Wherever Thou
placest me, there .hall be My heaven"
'fhe last message the Master sent by the Sikhs
to His son and SUCCegSOf, Guru Har Gobind, was one
that sounded ominously, the change from peace to
war: " Let Him. sit armed on His Throne and keep
up an army as best He can P' But Master's sword
was struck neither in spi~it of anger, hatred or ago
gressivenes., nor kingship or rule was the object of
the conq uest. It was all done for the weak must
not be trampled under foot by the tyrannous ..J ustice
was secured to the poor.
Guru Bar Rai, the Seventh Master, devoted His
ti~e and ~ttention to peaceful orgallisation. He kept
2200 soldiers but fought no battle as the Emperor
Sh!h .Jahan had ..,een, dnring the Iile-time of Guru
IIor Gobind, that it served no good purpose to make
the, Sikhs enemies. Guru H.r KrishaD, the next
5
.7
10
A~JAN
AMRITSAR
Tbe Punjab and it.. natives o ...e mucb to tbe
Sikl,t G-urus for tbe origin of many to ... ns in this,
province founded as common centres of reJigio';
and 'l.ommerce. Tbeir locality h ..d some peculiarity. '
Either '~be town w ..s located on a predomin'antly
high position to give it a strategic advantage or in
the centre of a fertile tract of land to attr..ct a large
number of 'cultivators or a Trun'k Road or by the
side of a river with the s..me, object in vie.... Sri
Guru Nanak Dev founded Kartar Pur, while Hi.
successor Sat Guru Angad Dev m..de Khadur S ..hib
01) popular. The Third Master, Guru Amar D ... m&de
Goind ... al His headquarters whereas Guru Ram Das
transformed a thick forest into a flourishing city,
Amrit ... r. Sri Guru Arjan Dav left for Hi. people
Tarn Taran, 'to ,swim across the Sea of Ignorance tl)
.ave many a drowning soul.' Out-of-the .....y and
in,,"ces.ible place was made renowned .by Baba
Gurditta, sou of the Sixth Master, as Kirat,p'lr. Guru
Teg Bahadur founded An ..ndpur, 't.he City of Imrroprtal Bliss. '
13
14
.?UCU
N anak
foot
note,
15
Tawarikb~
Baear the first Mojothllt Emperor, met Ouru N'anak amont!' the
captives alt.'ilr Said pur WIlS raEed to the Rround, The would-l1P
Emperorof Indift. then MW ill His presence the trutl Empire of Pnre
Beauty and l.~ked Etim to ac~ept.... pre~ent from him. .. I neert
uothing from you" 8aid the Guru: "set at liberty, if you plell8e. these
,peopl{\ who have heen "WRutollly oppr~Msed." Guru Nanak BCl"e-ptp.d
uothiug for himself rather blesl!ed the Emperor with rule of Jlldil\
for seven generation".
Babar's SOli, Empernr HumIlY{)II~ came to the Second Nallak.
Emperor Akbar, th.e thirn it! line,
came to Guru Amar DaB in 1500.
Hfl,vinll scen a Ia.rge number of
people fed from GUl'U1S kitchen the
Emperor offered to the Guru n large
t'l!!tnte for the Service of Bread.
The Master declined t,hi!!! oller ann:
~:1.id, "t have alren.dy obtained
ellough from my Creator. The
people are my lande and eetates.
Enouli!'h that, daily we get our bread
from God ~ and we do tlot thillk of
the morrow. Enough that we aTe
of tAs Poor,lIud thiuk of the Beloved." The Emperor pressed on
.the Guru the acceptance of ~evf'rIll
'Villa.ges but"the Guru 'was firm in
His refusal.
Here also the
wi~iters
17
Kitch~1I
which
~81l11eaut
for others?
18
"~3H2 fR~3t
@1
Sahib (p-1412)
'19-
world but ascetism and renunciation of the world or retirement to forests was not needed for
Mlllv&tion according to the Sikh Gurus. They believed in ; a.ll that
exists is'Hisown image' and a. true man was he who performed his
household duties to the best of his ability, was undaunted by ull
80r~ of difficulties. and WM purged of his conciet through selfless
~ervice to others. So the traders of various sects were invited
to ply their callings at lluru-ka-Chak and were taught to practice
pure and true life which was the only recommendatinn for a Man.
Wha.t a happy contrast with the Teachers of other faiths adv~at
Ing belief in them for remission of sins.
