Panajim Church (GOA)

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The Panjim Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is placed on the hillside and just high above the Idalco Palace built by Adil Shah. Standing on the gallery of the church, you can see the entire view of the lovely Panjim city. It is one of Panjim’s best attractions located in the heart of Panjim city and is the first church of Goa, built in 1541. In this century this area was hilly and residential. Land around was swampy covered by the field of paddy, coconuts groves and watery. It was in 1843 the land was developed by the Viceroy when he took over Panjim; and in the year 1855 the ‘Praca de Flores’ (Square of Flower’s) was built in front of the church. In the year 1619 the church was re-constructed by enlarging it further looking at the population growth.

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The area above the church on hilltop is called Bairro Altos de Pilotos because large beacons used to be lit here to guide ships into the estuary before the light house. On the right side of the church down to the lane little further is Secretariat Building. On the down the lane few steps is Jama Masjid and built in is a Muslim College. Further on the street is the Hindu Mahalaxmi Temple which is main temple in Panjim, In front of the church is the view of Municipal Garden, hotels, boutiques etc. The Panjim Church has ordinary interior. The main altar is honoured to Mary Immaculate, and it has two more altars, on the left is Jesus crucified and to the right is Our Lady of the Rosary. On the both sides there are two marble statues, one of St. Peter and one of St. Paul. On the right of the main altar in the south transept there is a Chapel of St. Francis Xavier.

The decoration of the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception church is simple, but still it is amazing to the eyes because of it simplicity. In the year 1871, the great bell belonging to the Augustinian Church of Our Lady which is in Old Goa was brought here in Panjim Church to install. After the Golden Bell in Se Cathedral, this is second bell which is large and heavy in weight and due to this the whole pediment of the façade was renovated and increased in the size.

Golden Temple Amritsar (Punjab)

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Sri Harmandir Sahib, also know as the Golden Temple in Amritsar is the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. Also known as the Shri Darbar Shaib, it is in the center of the old part of Amritsar. Believed to have been built in 1588 by Guru Arjan Dev with a view to create a central site of worship for the Sikhs, the Golden Temple or Harmandir as it is called, symbolizes the philosophy of the religion through every detail of its architecture.

The history of Golden Temple says that the land for the site was acquired free of charge from the zamindars (landlords) of local villages. Exhibiting influences of both Hindu and Muslim styles of design, the Golden Temple architecture significantly flaunts a large dome of gold.

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Guru Amar Das Ji, third Guru of the Sikhs, discovered a herb to cure the ailment of Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second Guru of the Sikhs. The story of Rajni, daughter of Rai Duni Chand has associations with Sarovar Sahib (tank). The story goes like this: Rajni was a devout Sikh disciple of the Guru. One day her father brought some gifts for all three daughters. Other two daughters praised their father. Rajni said that the gifts were from God and their father was only a medium to deliver the gifts to them. Unfortunately, her father overheard the statement and in a fit of anger, he ordered her to marry a leper. She accepted her father’s wish. She had to struggle hard to sustain herself and her crippled husband. One day she placed the basket containing her husband near the pool of nectar and went for some work. In the meantime, her husband saw a black crow plunging in the water and coming out transformed into white color. Stunningly he watched all this and crawled towards the pool to take a plunge. He became perfectly fine and handsome. The couple thanked God and went to their Guru to narrate the miraculous incident and seek his blessing.

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, the Harmandir 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.

Guru Ram Das Ji found the place during his travels in the Majha region. He chose this place for establishing a new Sikh centre. He was told by Guru Amar Das Ji to execute the plan for the construction of a Sikh Pilgrim Centre. Some experienced elders were told to assist Guru Ram Das. A large number of Sikh devotees came forward for voluntary service.

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The location of the temple amid a pool, which was conceptualized by Guru Amar Dev, denotes the synthesis of nirgun and sargun – the spiritual and temporal realms of human existence.Although Guru Arjan Dev was instrumental in laying the foundation of the Gurudwara, the Golden Temple history says that its construction has been the result of several years’ evolution.

Even before the main shrine of the Gurudwara was laid, the pool had already been bordered with bricks under the supervision of Baba Budha ji. Guru Arjan Dev, with the principle intention of propagating the ethos of Sikhism, built the structure in sheer burnt brick and lime. Much later, during Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s reign (1799-1839), the temple was renovated and made into an architectural masterpiece, displaying a major sense of affluence along with, of course, the deep spirituality of the Sikh religion.

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Construction :

The golden Temple Amritsar, Originally built during AD 1574, the site of the temple was surrounded by a small lake in a thin forest. The 3rd of the six grand Mughals, emperor Akbar, who visited the 3rd Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das, at the neighbouring town of Goindval was so impressed by the way of life in the town that he gave a jagir to the Guru’s daughter Bhani as a gift on her marriage to Bhai Jetha, After completion of a part of the project, Bhai Jetha went to Goindwal to report regarding the progress of the work, he was told to dig another tank at the low level area near the site of the tank. Who later became the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das. Guru Ram Das enlarged the lake and built a small township around it. The town was named after Guru Ram Das as “Guru Ka Chak”, “Chak Ram Das” or “Ram Das Pura”.

Guru Ram Das Ji located the site for the second tank. It was amidst a large number of Ber (Jujube) trees. This tank came to be known as ‘Amrit Sarovar’. Along with the construction work, Guru Ji called a number of persons belonging to different tribes and occupations to settle near the tank. Like this a whole new village came up. There was a market to supply essential commodities to the settlers. For drinking water some wells were dug. Each and every care was taken to help the immigrants.

