May 29 1972: Amritsar and the Golden Temple: Miriam and Mangos

 Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716

 

The following morning, Al decided to visit the Golden Temple. It was already very hot, approaching a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Keith was not feeling so well so decided to stay in the room and sleep.

As Al approached one of the Temple entrances, he spotted Miriam. They greeted each other with a quick and discreet hug and walked together towards the entrance. It was free to go inside.

They had to take their sandals off and wash their feet in a small pool of water.. Then they had to cover their heads – scarves were provided for free: there had been street hawkers outside trying to sell scarves but Al did not buy – at that stage he did not know that he had to wear a head covering.

Al took me off his head and put me into his shoulder bag. By this time I had built up such a level of telepathic contact with Al that I was still able to see what he saw:

Inside the complex, Al saw an incredible marble and golden building set out in the middle of an artificial lake joined by a walkway to the surrounding wide marble pavement and beyond that, white buildings. There were individual and small groups of Sikhs walking around the complex.

 

The upper part of this ornate rectangular marble structure was covered in gold.

As soon as Al's feet touched the marble pavement he regretted it. Now about 100 degrees, the marble was almost unbearably hot. There was little shade, little relief. He headed for the water in the lake, sat on the edge and put his feet into the cooling water – Miriam did the same.

Within minutes they were approached by a Sikh wearing a bright orange djellabah’s over white trousers and an orange turban.

“Mister and Madam, I am sorry, but please take feet out of holy water.”

Al and Miriam immediately removed their feet from the water, the Sikh said thank you and walked off.

Al said “I thought people bathed in this, I thought it was supposed to purify, like the Ganges.”

“Maybe we should just jump in and immerse ourselves,” said Miriam.

“Could do,” laughed Al, “It's so bloody hot my feet are burning. Oops I forgot, not supposed to swear either!”

The two of them stayed for a couple of hours, just chatting quietly and feeling the good feeling. They went back to their separate rooms.

That evening, Al decided to go to find the room where the food was provided, Keith saying that he would join him later.

The large dining room was packed with hundreds of people. Miriam was in the massive hall and sat with a bearded young man. As Al approached, Miriam motioned to him to go and sit with them. She had kept two places for him and Keith. Everyone was sitting on cushions on the floor with cloths laid out in front. Some people were already eating.

Al said hello. He learned that the man, called Sher, was in fact a Sikh who was living as a student in Germany but his home was in India, in Amritsar. Sher told Al that although here he wore a turban over his long hair, when in Germany he took off the turban and let his hair lose like Al's, saying that he seemed to get better treatment there as a hippy rather than a Sikh.

It wasn't long before food arrived. That evening they ate dahl, rice, chapatti and yoghurt with sweet Indian sweets and cool water. All lovely vegetarian food. 

 

Miriam said “I've got us a lift to Delhi if you want to come.”

“Yes, I'm into that,” said Al.

“Sher's father is a mango merchant and tomorrow he will take us to taste his mangoes and then take us to a man that will get us a lift on a truck through the night.”

“That's far out,” said Al. “I wonder how long that will take, it's about two hundred and fifty miles, I think. Keith's going to try to sneak on a train without paying but I don't fancy that. I was wondering about hitching a lift.”

Miriam told Al that after she had left Herat, she went direct to Kabul and stayed there two weeks. She must have been there for a least some of the days that Al and Keith had been. She said she had been to Chicken Street and Sigis and had even played her guitar and sang there. But she had stayed on the outskirts. Then she had met up with some Canadian friends who had been driving overland from Europe in a Land Rover. Miriam had travelled with them across the Khyber Pass and down to Lahore. They were staying in a city close to Lahore, and when the border was open and they completed the formalities and repairs to their vehicle, they would drive through to Delhi and then up to Kathmandu in Nepal. Miriam was to meet them in Delhi and go with them to Nepal.

Al and Miriam left Sher having agreed that his father would meet them in that same place the next afternoon; they strolled around the streets for an hour or so, chatting. Al told Miriam the story of getting the boiled eggs in Kabul and she laughed for a long time.

 

May 28 1972: Arriving in Amritsar with Keith, Miriam and Hellmut

Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716

It was May 28 1972.

At the temple, they were met by a friendly Sikh in a turban, who showed them to the shared room, “Boys and girls separate,” he said. “You must smoke only outside the rooms. You are very welcome here and please come to big dining room for food, it is given by us to travellers. Maybe tomorrow if you want, go to see Temple?”

 

Inside the room were four beds. It did not look like any were being used.

Keith read from his guide book:

“Amritsar is a city in north-western part in India. It is the spiritual centre for the Sikh religion and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab.

“It is home to the Harmandir Sahib commonly known as the Golden Temple, the spiritual and cultural centre for the Sikh religion.

“The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine and culture, and for the tragic incident of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 under British Rule.

“Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India.

“The city lies on the main Grand Trunk Road from Delhi to Amritsar connecting to Lahore in Pakistan.

