City of Gold

Another hypnotically rocking 7 hour train took me from Haridwar in the lap of the Himalayas west to the Golden Temple city of Amritsar. Arriving around midnight, I went straight to the Golden Temple to see that yes, in fact this is a place of intense worship around the clock. The Temple is only about 500 years old, but the ancient scripts that are read by Sikh masters inside small rooms within the temple 24/7 are... beyond time. After getting situated in yet one more rather sketchy hotel room (this one had a very mysterious pipe entering the room, from???), I fell asleep to the still rocking of the train and could hear the chanting from the temple in between the ceaseless buzz of rickshaws, horns, and my strange hotel plumbing.
The next day a rickshaw driver found me and before I knew it he and I set off for a city tour of things I must see. Like most rickshaw riders the guy was only wearing slippers and could ride a dilapidated bike like nobodies business. Adding to the now very long list of almost terrifying road experiences, the day was filled with white knuckled, eyes closed moments of knowing that soon this will be over. Many temples, many blessings, and a ton of relief to end the day in one piece.
The Sikh tradition is one of equality and complete welcoming of all faiths, races, and even castes.
Besides chanting around the clock, they are also feeding and housing all visitors around the clock. More curious than hungry I went to explore the communal dining hall. On the way to the dining hall walking through hundreds of Sikhs sitting on the ground (both men and women) chopping vegetables, making chapatti, and washing countless plates. Just walking into the hall my eyes teared up from the thousands on onions being peeled. The food was tasty no doubt, but my digestive system is pretty much on strike from one more plate of masala vegetables and dahl, so I ate up the tasty dessert (mushy rice prasad) and kept passing my chapatti's to the very hungry local next to me.
Before entering the temple there are foot baths that you wade through, and for many you also ingest this water as I saw quite a few peeps swoop down and ceremoniously scoop up a handful of the sacred foot bath water. Mmmm, how refreshing!
Hanging out here at this temple for several hours one night to witness the constant worship, bathing in the waters, kneeling to prayer, I wondered how much we create what is sacred. 500 years ago, this place was absent of such holiness, and then from one rich man's vision, poof, something sacred is built. It was indeed something to behold, and it's fascinating to watch how much sanctity people can immerse themselves in without hesitation. The ritual bathe in the fish tank smelling water is supposed to rid you of Oh so much Karma. I dipped my fingertips in.