The facade of the Gurdwara Dera Sahib

They are not allowed inside. I did not find out the year or even the century of the building. According to the guide, the temple is "old, very old."

We pass a little further and see the old gate of the Lahore Fort. In former times, the inhabitants of the city entered the fortress through them. Now they are not used, the gates are closed.

In the middle of the 19th century, a whole quarter arose nearby, where the Sikhs preferred to settle. In the present, only a few houses remain, in the womb of one of which a passage was arranged.

You can now travel to Pakistan from British Columbia to attend the richest festivity of Guru Nanak Gurpurab in support of Sikh Tourism To, Pakistan. Happy Gurpurab, folks! 

We rise and find ourselves face to face with another Sikh temple. It is called the samadhi of Ranjit Singh. The dome, decorated with Moorish turrets and a balustrade, speaks volumes about the religious purpose of the building.

And here, after all these wars and the division of India, the question involuntarily arises, who are the Sikhs? The answer is simple - genetically these are the same Punjabis because, for Sikhs, Hindus, and Punjabi Muslims, the mother tongue is Punjabi.

As I did not try to find the differences, but Sikh architecture from Indian in my understanding is not much different. More precisely, it is just a mixture of Islamic flavor with South Asia.

Sikh temples are open to people of all faiths, but you are allowed to enter them only with your head covered. In this case, you need not just take off your shoes - you need to go through the water, thus cleaning your feet from dirt and the soul from sinful thoughts.

The main element of the temple is the tomb. It is located in the center, which makes one involuntarily think that everything is vain, everything is secondary on the sides.

There is a bed under her marble tent. An ordinary visitor is not visible, because the bed is covered with oilcloth, but theoretically, the sacred book of Adi Granth should lie on it.

In front of the tomb on the so-called altar, two sabers are connected by handles, above them are many crossed circles - this is a Khanda, a particularly revered sign of Sikhism.

Sikhs do not bury their dead in graves. In this case, Ranjit Singh's body was cremated, and the tomb contains a pot of his ashes.

The ruler Ranjit Singh died in 1839. His eldest son Kharak Singh began to build this whole complex, exactly on the place where his father was cremated. The construction of the temple was completed in 1848 by the youngest son Duleep Singh. According to English-speaking sources, during the cremation of the ruler, 4 wives, 7 concubines, and even pigeons were burned.

The early gurus taught that no ceremonies were needed in the worship of God. However, further, when the last tenth guru passed away, Sikhism began to acquire rituals and rituals. As far as I understand, Sikh religious ceremonies take place with musical accompaniment. There were several microphones on the side of the altar, while next to it, musical instruments were carefully covered with a blanket, which would be enough for an entire ensemble.

The caretaker maintains order in the temple. And again, maybe I didn't understand something, but through the guide, he told me that their guru would definitely return to this world and visit Lahore first of all?

Then it turns out that Sikhs, like Christians, are waiting for the second coming of their teacher? But which of the ten? Or will one come, who has united all 10 gurus?

And now a few words about Sikhism itself:

Each Sikh undergoes a ritual consecration bath (Amrit). Sikhism can be accepted by any people regardless of nationality, gender and origin. But, what is very important, this religious movement is not engaged in preaching work!

Each Sikh is required to carry five items (the rule of five "K"):

Kangha is a comb that supports the hair.

I think everything is clear here. Sikhs' hair is long, from time to time the wound bun moves to the side - and therefore you need to watch yourself.

Kara (Kara) - steel bracelet. It is usually worn on the right hand.

Kaccha - short pants used as underwear. Sikhs do not recognize thongs or swimming trunks.

Kesh (Kes) - untouched hair, hidden under the obligatory turban. In Sikh families, children do not have their hair cut from birth. In this case, the color of the turban being worn is of particular importance.

Sikhs in blue turbans are considered the most belligerent.

The bright yellow color symbolizes spring and is appropriate during the holiday. It was in such a turban that the abbot of the temple came out before us. He said that now it is spring, and recently there was a holiday.

Turban red including burgundy, dark green, and purple is suitable in many everyday and formal situations. Ordinary people often walk in such a turban.

Kirpan (Kirpan) - a sword or dagger hidden under clothing. Here it is interesting!

The days when people freely walked the streets with swords or daggers are long gone. When the authorities began to censure for the open carrying of edged weapons, the Sikhs began to hide them in clothes. The most secret place among the Sikhs is the head, for no one has the right to remove his turban from a Sikh man.

The Sikhs began to hide small daggers in their long hair. It's just that a Sikh man will never take off his turban in public, but if he unwinds and pulls out a knife, it means it was worth it….

At the present, there are 22 million adherents of this faith in the world.