The next time you visit Sachkhand Sri Harmander Sahib, also known as Sri Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple in Amritsar, avoid wearing “showy and short clothes,” keep your phone on silent mode, don’t click photographs or shoot video without permission and co-operate with sewadars (attendants) at the holy complex.
These are some of the guidelines issued by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for visitors to the Golden Temple following a spate of unsavoury incidents at the holy complex.
The SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the shrine is visited by people of various faiths, some of whom are unaware of the norms. He said these guidelines have been issued to educate such visitors.
Besides in a video at the SGPC website (
https://sgpc.net/), these guidelines will also be displayed on a giant digital screen at the main entrance of the shrine in Punjabi, Hindi, and English to educate visitors about the dos and don’ts inside the complex.
As per the guidelines, sitting in parkarma (the path) around the holy pool, visitors should sit with their legs folded. Feeding fish is prohibited and visitors should not pollute the water in the holy pool with flowers, paper, etc.
“Enter the Parkarma (circumambulation) by covering your head well with a cloth, for this, handkerchiefs are arranged by management at all main entrances. Avoid wearing showy clothes before proceeding to the holy complex,” the guidelines said.
“Restrict yourself from using mobile phones as this disturbs the peace around. Keep phones on silent mode. Remove your shoes, and socks, and deposit them at shoe racks. Wash your hands and feet, and then go inside. It is forbidden to pluck the leaves and fruits of historical beri (jujube) and imli (tamarind) trees and tamper with the trees in Parkarma,” the guidelines said.
Throw tobacco, cigarette packets outside, they shouldn’t even be inside your pocket
“You are here to seek tranquility, listen to Gurbani Kirtan. Shouting, too much talking, or disturbing serenity of the complex is prohibited,” the SGPC guideline said.
It said tobacco, beedi or cigarettes, alcohol, or any other narcotics or intoxicants are strictly prohibited inside the complex. “Don’t put prohibited items even in the handbag and pockets you are carrying in the complex. Throw these items in the bins outside,” the guidelines said.
Also, photography or videography is strictly prohibited without prior and proper permission from the management.
The SGPC guideline said Sewadars (attendants) deputed at Sri Darbar Sahib complex are trained to explain ‘Maryada’ (rules) and are duty-bound to implement the same, visitors should cooperate with them.
These guidelines follow a spate of controversies at the holy complex. In April, a girl with a Tricolour painted on her cheek was prevented from entering the shrine by an attendant as she was not properly dressed.
Earlier this month, an outstation visitor was allegedly slapped by a Sikh man for carrying tobacco in his pocket. An elderly woman from Bihar was also slapped by two Sikh men for allegedly smoking inside the Golden Temple complex.
This apart, the accused arrested by the Punjab Police for three low-intensity explosions recently near the holy complex, had also stayed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Inn, located inside the Golden Temple complex.
Since the accused, who was accompanied by a woman, allegedly assembled the crude explosive material inside the Inn, the SGPC has enhanced the security in and around the Golden Temple. For the first time, a women’s force has been deputed at all the entry points of the Golden Temple to frisk the female visitors.
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