~e8ide8 thi~ Guru's prol"idinga mosque land a,-n:andir for Muslim
aDd Hindu citizens of Guru-kaChak at H& own cost pro~jdes
another vent~lation of His magnanimous mind for religious tc.lera
tioD for His subjects.
20'
21
22
23
25
26
ne\v
2~
With the death of Banda Bahdur the persecn. " h tion of the Sikhs
commence~"U nforn'b 31."
..nlun SlIlg
.
..
tunately minor dIfferences arnse
amongst the Sikhs at Amrits~r at that time~ . Learning this Bhai Mani Singh, the most learned Sikh of
the time, was deputed by Mata Sundr;; in 1721
quash this dispnte and take charge of the Tem pie.
From that time Bhai Mani Singh began to live at
Amritsar, where he daily worked in the Durbar, and
read the holy hymns of the Master to the. people. 'rhe
Singhs were not allowed to stop there; bnt his devotion and learning drew round him a vast multitude of
tile common Hindus and Muslims. And thougll this
Silrine of the Khalsa rankled like a thorn in the
eyes of the Muslim Governors, yet hi. quiet behaviour and peaceful deportment had won their a,surance. Anyhow if any perverted, prejudiced or
to
28
29
fanoing the assembly in the diwan and all unan imoudy dressed him with the imperial robo and
proclaimed him N.. wab. In all humility Kapur
Singh accepted this honour bestowed upon him by
the Khalsa with a condition that he would pasJ hi.
days in the same service of the Panth which eventually eleyated him to the leadership of the Khalsa.
Mohd. Latif remarks about him, who later founded
the State of Kapurthala, that "he Ins undoubtedly
the most distinguished of the Sikh leaders who
paved the way for the greatness of the nation' as an
independent ruling power". Thus the treaty was
formed, due to which mo,t of the Sikhs engaged
,themselves in agriculture, trade and other peaJefui
occupations. The days passed in harmony and the
perpetual Divine music and worship was carried on
in the Temple.
Hardly two or three years had passed when the
..dministration changed its hands.' Zakaria Khan
was appointed the governor of Lahore. au seeing
the Sikhs settled the treaty Was broken by the governor and the jagirs granted to the Sikhs confiscated.
This deceit of the Mogha.ls once again created
'bitterness in the Sikh hearts against the rulers. The
game became serious when Bhai Mani Singh devised
to celebrate Diwali festival at Amritsar. He undertook to pay a heavy subsidy of Rs. 5000 to Zakaria'
KhB);'. 'the Viceroy of Lahore, if the Sikhs were
allowed to go to the Temple unmolestl'd. The wary
Mogh ..ls phl.yed a treacherous game Bnd bagan to
murder and peril8c~te the pilgrims as thi.Y approached
30
31
Dissatisfif.d
wi~h previous
management
the
Rang".r*
(Shakespeare)
32
'
.I
au act 'of depl'edatiou by the author. Qazi Nur Mohd, who accompanied
Abdali, writes ill his Jang Nama:"'rhey never pounce upon the emasculated or the fleeing one'8.
It may he a maid-servant or master, obe of fair sex is never robbed.
1'hese dogs ..re neither loos8 io character, nor take to thefts
nor enjoy acts of depredation. Sucb are these humRiated on8S,
They never befriend tbe thieves Or 8yil~per8Qus.""
. In the end Qui realise's' and lays, 'call Dot t\le dogs but the
lioll!. they are brave."
'
Tn] Silths, whJ laid their lives to ff~ht for t:18 co'~utry
against the iDvacien, caunot be acculed of this. Also see Forster'.
Travels.
36
'
time! the dead bodies were hung from the TempleGate. or numerous pyramids made before the Temple
from the heads of those who had suffered decapitation. Even hundreds of Sikh women, on their
..ay to the Temple, ' were. arrested by the then'
Government officials. The women were kept on
starvation diet: but they would not renounce their
faitfi. "God will .hield us," they said, and as they
went on grinding corn in the prison-house of Lahore
they .. ang the songs of the Master. Their babies
were kil\ed in their presence; they themselves were
threatened with execution, but they would not renounce their faith.
Mir Mannu died in 1752. His widow succeeded
in producing the acknowledgement of her infant son
as governor under her own gu ..rdianship, but he was
.removed by Adina Beg. 'rhen the Punj ..b remained
under his nominal rule for a time until Ahm ..d Shah
again marched to Lahore and made it his own. The
Durrani King left for Delhi in 1756 leaving his SOil,
Taimur, as Governor of Lahore, with orders to take
vengeance on the Sikhs of the past. So his first
object was to thoroughly disperse the insurgent Sikhs
and pull down their Great Temple and fill up the
Sacred Tank.t This action provoked the whole race
of the Sikhs, who united under two ..bl" leaders, ,both
61l.11ed :B~ai J ass.. Singh, drove out the invader and
occupied Lahore .. nd. Amnt...r. In this temporary
rejgn
of 1758 the disciple restored the Temple ',and
.