Soon after the completion of the project, the pool of nectar and the Temple were recognized as places of religious importance. The project was executed under supervision of Guru Arjan Dev assisted by Baba Budha, Bhai Gurdas and some other prominent Sikhs. Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of Sikhs) and the original book was installed in the premises of the Temple.

During the leadership of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji (1581–1606), the full-fledged Temple was built. In December 1588 the great Muslim Sufi saint of Lahore, Hazrat Mian Mir, a close friend of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, was asked to lay the corner stone (December 1588). The story has been told that a mason then straightened the stone, to which Guru Arjan said, as you have just undone the work of such a holy man, who knows what disaster might come to the Harmandir Sahib.

This story has been used to offer a reason why the temple has been attacked so many times by the Afghans and Mughals and even Inspected by force by Indian Army in 1984, during Operation Bluestar, which laid the foundation stone of Khalistan, the proposed rebellious Sikh Homeland.

The temple was completed in 1604. Guru Arjan Dev Ji, installed the Adi Granth in it and appointed Baba Buddha Ji as the first Granthi (Reader) of the temple on August 1604. In the mid-18th century it was attacked by one of Ahmed Shah Abdali’s generals, Jahan Khan, and his Afghan military forces, and had to be substantially rebuilt in the 1760s. However, in response a Sikh Army was sent to hunt down the Afghan force. Both forces met each other 5 miles outside Amritsar where Jahan Khan’s army was defeated, and Jahan Khan himself is believed to have been killed by Sardar Dayal Singh.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Uttar pradesh)

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The Vishwanath temple in Benares in Uttar Pradesh is the destination of thousands of pilgrims that visit this ancient city. Probably the most famous site not just in India, but the world over, the Vishwanath shrine is revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva, The Religious Temples In India. The name Varanasi is derived from the names of two rivers, Varana and As and this holy place is considered home to Shiva – Visweswara. Benares is also known as Kaasi because it is believed that Supreme brilliance shines there, and lights the way to salvation (Kas – to shine). Varanasi – Benares – Kaasi is considered to be the holiest of all pilgrimage sites in India and in fact people from all over the world come here to pay obeisance. This place is supposed to be God’s favourite place and hence the name Anandakanana but it is also known as Mahamasaanam where the five elements lie in this great cremation ground as will all dead bodies at the time of the final deluge.

This temple was desecrated and rebuilt several times. The latest structure dating back to the 18th century (thanks to the efforts of Rani Ahilyabhai Holkar who incidentally was also responsible for the building of the Grishneshwar temple in Aurangabad) is the main centre of attention for the millions of pilgrims who converge here, to perform an abhishekam to the sacred Jyotirlingam, with water from the Ganges. The temple can be approached from a lane called Vishwanatha lane. The temple is surrounded by many subsidiary shrines. A well called Jnana Vapi is also located to the north of the main temple. There are three temples in a row as one enters from the southern side of the first temple. There are many temples with their own set of llingas. So much so that often the confusion arises as to which enshrines the original Jyotirlinga.

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The Kashi Vishwanath Temple in which is enshrined the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, Vishweshwara or Vishwanatha.
In 1839, Two domes of the Temple were covered by gold donated by Punjab Kesari Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

Benares is also considered to be one of the Shakti Peethas of India. It is believed that the left hand of Sati fell at Varanasi, and that Annapurna or Visalakshi represent the Shakti Peetham here.

Nirvikar cahitanya and Sanatan Brahma have assumed the form of Saguna Vishwarupa from the initial Nirgun Roopa or form. The Shiva Shakti roopa became the Purusha (man) and Stree (the woman) again. Prakriti and Purusha (Nature and man) (Shiva-Shakti) were once ordained by Shiva to do tapas in the universe in order to create the best being. He specified the best place for this purpose. When a prayer was held, Nirgun Shiva, with His own powers and aura, created a wonderful city called Panchakoshi. Vishnu, who resided there, spent a lot of time praying to Shiva after which several watersprings originated there. Vishnu was amazed at this wonderous event, and even as he tilled his head, a gemstone fell from his ear. Because of this place, it was also called Manikarnika. The entire Panch Koshi area of Manikarnika waters were then gathered into the Trident by Shiva. Then from the navel of Vishnu was born a lotus flower with Brahma in it.

Brahma was ordained by Shiva to create a world, at which Brahma created this wonderful world. It had fifty crore Yojanas of area and fourteen lokas. In order to save the lives of these who are bound by their own actions or karma. Shiva kept panchakoshi city away from the entire universe. In this city, Shiva Himself established the saviour Muktidayak JyotirLinga, which He can never leave. Shiva removed this very Kashi from His Trident and set it in this mortal world. It was not to be destroyed when Brahma’s day ends, but during Pralay i.e., final destruction of the world, Shiva saved it by keeping it safe in his trident. So the kashi is called avimukta kshetra. In Kashi, the Avimukteshwar Linga is there forever. Those who can never hope for salvation, attain Moksha here.

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This holiest city of Panchakoshi, with its capacity to destroy every conceivable sin, is the vehicle of a special Moksha by the name “Samyugha”. That is the reason why this city which is ruled by Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha, is the place, where even divines want to die. Sarwaguna from inside and Tamoguna from outside, are the qualities of Rudra here. When prayed to, Vishwanatha Bahagavan Sri Shankar made this abode and resided there with Parvati.