An Exquisite Enlightenment At The Golden Temple

By Arvind Chhipa

Diwali 2021, When I went to the golden temple, there were many things which made me feel different emotions about Sikhism. I was mesmerised yet surprised when I saw how they were managing everything so perfectly in spite of the presence of an immense population. The word "SEVA" is something from which we can learn a lot of things in life. Serving others in different ways without having any kind of expectation from the one you serve is something very special. There were many people doing various tasks to keep all of the processes running smoothly; from taking care of the visitor's footwear to the baggage cabin, maintaining the decorum of the holy place, maintaining the rows of people waiting to enter the golden temple, and then the langar, where hundreds of thousands of people eat food every day, to washing the dishes. It was extremely beautiful to see the beauty in everything happening there. You might say it's all normal, nothing special in all this, but it's not that. Rather, it is something very deep to understand and feel. I felt very emotional seeing all this.

The gurbani, which was playing in the gurdwara, was so beautiful and relaxing. It had a different power of calming one's emotions and making them feel at peace. I often think it would have been great if my home was near the golden temple. I could listen to the gurbani the whole day. I want to learn Punjabi so that I can understand the gurbani because if I can feel immense calmness without understanding it, then it would be great when I am able to understand it. Everything in this religion had a special meaning to understand all the processes better. They serve from the depths of their hearts. When I saw people serving and chanting WAHEGURU whenever they said something, especially in Langar, it was magical and very powerful. It's all about how we think and see things. For someone, all this can be as normal as breathing, but for me, all this is a lot more than that. It's magical and it shows the power of a human being's beliefs.

SATNAM WAHEGURU, "Truth is God." This is the main reason for my special love and affection for this religion. Truth and good deeds are my Dharma. Because since my childhood, I have always believed in honesty and being true to one's own self. What a great person one can become when they believe in the right things. Their true belief in Waheguru and his teachings is what gives them the strength to serve others, which is not at all an easy thing to do. In fact, it is one of the hardest things to do in today's world. But when in life you reach a level where it becomes normal, important, and essential for you to help others, that is when you can represent humanity.

They don't really have a god. What they have are the holy books and gurus, which explain humanity and how one should live. It wouldn't be wrong to refer to Sikhism as more of a belief than a religion. As a gesture of equality, no other religion in the world provides free food to all, regardless of caste or religion, as Sikhism does in Gurudwaras. This is the most beautiful part of this religion. One can learn a lot from Sikhism. For example, if you serve others, it makes you beautiful.

In the future, I am keen to read and learn a lot more about this religion and study its history. Because I want to make myself a better human being than I am today, and the knowledge of the right things is what can actually do it. I wish to serve people to better their lives. whether they be friends, family, or someone I don't know. It doesn't matter at all. I am really happy to visit holy places like the Golden Temple. It taught me a lot of things.

By Arvind Chhipa