~
1"146, and
the Tank. The first Sikh Coin was also struck lit
-this time,' bearing the inscription in Per.ian meaning,
,"By the grace of God', the coini. struck in the world,
J assa Singh' having oaptured the oountry of Ahmad}'"
Much chagrined at the growth of the Sikh.
Ahmad Shah, the Durrani ' Monarch, invaded the
Punjab in 1762, t,he 6th time, in order to reduce the
Sikhs to submiiont. Severe defeat was given to
the Sikhs in the battle at Kup Rahira' in ...rhich
very large number of them were killed. The event
is still remembered as Ghallughara. Under til'e impression that with the disappearance of theifN aHonal
Shrine the power of the Sikhs' would vanish, Ahmad
Shah, while going back to Kabul made a big assault
upon Amritsar. 'He gratified his own resentment,'
and indulged the savage bigotry of his followers by
destroying the renewed Temples of Amritsar, by
polluting the Tank with slaughtered cows, by encasing numerous pyramids with the heads of decap.itated
Sikh. and by cleansing the wal1s of desecrated mosques
with the blood of his infidel enemies,:
This action eventually'caused Monarch's death.
It is stated that when Abdali was engaged in hlowing up the Temple, a missile from the blown-up edifice
The Punjab lUI a l!Iovereign 8tate, Gulshan Rai. p-240.
Browne. Tracts; ii, p19 i Malcolm, Sketch, pp-93,94; Elphinstone.
38
UmdaulTaw."kb.
Sulla'. Mohd. Khan-Tarikhe-Sultani, p-WI. History 01 the
Punjab by M. Latif. .I238, and Forster's Travels.
t FOl'8ter's Travels.
39
41
42.
.Akali Phuto. Sillllh born ill 1761 breathed his Jalt in 1823. While
an infant he lost hie father. 80 Akali Narain SinRh, (alao known
u.s Naioa Singh), a. friend of hia father, took charge of him. He
wnll brought up, He ne\'er married but de~oted bis life to the
service of the Pallth and the country. To eiug hymns and to recite
the aongs of Sat Guru 'Was the joy of his lifp.. Though he was a.
mighty oUy of Maharaja. Ranjit Singh and h&d (ought many a
battle on hiB behalf yet he preferred to live iu a Gurdwara thaD to
ata)' at Maharaja.1s court .
[f
43
an ordin .. ry pilgrim.
Where ..s Ile spent
lacs of rupees on mosques
for Muslims and Hllldu
temples, his services to
Amrit.ar were m~ny and
varied. He did .much to
beautify the Temple with
/told work, gilding the
upper half with gilded
~heets and the lower half
)Iaharajn. Hanjit Singh
with inlaid marble mosaics and precious stones. The
pavements were made in beautiful marble. Many
beautiful presents that came to him were offered to
the Shrine.
Once a very rich c..nopy was brought and spre ..d
=II X II.polean aIready 1l8ill~ every means to Jlet at Britaiu was
cnrrespollding with Tippu and W3$ discussiug ill\'asiolls of India.
throu~b. Afghanistan and the British were preparing Coulltrr-movt!8 .
ill India anci Persia. At this juncture came the yOUIl~ Rl\ujit Rill~'l
on the stalle to p1ace very unexpectedly a barrier Oil the Illdu~ ........ .
...... Arured kingdom it WM and to the East India Company it
seemed a most efficient barrier aga.inst illvasioJI from ~he nortk
west. (Sir Getlrire MacMum, Martial Races of Iudia. pp134138.)
tGulshau Rai, The Punjab a~ a Sovereign Sta~, p204.
45
BRITISH PERIOD.
'Vith the advent ,?f the British-rule the old relations between the Panth and the oontrol of the
Gurdwaras were entirely upset. Col. Sir. Henry
Lawerance, the Agent to the Governor-General
appointed Sardar Lehua Singh as the first MLuager
of the Golden Temple, which had been so ,far under
the control of the Panth through local Sangat. But
the appointed Manager was not empow~red to do
anything that the Sikhs desired for their Temple .
