Travel, 3 August (continued)

We arrived in Amritsar after a long day of travel, negotiating the tight streets of the old city and arriving at our destination of Guru Nanak Dev University. It was here that Dr. Balwant Singh Dhillon hosted us for a three-night guesthouse stay.

After settling in, we set off for the Darbar Sahib (the center of Sikh sacred geography).

Another pleasant surprise awaited us as we met the (then) Jathedar of the Akal Takht (Sikh political seat of authority). Siri Singh Sahib Joginder Singh Vedanti is the top figure in charge of religio-political issues in the Sikh community. For those of you who follow news from Punjab, Vedanti was ousted from office the next night, some 27 hours after our meeting.

Back to our night… Under the lead of the Jathedar, our group was ushered into the Harimandir Sahib (named the Golden Temple by the British). As we walked around, the usual ban on taking pictures and video was lifted.

Of course that was soon problematic after our G-Mann snapped one too many with a flash. We then had dinner at the langar, along with hundreds of other pilgrims.

Our wonderful evening concluded with a walk around the sarovar (tank for bathing) and a brief repose by its side.

This seems as good time as any to briefly expound upon the institution of the gurdwara.

In addition to being a place of worship for Sikhs, gurdwaras serve a social function in the community. There are three markers wherever a gurdwara is present: the Guru Granth Sahib, langar (community kitchen; usually a larger meeting hall than for worship), and the Nishan Sahib (saffron flag with the Sikh insignia).

The insignia is comprised of three symbols and represents the community’s obligation to feed the hungry and fight for the establishment of a just regime. These symbols are: degh (cauldron, represented by a circle), tegh (sword), fateh (victory, represented by two curved swords: miri-piri, temporal-spiritual).