“For transportation within Amritsar city, rickshaws, motorised rickshaws, taxis and buses are easily available. It is better to hire cycle rickshaw in Amritsar than hiring taxi or motor rickshaw as cycle-rickshaw pullers are comparatively sober and honest. 

 

“The Gurdwara is surrounded by a large lake or holy tank, known as the Sarovar, which consists of Amrit, holy water or immortal nectar and is fed by the Ravi River. 

 

“Inside the Gurdwara complex there are many shrines to past Sikh Gurus, saints and martyrs. “There are three holy trees, each signifying a historical event or Sikh saint. Inside the Gurdwara there are many memorial plaques that commemorate past Sikh historical events, saints, martyrs and includes commemorative inscriptions of all the Sikh soldiers who died fighting in the World Wars.

“In keeping with the rule observed at all Sikh Gurdwaras worldwide, the Harmandir Sahib is open to all persons regardless of their religion, colour, creed, or sex. The only restrictions on the Harmandir Sahib's visitors concern their behaviour when entering and while visiting:

“Maintaining the purity of the sacred space and of one's body while in it.

“Upon entering the premises, removing one's shoes (leaving them off for the duration of one's visit) and washing one's feet in the small pool of water provided;

“Not drinking alcohol, eating meat, or smoking cigarettes or other drugs while in the shrine.

“Dressing appropriately: Wearing a head covering is a sign of respect. The Gurdwara provides head scarves for visitors who have not brought a suitable covering;

“Not wearing shoes.

“The Harimandir Sahib runs one of the largest free kitchens in the world, serving 100,000 people on average daily. The meal consists of flat bread called chapatti and lentil soup called Dahl."

“I reckon we'll check that out tomorrow, man,” said Keith. “We have to work out ways to get to New Delhi. I's nearly three hundred miles – I am thinking about jumping a train.”

“Yes, what does it say about Sikhism?” said Al.

Keith read aloud again:

“Sikhs is a monotheistic,panentheistic religion founded during the fifteenth century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent by Guru Nanak and developed through the teachings of ten successive Sikh Gurus, the eleventh and last Guru being the holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib: a collection of the Sikh Gurus' writings as well as poets of other religions, that was first compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru. It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, with approximately thirty million adherents. Punjab, India, is the only state in the world with a majority Sikh population.

“Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs which means students or disciples.

“The central teaching in Sikhism is the belief in the concept of the oneness of God. Sikhism considers spiritual life and secular life to be intertwined. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru established the system of the Langar or communal kitchen) in order to demonstrate the need to share and have equality between all people. Sikhs also believe that all religious traditions are equally valid and capable of enlightening their followers. In addition to sharing with others Guru Nanak inspired people to earn an honest living without exploitation and also the need for remembrance of the divine name. Guru Nanak described living an active, creative, and practical life of truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity as being higher than a purely contemplative life. Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, established the political/temporal and spiritual realms to be mutually coexistent.

“There is one primary source of scripture for the Sikhs: the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib may be referred to as the The First Volume—and the two terms are often used synonymously.

“Observant Sikhs adhere to long-standing practices and traditions to strengthen and express their faith. The daily recitation from memory of specific passages from the Guru Granth Sahib, especially the Japu, literally chant, hymns is recommended immediately after rising and bathing. Family customs include both reading passages from the scripture and attending the gurdwara, meaning the doorway to God; sometimes transliterated as gurudwara. There are many gurdwaras prominently constructed and maintained across India, as well as in almost every nation where Sikhs reside. Gurdwaras are open to all, regardless of religion, background, caste, or race.

“Meditation is unfruitful without service and action. Sikhs are taught that selfless service and charitable work enables the devotee to kill the ego. Service in Sikhism takes three forms: "Tan"—physical service; Man—mental service such as studying to help others; and Dhan—material service. Guru Nanak stressed that a Sikh should balance work, worship, and charity, and should defend the rights of all human beings. They are encouraged to have an optimistic, resilient, view of life. Sikh teachings also stress the concept of sharing through the distribution of free food at Sikh gurdwaras giving charitable donations, and working for the good of the community and others.

“Sikhism regards Justice and Restorative Justice and divine justice as trumping any subjective codes of moral order. It is one of the duties of the Khalsa to fight oppression of any kind.

“Guru Nanak's teachings are founded not on a final destination of heaven or hell but on a spiritual union with the Akal which results in salvation or Jivanmukta, the liberation of a devotee in the current life before the liberation in the afterlife.

"Guru Gobind Singh makes it clear that human birth is obtained with great fortune, therefore one needs to be able to make the most of this life.

"In Sikhism, karma is modified by the concept of God's grace. Guru Nanak states The body takes birth because of karma, but salvation is attained through grace. To get closer to God: Sikhs avoid the evils of Maya, keep the everlasting truth in mind, practice Shabad Kirtan, meditate on Naam, and serve humanity. Sikhs believe that being in the company of the Satsang or Sadh Sangat is one of the key ways to achieve liberation from the cycles of reincarnation.”