Daily allowances and expenses even were to be sane ...
tioned by the Resident, before these were spent. The
following important orders, issued by the Resident,
(Lahore Political Diaries 1~47 -48, Vol. III) will he
read with interest:
" S. Lehna Singh shows to the Darbar my proclamation forbidding Europeans from entering the
holy Temples of Umritsar with their shoe. on, killing
of cows in Umritsar, or interfering In any manner
with the Sikhs of that place."
5-4-1847.
p-88.
It is cleared by another order in the s.."'e book
P"ge 233.
"Major Mainwaring and Captain Knyvett, think
themselves as much aggrieved as tbl' priest~ of -tbe
temple; and the whole thing turns on the oonstruetion to be put OIl the order. whioh .angravad ou a
+6'
'.
H. M. Lawrence
LAHORE,
Hesident.
48
hom~M'e
tP'ublic agi~'9tion against the Rowb,tt Bills was ,at its heigltt
wht'll the administration of Amritsar was J:iven to' the military.
\Uldt'r the command of General Uyer Oil tbe 10th April, 1919.
On t;he 13th April Gl!lleral Dyer issued a proclamlitiQII :
"No proceaaion of any kind 'is peI'lmitted to parade the st ..eet~ .
in the city or outside tit. at .ally . time. Any sUih procession or
50
Committee.
51
(IH',o Nar'l'k).
3. God will not enquire of the caste or race of a person.
He will ask of what olle hM done. (Guru Nanak).
1'4. Do uot be proud of the caste, 0 Ignorant fool.
C (Guru ,Amar bllll).
5. When the whole uuiverse has emerged out of the some Lij,(ht,
'\Tho ca.u be gO,?d and who can be bld? CKabir ji).'
5Z'
The next day on October 13, the Deputy Comm1uioner convened a meeting to disouss the new
iurn of events in the Golden Temple. The prie.ts did
not attend it. So a provisional committee of nine
5likh8, all reformers, was formed inoluding the Sarbrab at its head, to manage the Holden Temple. This
committee, l"ter on, handed over the charlie of the
Temple to the new organization-Shiromani Gurd w.ara
Parbandhak Committee-and thus it was brought
under Panthic control.
S. Kharak Singh.
55
'You belong to a race "bolle name stands for the m!l.nly virtue'"
of, courage and loyalty, not only in yOIll' home between your five
rivers, but throoghllut the whole civilized world.'
(H.E. Lord Hardinge. Viceroy of India).
'It was the Sikh soldier~ who bore an honorable part in the
eOlllil:uest and pacification of the East AfricBu COUll tries.'
(Rt. Hon'ble Wiuston Spencer Churchille, M.P.)
'Despite this all the Sikhs, during thi~ Reform movement '~tlder~
weut undeterred and undaunted into disma,. all "'A.r~l,Ltions pf poten~
tial sufferings. Whether they were trampled un9~ the hoofs of
hurses, '\,udgeUed with the buttend8 of gun!!, thrown into the Potter's.
kiln and burnt alive, their flesh minced fired a.t or pyt uuder inhurn:l!l'
jail treatmentthe,.stricUy noo"voilent Sikhs did not raise their litt~
finRera by waf of reaiitante or tetaliatioll,
,56
'.
followed.
Instead of being allowed to manage thElir
shrines, whence they are to get inspiration to ennoble
their souls, they were harassed by tbe Government. *
On November 7, 1921, after the Government bad.
publicly declared so many times that it' had given up
the control of the Golden Temple an,l the Sbiromani
Gurdwara 'Parbandhak Committee had beell incbarge
for.a year, the Government considered it ad vis able to
snatch away the keys of the Golden Temple. The
*~ord Olivier's statement ill HouRe of J..~ord8. 011 Februar,\'
26th, 192throws some Ji!{ht 011 Goverument's jlH~tificatiou ill iI~
repressive policy ror the Gurdwara Heform Movement:
"The Sikhs are a religious denomirmtioll .......................
...... Accoriiin~ to Profes!!or Keit,h. the Sikhs al'e olle of thefiuest
bOUI in bone conformation and in brain cOllformation. of any of the
r:tees that ever appeared 011 t,he earth. I know all Englishman, who
came illto conta.ct with the Sikhs alld who has the Ii:'reatf'At adlIliration and affection for them. They are a people of fine, aneient. Hoble race and they a.re olle of thos~ lUlcient snd lIoble races
which have, if I mlly I\ity so, ,1\ constitutional apprehension of the
Rpiritual life. They are profoundly relillious. Somt- little time
a~o, the Sikhs had a religious rflvival.
