World'S Biggets Free Eatery-- Langar At Golden Temple

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http://www.theage.com.au/world/holy-service-an-allconsuming-golden-passion-20110121-1a01g.html

Holy service an all-consuming, golden passion

Matt Wade, New Delhi

January 22, 2011 India: Visiting Amritsar's Golden Temle

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the Golden Temple at Amritsar, India, is the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion, and during the daily meal time an estimated 80,000 people receive free food

JITENDRA Singh cooks lentils in a pot the size of a plunge pool. His soupy concoctions help feed tens of thousands of people each day at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion.

The glimmering temple is one of India's best-known religious monuments, but its kitchen is also something to behold.

''This is the biggest free eatery in the world,'' Jitendra says as he stokes the fire beneath his bubbling pot that holds 500 kilograms of grain and takes 11 men to lift.

Advertisement: Story continues below Amritsar's Golden Temple. Photo: Jason South

It's hard to dispute his claim. On weekdays the Golden Temple's canteen, called the langar, provides meals for about 80,000 people. On weekends and festival days, twice that number may turn up.

What makes the langar even more remarkable is that the food is prepared and distributed mostly by unpaid helpers.

''More than 1000 volunteers usually come,'' kitchen manager Raghbir Singh says. ''We encourage everyone to do social service here and anyone can join in. Many of those who help have prestigious jobs, like bank managers.''

Amritsar is home to the world's "biggest free eatery". Photo: Jason South

Not far from where Jitendra tends his mammoth cooking vessel, bearded men in saffron turbans lug sacks of wheat to supply a team of women rolling chapattis, the flat bread favoured in north India. Near them, 100 people wash up in long sinks amid the crash of steel plates. A huge drying rack stores 40,000 plates, bowls and spoons.

Meals are served to about 700 people at a time in two dining rooms. There's no furniture - visitors sit on the floor and are served a vegetarian meal of lentils, rice, vegetables, chapatti bread and a milky sweet. Spicy tea called chai is also on offer.

At the end of each sitting, cleaning teams move in to sweep and swab the smooth concrete floors.

Around 80,000 people are served daily. Photo: Jason South

''Nobody will go hungry here,'' says Raghbir Singh. ''Anyone can come and find a meal 24 hours a day.''

It's been that way since the 16th century, when the Golden Temple's free kitchen was founded by the great Sikh guru Amar Das. The Golden Temple is a spiritual sanctuary in the heart of Amritsar, a bustling city close to the Pakistan border in India's northern Punjab province. Locals call the radiant shrine the Harmandir Sahib - the abode of God. Its dome is said to be gilded with 750 kilograms of pure gold. Many visitors prostrate themselves in front of the temple and bathe in its tranquil pool.

Religious leaders inside the temple keep up a continuous chant from the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. Their melodious recitations are amplified around the temple complex, adding to the sacred atmosphere in the vast concourse.

Dish racks are on a grand scale. Photo: Jason South

The Sikh religion, which emerged in the Punjab region about 500 years ago, rejects the social hierarchies of caste, a key precept of Hinduism.

The principle of equality is enshrined in the langar, where everyone eats together sitting on the floor, regardless of social status. The army of volunteers is testament to another key tenet of the Sikh faith: service.

''Without selfless service our bodies will become like hell,'' says Dalbir Singh, the temple's information officer. ''There can be no worship without good actions.''

Volunteers from all walks of life help prepare food and clean up. Some arrive at 4am and don't leave until late in the evening.

''Sikh scriptures tell us that a person will enjoy the fruits of life when doing service,'' says retired military man Gurchand Singh, as he chops ginger into a steel pot. He and several friends work at the langur five or six times a week.

Mukhwinder, 30, sits with a team of vegetable cutters surrounded by garlic skins. ''I used to come with my mother, so I have lived this service since childhood,'' she says. ''But I am still very content doing it.''

http://www.theage.com.au/world/holy-service-an-allconsuming-golden-passion-20110121-1a01g.html

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Bhuinderjit Singh, a commercial pilot, cuts onions beside a man wearing a pair of industrial goggles to stop the pungent odour affecting his eyes. ''I experience God doing this,'' he says.

In the past there has been deep tension between India's Sikhs and the majority Hindu community, but people from all religions are welcome to eat, and serve, at the langar.

Sanjkta, a Hindu from the distant province of West Bengal, sat peeling garlic with a group of local women. ''Yesterday I came here to eat with my family but today I have come to offer service,'' she said.

Many pilgrims visiting the Golden Temple - Sikh and Hindu alike - consider a meal at the langar a spiritual blessing.

Sonu Pandey, a Hindu from the neighbouring state of Haryana, emerges beaming from the dining hall.

''This is a very special meal,'' she says. ''It's is not just food, it is something offered to God.''

Baramki, who visited the temple with a busload of 50 Hindu pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh state, described eating at the langar as ''prasad'' - a Hindu religious term meaning something edible offered to God.

Like the labour, much of the food used at the langar is donated. Volunteers also help keep the temple complex clean. Twice a day, the wide marble walkway around the perimeter is scrubbed by scores of unpaid workers who scoop buckets of water from its famous pool then sweep, swab and mop.

All visitors must remove their shoes, so volunteers run a footwear-minding service at each entrance. This provides another opportunity for voluntary service - after 6pm, leather shoes left by temple visitors are polished free.

[Akaal Purakh Di Fauj]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

Dhan Dhan Dhan Dhan Dhan Satguru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh