Doing seva at the Golden Temple in Amritsar

Mission 2 for India was to spend a day or two at the Golden Temple (the Sihk's most holy shrine) doing seva (service done as a spiritual act). The Golden Temple complex is made up of a shimmering pool with white marble buildings and gateways at the periphery and the shimmering Golden Temple in the center of the pool. All day, priests chant the contents of their holy book accompanied by musicians within the Golden Temple. This calm, beautiful music plays on speakers throughout the compound. A constant stream of people come and go from the Temple. Though Sihks are the most represented group among the tens of thousands that come each day, there are also Hindus and other folks (like me). Sikhs are very open to people of all religions visiting (which is different than many of the Hindu holy places which are closed to non-Hindus). It is a place of absolute serenity.
Part of the Sihk practice is to serve langar, a meal, to anyone who comes to eat. At the Golden Temple, the kitchen is running from dawn to dusk and serves a simple meal of rice pudding, lentils, curry, and chapati (flatbread) to 60-80,000 people a day. The amazing thing about this, besides the sheer volume of that undertaking, is that is almost entirely done by volunteers. To do seva at the temple is an important part of the Sihk's spiritual practice. I had read about this and wanted to experience it.
I went to the dining hall and asked to be put to work. A man walked me to back to the kitchen building--a huge space, with wood fires heating enormous cauldrons of lentils and curry and rice. In the chapati area, groups of 20 (mostly but not all women) sat rolling out dough, tossing it to the people who cooked it on a flat grill, expertly flipping them with little wooden sticks. Runners kept the food going up to the dining hall in big silver buckets.
When you come for the meal, you pick up a plate and bowl and spoon as you enter the dining hall. The hall holds about 400 people. People sit in lines on the floor. As equality is important in Sikhism, even if royalty came, they would have to sit on the floor with everyone else. Volunteers come around and serve the food out of the silver buckets with big ladels. Chapati is brought around in large baskets. You can eat your fill. When finished, you take your dishes out to the washing area.
I also helped here. Already covered in flour from making chapatis, what's a little water going to hurt? I helped at one of the rinsing stations. The silver metal dishes are cleaned by about 100 people working at stations that consist of long steel sinks filled with different kinds of water. First the dishes get dunked to get off most the food. Then they move to the next sink station where they are washed. Then another washing station. Then a rinsing station. Then a second rinsing station. As the metal dishes move through this process it is deafening with clanging clattering. Water is splashing sploshing. It is too loud to talk, so people smile at each other as they work. The clean dishes go to a drying station, then are wheeled out to where they are being given to new people coming in for langar.
It was an amazing thing to be part of such an efficient human machine. American churches could learn some things from the Sikhs at how well they engage and use their volunteer force. It was set up so anyone can come and jump right in and start helping.
I took several days here, and went to the Golden Temple about 8 times over the 4 days. My first day I hit a bit of a wall, and wasn't feeling well, so I stayed in resting in my hotel room watching bad American movies. It helped to take a day off. I've been going for 2 months now. For the first time, I find myself thinking of home.
Next stop: McLeod Ganj, home of the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan Government.