They foullo themselves ill
this posit,ion. that the Shrines that had been est,ahliflhed for the
readimc of their Scripture and for the worship of God had in later
times fallell into the hauds of corrupt priests. :1faha~j'lf. whn had
tnkpn possession ~f properties and aunexed Shrine!! arid were abu8irlg their authority fur the purposes of gain iUld dis~ipatioll. The
Sikhreligiouscommullityclamoured for reform. They formed them!.(plves into a puritan reform movement. It is lltlfortll!m.te that
the Sikhs were not pblCed. when t.heir RAformatioll came, as we
wltre. If this thinR had taken place in thiM country, it wouln have
been solved without difficulty. The rehmifJg Prince would have
placed himself at the head of the reform movement. He wouln
ha\;e declared hi"~8elf a defender of the Faith, and himself w:mhl
lIa\:9 confi.l,cated the'disputed properties and would have bestowed
57
Ua~&u
59
,
kitohen. invariably aUaohed to the temples, or
.~me other way beneficial to the Sangat.
ill
"
61
Darwaza :-The
main-gate or
Darshani Darwa.za is through an archway facing
the Akal Takht. There i. always an Akali-Sewadar
standing there as a sentinal with the silver-staff
in hi", hands. He watches the endless stream of
worshipI'l'rs, which pours through the gate day and
night, so that none may take sticks, umbrellas,
wet clothes or unsightly things in the Sacred Shrine .
Maharaja Sher Singh had a purd .... bath room, for
ladie., built in 1841 on the southern side of the gate.
It wa. demolished recently. Guide's Office i8 in the
adjoining rooms of this main-gate.
The marble door-frame of the gate is about 10
feet in height and 8 feet 6 inches in width. The
doors fixed in it have beautiful ivory wo.k carved
on them. To the north-west corner of the gate
otand two golden flag-staves on marble pedestals
with . saffron coloured flags, with Sikh National
emblems, fluttering on them.
Ante-Chamber :-The ante-chamber in which
the gate, opens is 45 feet long and 14 feet broad. The
d"corativll work on the ceiling was done by Raja
Sangat Singh of Jind, while the other gold work by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Both in northern and
southerl. walls ~re stairways leading to .the upper
storey, which h,as Tosh....Khana.
.63
Bridge :-The bridge connects the gate-way
with the Temple proper, 240 feet long and 21 feet
wide, it is built in water with ten arched spans.
There are other 38 small spO-ns to support the larger
ones. On either side of the bridge are fixed ten marble lamp-posts with gold lonterns on them. A fine
marble railing runs throughout the length between
the lamp-posts. Onthe northern side a lamp,post
bears a sun-dial instead of lantern. It-was built by
Sardar Lehna Singh Majithia in 1852. The pavement was laid with coloured marble by, Maharaja
Ranjit Singh in 1865.
On festival days a movable timber partition is
placed in the middle running through the whole,
length of the bridge to divide the stream of pilgrims
into incoming and outgoing passages.
Hari-Ki-Pallri:-Thirteen feet wide p"odakshina
or the procession-path runs rouud the Shrine. To its
east are steps leading to the Holy Tank, called HariKiPauri. Gurn Arjan, after finishing the building,
drew forth and partook of the Amrita or the sacred
water of the Tank from this pl ..ce. The Kar-SewaOeremony in 1923 was "Iso inaugurated here. The
pradakshina is roofed here. The roofs of the Temple
and Hari Ki-Pauri were silver-plated and the walls
marbled in 1820 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and in
1867 by Maharaja Kharak Singh. The roofs we:e
afterwards gold-plated by Sardar Amrik Singh
Ss:udhawalia.
,
6+ .
6S
'
67
69
70
~"The
11
72
Tarlk could b,e 'oleaned ~nd -th... !Work lW"$ : left UI\.
done.
tl
Once again the Sacred 'Tank oleansing oere
mony o~ Kar-Sewa WJlS undertaken by the - Khalsa,
Panth in the' - Summer of 1923. Kar.' SlIrow"r
Oommittee, with Bhagat .la.want Singh a. it.
secretary, was set up. It planned out the whole
thing and carried out the details with faith,zeal and
per.everano.. The Nation ' also responded to the
clarion ciall and lacs of people from ' all corners
of the ' world and all walks of ' ilfe gathered atAmritsar to p~rtake of t his service. A I gratit!
