Sri Harimandar Sahib : The Body Visible Of The Invisible Supreme

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Sri Harimandar Sahib is both the lamp and the light what is not only 'created' but also endowed with the power 'to create'.In this humble attempt at unveiling the sublimity of an otherwise simple puritan brick-structure this work seeks to discover in Sri Harimandar Sahib the cosmic as well as the spiritual vision of its founder.It is not a mere thesis of the mind but something far beyond derived from its spiritual and technical perception that Sri Harimandar Sahib did not or rather could not deviate from its original concept vision and design despite its recurrent renovation and reconstruction.It essentially remains as Sri Guru Arjan Dev had conceived it synthesising into its very being the best of all prevalent architectural forms and traditions though at the same time ably distancing itself from them all - the mosqueHindu or Jain temple Buddhist vhara or a church.Even the wide expanse of Sikh architecture does not have in form or in spiritual magnificence a second Harimandar the second abode of the Nirankara.Like Ek-Omkar Sri Harimandar Sahib is only One and none other.Thereby the Harimandar is and always was a saint's vision and not a monarch's creation as sometimes it has been considered so.Sri Harimandar Sahib thus with its divine timeless quality intermittent magic great aesthetic beauty and sublimity of form is as much a theme for the eye.Hence the book has as strong a visual thrust and wide-ranging photographs bring forth the rich monumental wealth that include the 18th century miniature paintings the 19th century lithographs and designs and the early 20th century photos.It also captures Sri Harimandar Sahib's round-the-clock glimpses bright sunny days dark and moonlit nights drowsy evenings ejecting dawns and its most curious and as much sublime postures.For a fuller perception the camera has also caught the life at and around Sri Harimandar Sahib the Temple-related rituals practices celebrations et al.This study does not merit Sri Harimandar Sahib over or above others but essays at discovering what is special about its uniqueness and how it embodies in an architectural form the body of a dogma a massive faith a live tradition and finally the glory of the Supreme.