Harmandir Sahib

Harmandir sahib also known as Golden Temple due to its gold plating, is a Gurudwara situated in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is built around a lake. People from all over the world belonging to different religions come to worship here and take dips in the holy lake surrounding the temple.
I had heard about the Golden Temple and how it is the epitome of positivity and peace. To be honest, this was one place that wasn't on my list to visit. The day I went there is when its meaning changed for me, forever. I believe in spirituality but I couldn't ever connect temples with it. I became enlightened with the meaning of why people visited temples and came back to them so faithfully each time.
When we first travelled there, we had reached late evening after a 9-hour drive from Manali. Knowing my family, we took vacations to rest, not tick off everything on the list and tire ourselves. We still pushed it, not knowing what the force that was pushing us was. We walked towards the temple exploring various dhabas, local ‘jutti' and cloth shops along the way. There was a long queue before entering the main temple but the discipline was commendable. It took us an hour and a half to navigate the queue! I was told that queues are evergreen here but discipline prevails.
The moment we entered the vicinity of the temple, everything mellowed down, our tiredness wearied away, everything felt far more soothing than it seemed it would be. The ultimate ‘wow' factor was when we reached the entrance of the temple. It was so enchanting, so incredibly beautiful that I can't possibly do justice through my words.
Men and women both need to cover their heads with either dupatta or an orange cloth that's sold just before the temple. Everyone dips their legs into holy water, cleanses them and then enters the temple. There are rituals in every religion, every faith. These rituals I thought were not too extravagant and their simplicity reflected that the focus was on God, devotion, and peace, not on capitalist offerings, and a list of ‘qualifications' to enter the space.
When I was in that space, I forgot about the bad times, the negativity and other stresses in life. Something about that place was liberating, freeing me of all these material ‘misconceptions'. It was very crowded and we didn't stay there for too long, but as they say,' – " में मत्था टेकने आया था". The place had peace so strongly embedded in it, felt in every block and around every corner, that even a few moments there were unfathomably fulfilling.
Life is multifaceted. Sometimes it is crazy busy, sometimes unbelievably dull; sometimes purposeful, sometimes just plain, drab days. But everyone has these unexpected, magical, peaceful moments at different times and places, and it is essential that we capture them, relive them, and keep looking for more. After all, isn't life more about peace and wisdom and fulfilment than so many other things we have made it to become?
I Would like to end by a quote written in Guru Granth Saheb –
" अपने गम दी नुमाइश न कर,
 अपने नसीब दी आज़माइश न कर ।
जो तेरा है तेरे कॉल खुद आएगा,
हर रोज़ ोोो णु पाने दी ख्वाइश न कर । "

It says how we shouldn’t embrace sadness or grudges and that we’ll eventually get what we work for. We shouldn’t have desperation for something, instead should focus on working hard to achieve our goal.

- Mr. Bing
  ScotchHeads

-