Blissfully @ Golden Temple
As I lazily scrolled down my Facebook, waiting for boarding announcement, I saw the update from Sadguru, “Maha Sivarathri with Millennials”! And I was with 8 other fellow pilgrims, all of them millennials!
I was ‘invited’ by the guru in the hills, that prompted me to travel with the millennials, my son & his friends.
- The first leg of the trip was to Amritsar. We hired cabs, stopped by for a quick lunch of local cuisine at a dhaba, and then proceeded to the Golden Temple. I was personally in a mood to get to Kangra asap. So the plans by some members of the group to visit Wagah border was met with “not possible, considering Wagah timings”, as per taxi agent. That was a welcome relief.
- As we parked the cabs, we met with people who wanted to help us with the headscarf, saffron color with the logo. We got our headscarf, decided to head to the temple quickly. The showers prompted us to avoid walking. We took a 3-wheeler to reach the temple quickly. But we got stuck in a ‘traffic jam’ in the old city’s narrow lanes, as people parked their two-wheelers to escape the rains. The arrival was delayed by 30 odd minutes:) Afterall we can not reach earlier than ordained…
What fascinated us all how people were comfortable with the chaos, none lost temper!!
- As we reached the temple, we found the place to deposit our footwear, and headed to the entrance. At the entrance, there was a drizzle above, and we had to wash our feet at the entrance, by just entering the small pool of water, kept clean by volunteers. So convenient, and so purifying. As I entered the temple, the sanctum in the middle of the water body stood shining in the middle, the dusk adding to the beauty. Harminder Sahib, in the evening, with a slight drizzle (showers always auspicious), was purely magical. Kirtan-Music filled the air. Some pilgrims kept singing the Kirtans, playing on the loudspeaker.
- Slowly my eyes got used to the magnificence around, not just of the structure or the water body, but also by the magic of the evening, including the drizzle. I clicked a few snaps from the edge of the pond. I wanted to enter the pond, as we would do at temples. A stick-wielding volunteer asked politely, firmly, a couple of women to cover their head fully.
- We rushed to join the queue for entry to the Sanctum. The line was moving slowly, but there were not many people. The taxi driver clarified, after the Wagah-ceremony, all military, the visitors would come and crowd the temple. We got our timings right
- As we stood in the queue, the music continued to play, I looked around to absorb the sheer energy and just Be. The devotion of people entering and exiting the temple was so beautiful. No one on phone, or busy taking selfies, they were just in the prayerful mode!
- As the line moved slowly, I prepared to the experience of the energy inside the sanctum.
And when I entered, the sheer the ambiance elevated me. Kirtans to the ears, the beauty of the Granth sahib for the eyes, the purest smell for the nose, theerth for the tongue and the touch of the structure… all my senses were blessed deeply with a beautiful elevated experience. There was magic in the air.
- I took my time to absorb the magnificence of the experience. The volunteers did not push us to move forward or interrupt. we all moved on slowly. I took a corner spot to just fix my gaze on the Granth Sahib, to absorb the energy more, fuller. It was a soul elevating experience.
- As we stepped out, there were two volunteers giving Prasad from an electric ‘vessel’, full of ghee. I extended my right hand, with the left hand touching the elbow of the right hand, as I respectfully accept Prasad at temples. The elderly man, though very busy, showed me quickly to extend both hands, and I readily complied with. He put Prasad on my stretches palms, without any reaction or looking at me, and I moved on.
I learned an important lesson on volunteering.
- We drank more water from different counters, less to quench the physical thirst, more to quench the thirst of the souls.
- We took some group snaps, and stepped out to collect our footwear. We took a quick bio breaks, and headed to the cabs.
- We chose to walk back, rain having stopped. The walk was a different experience, all the shops with similar name boards, and of course, Jallianwala bagh, which evokes a very different set of emotions in us.
- Having lived & worked in Delhi for 3 long years, I had travelled to Punjab, in the late 1990s. Those trips were to recover loan/finance receivables against cars, trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles. But never got a chance to go to Amritsar. As none of my default customers were in that area😃 But had numerous opportunities to experience the Punjabi hospitality, in other part of Punjab.
- As we started moving towards our destination, Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, it started raining again. Deep within it was a great sense of joy and fulfilment — having made the long pending trip to Harminder Sahib.
- It was a good feeling to tick one more item from my bucket list.
This evening, our return to Amritsar airport was delayed by a faulty railway-phatak!! The train passed by, the the phatak refused to go up and stay there. The mechanical issues was sorted out, but we lost precious 30 odd minutes.
We passed lush green fields, over flowing canals, not so overflowing rivers, and of course yellow patches of sarson plants. We did not have luxury of time to stop and click photos. Instead clicked from the running cab. The sarson fields in Gurdaspur reminded me ‘dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge’. The last time when I went around Gurdaspur, Chasing default customers, was in a different frame of mind. Now the fields looked beautiful. As some of the bad memories of 1997–2000 (my Delhi tenure) came to mind, I decided to focus on the present and enjoy the moment.
That is what I do for living now, as a coach, mentor & healer. No more stress of a banker, facing the impact of poor market conditions and some politics at work! (A very different sets of stress though😩)
Grateful at all levels!
As our Indigo flight touch down at Bangalore, I head home with the feeling of gratitude, positivity, and blessings.
(Typed this midair on a google doc, with access without connectivity!)
