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Golden Temple
Golden Temple or Darbar Sahib informally referred to as The Golden Temple or Temple of God, is culturally the most significant place of worship of the Sikhs and one of the oldest Sikh gurdwaras. It is located in the city of Amritsar, which was established by Guru Ram Das Ji, the fourth guru of the Sikhs, and is, also due to the shrine, known as Guru Di Nagri meaning city of the Guru.
The Darbar Sahib is considered holy and beautiful by Sikhs because the eternal Guru of Sikhism, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, is present inside in it. It is moved to the Sri Akal Takhat Sahib at around 10 PM and then moved back from there to Sri Darbar Sahib at 5 AM. Its construction was mainly intended as a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life and all religions to come and worship God equally. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the holiest literature in the Sikh religion, the tenth Guru of Sikhs, Sri Guru Gobind Singh on 7 October 1708 made it the eternal Sikh Guru and the leader of Sikhism. Anywhere in the world where the Guru Granth Sahib is present is equally holy and precious to Sikhs. Darbar Sahib was built with four doors to show that every religion or faith is allowed to go in to meditate or just listen to the prayers for peace.
Its name literally means House of God. The fourth Guru of Sikhism, Guru Ram Das, excavated a tank in 1577 which subsequently became known as Amritsar (meaning: Pool of the Nectar of Immortality), giving its name to the city that grew around it. In due course, a splendid Sikh edifice, Darbar Sahib (Temple of God), was constructed in the middle of this tank which became the supreme centre of Sikhism. Its sanctum came to house the Adi Granth comprising compositions, Sikh values, philosophies and teachings of the Sikh Gurus and other saints of Guru Nanak's time, e.g. Ravidas a Hindu Guru, Baba Farid a Sufi Sant (Saint) and Kabir, all of whom the Sikhs refer to as the Bhagats.
The compilation of the Adi Granth was started by the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev.
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