The Golden Temple and World Heritage

Origin of the Golden Temple

The Golden Temple India also known as the Harmandir Sahib is located in the city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab in India. This site is the most holiest place in the spirituality of Sikhism; it is considered as the headquarter of the Sikhs. This is one among the many faith we have in the world where individuals find spiritual fulfillment, the faith has its origin in India as the name suggests.

In Sikhism, the Golden Temple is regarded as a presentation of human brotherhood and equality. For those in the faith of Sikhism, everyone irrespective of their walks of life, gender, race, creed, cast can seek for religious fulfillment without any obstacle. It is meant to be a place where everyone can attain their spiritual fulfillment and satisfaction.

On the site of The Golden Temple, there is a man-made pool known as Amrit Sarovar, which is an important part of the temple and part of the Sikhism religious rites. The pool was built by several leaders at different stages of the pool starting in 1577, together with other facilities necessary to the temple, the completion was registered in 1604. However, in other literature it is the Guru Ramdas Sahib, the 4th of 10 Sikh gurus who is given all credits of the construction. A respectable religious leader Sikh Baba Budha Ji was appointed as the first highly esteemed head priest.

Culture and Spiritual Significance

A culture represents people’s values and ways of life; the site is an essential place for the people in the state of Punjab, India and the whole human race. Its importance can be witnessed by UNESCO recognizing the site as a World heritage place just as at Notre Dame de Paris because other human beings can learn from the culture brotherhood and equality and thus making the world a more better place to live in.

Moreover, at the temple there are several cultural symbolic features such as the pool and the kitchen. The holy pool is the place for bathing the faithful and all who wish to enter the temple. The temple is open to visitors, however, all visitors should be barefoot and pass through a foot-washing pool before entering the temple.

The community kitchen is yet another cultural activity that prepares vegetarian meals to all visitors with no discrimination. The Golden Temple is the capital of the Sikhs, and thus this kitchen is the largest in the faith serving meals to up to 100,000 people in a day.

Pilgrims and tourists attraction

The site has very welcoming atmosphere, people of all faiths, gender, castes are welcome. The site attracts up to about 33 million visitors each year which is an approximation of about 75,000 to 90,000 pilgrims and tourists per day. The visitors are attracted by a number of features such as the holy pool, the temple’s dome plated with gold, community kitchen and others.

The holy pool as explained before receives all visitors in style; the visitors have to be barefooted when entering the pool for cleansing. The community kitchen attracts visitors by its culture of serving vegetarian meals for free to all who visit the temple and wish to partake of the meal. The temple’s dome is another attractive feature to tourists, it is plated with gold weighting more than 100 kilograms of pure gold

Services to pilgrims and tourists

The site is well prepared for accommodating tourists and pilgrims with different services that are available. The site has uniqueness as some on the services it provides to visitors as they are provided for free. The available services include information office Golden Temple, free bus facility, wheel chairs, free shoe stores, free kitchen, washrooms, free dispensaries, railway-booking, ATM and postal facilities are present.

The information office at the Golden Temple offers all information about the temple for free of charge to all tourists and pilgrims. The temple provides free vegetarian food to all pilgrims and any person who visits the site. Moreover, the site provides free bus services to the airport, railway stations and to the bus stand.

Furthermore, there is free shoe storage for pilgrims and all visitors who enter the temple. Additionally, wheelchairs are provided for free to elders and those who are physically impaired. On medical facilities the temple has two free dispensaries for the pilgrims and visitors. Moreover, for individuals who would like to volunteer in the kitchen there is an opportunity for them to do so.

Economic benefits to the local population

The Golden Temple India attracts millions of pilgrims and tourists to India. The visitors contribute to the country’s travel and tourism industries and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Temple creates employment opportunities through the different services it offers to the pilgrims and tourists.

The Temple acts as an economic stimulus of the local economy through hospitality, retail businesses, transportation, craftsmen, souvenirs makers, and a number of other small activities which are of importance to the travel and tourism industries. In this regard, we see that the temple contributes to the growth of the small and medium enterprises and businesses.

Conclusion on the Golden Temple India

To conclude on this subject, we must acknowledge that faiths are necessary components of culture that give meaning to people’s lives. The Golden Temple India as we have seen in the above pages is a site of its own kind and which has great importance to the faithful but also to the country’s important sectors.

The temple has impact to a number of sectors such as the economy where it stimulates the country’s economy. It also touches the travel and tourism industries whereby pilgrims and tourists from around the world visit the temple and thus contributing to the country’s GDP through the visitors revenues. Moreover, for visitors, we have learnt that the level of hospitality at the Golden Temple India is really high and so if you wish to visit then you should seriously consider the site for your next tour.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Golden Temple is an interesting site that pulls huge numbers of pilgrims and tourists to visit the site. The visitors are attracted by the wonders and the Golden Temple give to both admirers and critiques. The subject brings together many readers who are interested in knowing better about this site. Here are some of the questions that readers have online through the search engines:

1. Where can one get the Golden Temple photos?
2. Can the authority reveal the names of those who built Golden Temple?
3. What is the history of Golden Temple India?
4. Where is Golden Temple in which state?
5. Should I know about this before my visit: Is Golden Temple made of gold?
6. Golden Temple Amritsar?
7. Is the history of Golden Temple in Punjabi PDF a true narration?
8. 10 lines on Golden Temple in English?
9. Does this faith of Sikhism have faithful in Africa?
10. Are there female leaders in the faith of Sikhism?