Ol:gl'njsed _P/peession started .e/l.l'ly in the morning
o~ th~ ' 17th Jun~, 1923 ,after religious diwan at
Gu~dwljA'a ,Pipli Sahib, near Khalsa Colleget to
inaugurate . the Kar-Sewa Ceremony of ti\I,e Holy
'l,'ank.. As the advance pa~ty . of the procession
*NeW8 woulrJ come t.hat pilgrims to Hari Mandir were (lU their
Dtel:lf.ed like a
pea~allt. the Vifth-NaulLk. Ouru Arjllu, would go out of Amritsar
harefooted, His wife ~ccompanyililor Him with.:, bnket contuiuillg
bread and vegetables, Both would wait qn the I"pad~ide. where
Uurdwara Pipli Sahib flOW stands, ror (he disciples who caDle along
sin~iug the hymn" of the Guru. The Master would welcome thew.
all th~ Mother, distributed bread aud wnter. without letting people
kf~O'" .... ho ~hfl); ".'ere.. 'f I
way from KI,bul. Qaudhar or other distant pla.ces.
tTwo miles down ~he Great 'l'rul1k Road in the direction tit
L'fure is, the fine Sikh educational institutioll, the Khalsa Coqege.
it IS a.ffiliatej to th~ degree standard of the Punjab,University.
is. a strikiugly handsome and dignified building with many architec
tural feature,. "'ounded in March lfi92.. jt is (,o.w, Que ot:'tlre
vre'm ier illf~titution8 :11 the Province. Attached to it is a.n agri.
{'ultural dai~y.fa~~. One of the grea.t ~mbition8 01 the ~ikh
Commuriity il'3 to couvert the Khalsa College into n Uui,er8it~.
15
7.
Hindus and
Mohammedans, me.n and womell of all ages and
different social positiolls, from prince. to the keep~r
of shoes, f100ked from all sides to share this noble
service. They worked for labour of laVA with'
ecstasy 011 their faces and a thrill in their heart.. It
was .. beautiful sight to see a band of 200 MohammeQans working in mud, after taking food in Guru',
kitchen and reading Nimaz in Guru Ka Ragh with
hundr.eds of Sikh. looking Bnd pouring blessings ,)11
them. ~ll, who came burning with love of service,
were accommodated in Banf/II. and other buildings
close to the Temple.
Thousands of ru}ees wer6 daily spent to run
the Temple of Bread-Guru's Langa,. But thank.
to the philanthropy of people, the mauaging committee had no difficulty in finding the money, which
came unsolicited and the devotees vied with one another in providin~ the rations for the kitchen.
The best spirit of the Khalsa, which the Tenth
Master inc11lcated, preaohed -and lived, wa.s seen
infusing the whole affair an:! for once united all
r"nks of the community in one object, one purpose,
and one method. The whole took up three weeks
. only. The fresh water of the springs was let out,
the canal was opened and the Tank was cnce again
*Bon'fllo il'!
:1.
roond a sacred shrine.,. They are meant for the residence of the
pilgrims.
(
tLord Corzrm sa.ill, "1 have intense dislikeninq- for this 1l1l!~i~htI, tower erected just neltr the beautiful 'remp}p,"
'
.. J. ~im",.
'My wife 311111 feel that. the clock tower's
P4tia:-
76
Amba\a.
, IIi
a,-;
1-7
AKAL TAKHT
In the precinct. of the Temple are the following
other important place. either of worship or of hfstorical record.
Facing the main .hrine, but .eparated from it
by an open compoand, .tands a large building
called Aka! Takht or the Throne of the Immortal.
This important addit,ion was mad. by Guru Har
Gobind in 1609. Since then it has been oustomary
to i ue from thi. Throne such religious, social and
political edict. known a. Hukam-Nam , a. the
Rikh Pa.nth considered necessary and conduoive
to the growth of the Common wealt h,
It was here that Bhai Budha, the hoar-h.aded
Saint, placed before GuruH .. Guru Gobind the SaUj-,
He .alnted it and .aid to Ehai Eudha, "No, give me
t ...o ....ord. to wear inatead". And the bixth Master
donned the double sword .ignifying a oombinatJon
of .piritual and temporal leadership, .ymbolizing a
Dew phase in the development of the Sikh character. This 'l'hrone was used for holding Mogre.
gati"n, and oourt. in the time of the Mast,,~. All
ol....e. of men and ...omen have, from time to time',
78
appro~ched
79.
di.e 'thfi' T!;ron .. of' God with 'the le:hou:r of our o....n
little resources-~ .J want to makp it 'e, symbol of my
Sikh.' servic. and sacrifice and not " monument 1'0
a.king's generosity."
dThi~ building, too, was used to ' -be demolished
hy ' the ,'aggressors along with the Gdlden Temple,
'l'be Ii ..t' storey of the prosent builriing was prepared
in 1774 while the upper four storeys were added' -b y
M .. b&roj .. R .. lljit Singb , General HOlri Si~gb Nlllw,,,Iollated a ' hllge 8U,n for its gol<f work, but - the rlonation was misappropriated and _the work '\"as lefi
undone for the San!J~t to :complete it, .
