OVERVIEW :

The top of our list when traveling to India was to visit Punjab and witness the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The Golden Temple of Amritsar, or Darbar Sahib or Harmandar Sahib is Sikhism’s Holiest Site But this temple welcomes everyone to enjoy its beauty and spirituality. It doesn’t matter your race, faith or culture. Everyone is welcome. Amritsar is located in Punjab and is 460 km from Delhi. We spent 12 hours on a slow train in general class where locals welcomed us offering food and even their seats to make us more comfortable. We knew this trip was going to be special before we even arrived. Men and Women must cover their heads out of respect before entering the Golden Temple. Long pants and shoulders should also be covered. Like many other holy places around, shoes are not allowed in the temple complex. But this temple has a little twist to walking barefoot. Before entering you walk through a foot bath to ensure your feet are clean. The Golden Temple temple is free to enter. In my humble opinion, I think the Sikh Religion is probably one of the least understood religions on the planet. We learned quite a bit during our time at the Golden Temple. And we’d like to share what we learned about Sikhism there. Founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak’s frustration with the caste system and rituals of other religions, Sikhism was formed to be all-inclusive. Much of the religion is also based on science. Unlike The Pope of Catholicism or The Dalai Lama of Buddhism, a woman can lead the Sikhs if she is elected. Women have complete equality and can even be the head of the religion.