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"I have seen many places, but none like thee" This quote is from Guru Arjan Dev Ji, as he
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looked at the Golden Temple. These words captures in many ways the mood and ambience at the
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Harmandir Sahib, which is the temples real name. Few places combine amazing surroundings
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with a calm and peaceful atmosphere better than the Golden Temple.
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If you look around you, you will see that the area holds more than just the Golden Temple.
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The Darbar Sahib temple complex, which the place is often called, consists of many Sikh
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shrines, temples and other holy places. Three holy trees can also be found inside the temple
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area, each one associated with a historical event or a Sikh saint. In the middle of the
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temple are stands the Golden Temple, surrounded by a large man-made lake. The lakes name is
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Amritsar, meaning "Lake of the immortal nectar". As the name of the lake is the same as the
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city surrounding it, one might think that the city gave the lake its name. The reality
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is the other way around. In 1573 the construction of the lake started
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under supervision of the fourth guru of Sikhism; Guru Ram Das Ji. The lake stood complete four
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years later, in 1577. During this time, a city began to grow around the lake. The name
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of the city was originally "Ramdaspur", after the guru, but was later changed. As the city
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became associated with the construction of the lake, the city simply took the same name
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as the lake itself. Therefore, both the city and the lake carry the name Amritsar.
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The construction of the Golden Temple itself started in 1588 under the leadership of the
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fifth guru; Guru Arjan Dev Ji. The story says that a close friend of the guru was asked
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to lay the foundation stone of the building. After the stone had been laid, a mason straightened
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the stone which, to which the guru said "..as you have just undone the work of such a holy
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man, who knows what disaster might come." This story has been used as an explanation
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to why the temple as been attacked so many times by Afghans, Mughals and even the Indian
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army. The majority of these attacks happened during
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mid 18th century, when the temple was attacked multiply times by Afgahn raiders. The raiders
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caused severe damage to the temple complex, which resulted in a restoration of the temple
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in 1764. Another major assault on the temple was in 1984 when the Indian army attacked
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during the so called "Operation Bluestar". The Indian army had order to move in to the
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temple area and remove Sikh militants who was believe to amass weapons inside the area.
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The operation ended in bloody gunfights between the militants and the army, resulting in large
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casualties on both sides. The attack on the Sikh holy shrine, and they way it was carried
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out, was and still is highly controversial. Only months after the attack, the Indian Prime
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Minister of the time, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The army attack
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on the temple lead to extensive restoration work on the temple area.
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Ever since its completion in 1604, Harmandir Sahib is seen as one of the most, if not the
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most important temple of Sikhism. It has become somewhat of a pilgrimage center as all Sikhs
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try to visit the temple at least once during their life. One of the main reasons for this
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is that the holy script of the Sikhs, the Adi Sri Guru Granth Sahib, is kept inside
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the temple. This holy script consists of 1430 parts, written in period of Sikh gurus between
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1469 and 1709. During the day, the script is read non-stop inside the temple and describes
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what God is like and what the right way to live is. Each side of the Golden Temple has
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an entrance, signifying the importance of acceptance and openness and to show that the
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temple is open to all -- regardless of religion, race or sex. This is what the Golden Temple
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stands for today: a place where all people are welcome.