There i. a well, known as Ak .. l Sar, just ' by th"
Akal T&kht. It W&8 built by Guru lI&r Gobind ill
1612, A vi.itor would do well to gee the T .. kht
contaimng the arms with which the - Warrior-S.int
&nd His disciple. fought freedom's battle. over tW(}
centuries ago, These a're preserved th"re with gre&t
ollre and &re shown daily in the morning and the
evening to the publio;-1; Guru Har Gobind's sword of 'Miri'-symbol
of sooial and politioal emancipation.
tAmolig the general!' of Mahllraja Ralljit Singh, lIone is more
t-elebrated thali Brother Ha.ri Siu'lh, Naiwa, 'in ~hoiD the OLJru ....livell
J.ight of Nam burllt brilliant.,. He hss been described r~celllly h,au English hil:ltoriall as thf'l world's grea,'~!t ge',' eral-head Blill
lIiJouldrs ab:'ve the Napoleau and ~~lIiug.t:oQ.
C/
.
. 'Nalwa. proTed bims~1I oU,e ot t};le mOllt able and P'1'uhu Sikh
Ko,emo", which the Siklu. baye had' {apt.: Wa.dJll); Be \Vh
:'ppo\nted Rnfernor of Kll8hmir in 1830. It. ma.y be rema.rked that
hill beroic deeds i'n the ba.tlles were the caU88100( iriteDle . d~e~d of
the Sardar'8 llH.mc fI() that the Afghan mother. still tetTi'ry Daughty
80'
.l.AL. TAKHT
82
Babe Di Ber :-This is ,.. tre.e iu, tile prad4k.hina just' .near .the steps 'leading do';Wn ' from the
Clock Tower. It is famou~ for it shelt!lred ;ahai
Budh.. from the Beorohing heat of t/le SUIl w/lile
super.visingthe oonstraotio!l 01 the T~nk-,').'emple
the time .df Gurus. It was at this place that the
necessary,implements for the w,ark .were .daily distri,
bllted to aIL
RamgarhiaTowers:-- About j&couple ,of
hungred .feet farther from thi~ tree are seen two
octagoQ,,1 tower. known as 'RamgOorhia Towers'
lifting their head. far into the az.ure sky.
A street leading frnm ,pradak"hina gi~~" Oocce~s
to these, which were originally taller. The Upper
marble domes cr!\cked witlt ehe earthquake .of April,
1905. InsteOod of repairing, 'these be ..ut.if~l domes
were pulled down by the orders of the th,en Deputy
Commissioner of Amritsar. These to,w~r.a~e exceptionally vantage places to gain abird's eye-view of
the city.
.
Dukh Bhanja'ni .Ber:-At ,a few paces dist,l!nce
to these towers stands a famous tree, Du.kh Bhan/aniBeT or Healer of Affiictian, on the side of the 'l'allk.
'l'he pilgrims Hook to this ,site of thA Tank for a
bath hOoving faith in .their hearts that this spot hOos
an efficiency of curing every disease. The following
oory i"related in this concern: bo.;ing the life-time of Guru Ram Das, the
y~)tingest daughter of Dani Chand, a rich m..nof
Patti, .in Law:8re District, had her fat;e like the
youngest daughter of King Lear of the Shakespeare'.
,at
83
of
was
1!6
..
'jll.~.
87
90
1588.
Th seek Masin's blessing. for a son Bbai
Santokha of Peshawar came to Amrits~r, hut the
DivTne Master hlessed His disciple with something
immortal. It was nA.ming this tank after disciple'.
name as Santokhsar.
Gurdwara Lobgarh was, in the time of the
Sixth Guru 1629, the scene of an engngament between the Sikh army and the forces of the Moghal
Emperor. Its fundation was laid by Guru nar Gobind
in 1614.
Gurdwaras Bam Sar and Bibek Sar are
situated near the Chatiwind Gate. Gurdwara
Hamsar was prepl\red in 160203 . It marks j,h. site
where the Fifth Master, compilej Guru Granth Sahib.
