In the heart of this town stands the far-famed Golden Temple
of the Sikhs, built by Ranjit Singh,--"The Lion of the Panjaub." The
temple is not a large one, being only fifty-three feet square, and is
built in the centre of a water tank, called "The Pool of
Immortality." The peculiar external feature of the temple is that it
is largely covered with gold plate; hence its name. It is a beautiful
object to behold; and we are in haste to take off our shoes, which are
prohibited in the sacred precincts, and to put on the shapeless holy
slippers presented to us! We enjoy perfect freedom in passing through
all parts of the temple, while devotees, under the guidance of the
priests, sing their songs of praise with devout impartiality to their
god and to their bible.

The temple is the centre and inspiration of the Sikh religion. The
Sikhs are an interesting people. They rallied round one of the
multitude of the Hindu religious reformers, named Nanak Shah, who
established this cult about the end of the fifteenth century. It may
be called an amalgam of Mohammedanism and Hinduism. It unites the
monotheism and the stern morality of the former with much of the petty
ritual of the latter. It does not observe caste. Still, in outer
matters of observances, Sikhs are not easily distinguishable from
ordinary Hindus. They, also, have bound themselves into a military
order, which gives them almost the distinction of a nation. For this
reason they are among the very best material which the country
furnishes for the native army, and are worthy to stand shoulder to
shoulder with European soldiers.

[Illustration: CASHMERE GATE, DELHI]

This religion is peculiarly a _book_ religion. It has degenerated into
a species of bibliolatry. Their bible contains the teachings and
sermons of the founder of the faith; and it presents the highest
standard of morality and courage, and appeals with special power to
this sturdy tribe of the north. This book is called "Granth," and is
generally spoken of as "Granth Sahib," which we may translate as "Mr.
Book"! That is, they give it a dignity and a personality which is
unique in any faith; and the Golden Temple is largely used as the
receptacle of the "Granth," of which they keep a few copies protected
by covers, which, however, they remove in order to show them to us as
we pass by.

In several particulars this faith is unique. They have no idols or
altars, but meet once a week for prayer and praise. Their