Bibeksar wa. rai.ed by Guru aar Gobind in 1621:1.
Thus the Sikh. had to fight so hard and continuously for the retention of these Sacred Places that,
in course of time, there came into existence .. s..ying
Joh ..t ullder every iuch of the Golden Temple there
lie9 tlu!l head of a Sikh. Marked with the blood of
~"rtyr. the Gorden Temple still stands a9 an intitu1;ion Qf a ..ri,liirtl\u imparting the teachings of Truth,
Love and Sacrifioe.
91
0. There is no sep..ration.
,-
15. We haye travelled in many Jands, hut nowhere have we ever seEn such an exquisite gem of ~
tAmpJe as the Oolde!! Temple of Amritsar.
Lee Merizeether St. Loui" U. S. A. and
Jessie (lair Wether.
16. Friendly feelings :for mankind irrespective
of caste and creed I\re appra.via.s;ng. The arrangemoot in thp fre~ kitchen is prai.eworthy, there everyhody i. fed whosoever comes and asks for food.
N. R. LeMBllul'm, Germany.
17. So far the passive resistance is concerned
one could haYe a guiding sta.r in Golden Temple at
Amritsar.
23.
seen ..
on
feStival U(cassions.
B. J. VaHU"ani, England.
26 I was very much delighted with the pioturesque .. lid real god-like view it (the Golden Temple)
presented. The singing inside the Temple was
simply chlj,rming.
Dukhundke, England.
TARN TARAN
rourteen miles to the south of Amrita&t, at>d
on the branoh uil .....yline to Patti and ~B"Ur, an
other noteworthy place i8 the great Sikh Shriqe at
Tarn 'raran.
The "pot ...here the town Bnd the temple were
founded by the Fifth.Ndnsk, Guru Arjan, in IbfO,
OoiDdwal i. another Sikb sbrine of great biltorieal .. impo!'Canee fouflded by. Guru Amar Du 00 the bank of the riYer BeM
. ~lI.lIdabJut twella miles aW&J from Tarn Tw.
101
_,
Crowd. of pilgrims, amounting to one hun(h~d'
thousand, and even more, Hock to this shrine everY
t-month, on the occa.sion of Amava,s fair, to have ba.th
in tbe holy'tank and pay homage to the Guru. Tbe
. fair held in March (Ohet): altd'i tbe other' 'in ~Ull:ust
(Bhadron) ate more illlporte:t1t, being"ili memory 'of
commencement and completion of the tank.
This tank has gainetl 'much f"me 'iletause' or.the
many thonsand's of lepers' W'ho "hilve been 'ci1~ed'by
bathing in the tank, "wbich has'miriculous' ~Iillg
effect on persons' so '.filicted: This mytbicll power
of the 1vater would appear to have be'en pronouiced
by Guru Arjan.'*
.
The management of this te';'ple and ' that df
'l!\mritliar remained in the 'sam~ 'hands till the' recent
Gurd wara Reform Movement: Sci' practically ~very
rule and custom observed at' Ainritsar is pritbii.ecl 'lit
Tarn Taran and even history of the' littt"r 'resembles
that ' of the former:' Since the' enactment Of the
(}urdwara Act the management 'of the temple i.
under the control of a Sikh Committee, ejected every
third year.
Thtre are other places of Sikh hiotorieRI importance in the "icinity 'of the temple and in the
neighbourhood of the' t:own, fdr' wbich o~e is referred
to 'Brief History of Sri Darbar Sahib, 1'..rn.Taran.,'
in Gurmukhi, by the same author.
.;....
'II
. ,\
ERRATA
Page
Line
12
dming
fi
fi
26
Ninth
Sis
Ii
12
occurring
occuring
.~
I1-'
their
}'or
tbere
If
19
oc=uTCcd
occured
Mini.lre!
the
in
conciet
megnatic
viscinity
tb. both
lO
,.
Read
J5
16
Minstrel
17
20
16
~o
25
24
a
of
ccnceit
magnetic
vicinity
be both
24
29
II
30
10
21
32
~O
52
52
33
For
dinning
Nineth
Shahid
In
pea5ants
peasents
dominant
dominent
had
has
same
~ome
54
1~
II.
M.
S6
23
bonds
76
r,
bounds
by
hoar headed
Har Guru
- Gobind
J
he pool
i~ it
73.
78
'.
13
14
85
94
24-
for
hoary- headed
Har Gobind
lhe pool
it is