golden temple

About golden temple-    The Harmandir Sahib is the origional name of the golden temple .it is the holiest sikh gurudwara located in the city of amritsar , punjab. The golden temple was designed by the fifth guru, guru arjan, on 28 December 1588. Guru Arjan completed the adi granth, , in 1604 and installed it in the gurdwara.

 In nineteenth century, maharaj ranjit singh nalva secured the punjab from outside attack and covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and its English name a golden temple

construction of the golden temple-  The golden temple is considered  by Sikhs.The holiest text of Sikhism, the guru granth saheb, is present inside the gurdwara during daytime. Its construction was mainly intended to build a place of worship for men and women from all walks of life.Over 100,000 people visit the holy shrine daily for worship, and also partakefor Langar that is a famous of all gurudwara.

architecture in and out of the golden temple-  gurudwara was built at a lower level than the surrounding land so that devotees would have to go down steps to enter it. In addition,  Sri Harmandir Sahib has four entrances.

The gurdwara is surrounded by the Sarovar, a large lake  which consists of Amrit  and is fed by the ravi river

 All the gold and  marble work were conducted under the p ranjit singh nalva Maharaja of the  sikh emperor of the Punjab.   The gold plating on the golden temple was begun by Ranjit Singh and was finished in 1830.empror ranjit singh nalva was a major donor of wealth and materials for the shrine.

special celebration in golden temple -      One of the most important festivals is visakhi, which is celebrated in the second week of April. and it is celebrated with fervour in the Harmandir Sahib. Other important Sikh religious days such as the Guru Raamdas ji jayanti , gurunanak jyanti, etc., are also celebrated . Similarly diwali is one of the festivals which sees thegolden temple . Most Sikhs visit Amritsar and the golden temple at least once during their lifetime.

  

                     golden temple    

      ceiling of golden temple      

  

view of the golden temple during the time of divali    

    

        temple during the night time     

    

Indian Sikh priest Jaswant Singh sits behind the Sikh holy book the Guru Granth Sahib inside The Golden Temple.

Ajmer dargah

About ajmer-  Ajmer largest city in rajesthan. Ajmer has a population of around 551,360 in its urban agglomeration as per 2011 cencus , and is located 135 kilometres South west of jaipur

. It is a pilgrimage centre for the shrine of the Sufi Saint khwaja kisti . Ajmer has been selected as one of the heritage cities of  India. 

  

ajmer dargah-It is a shrine of khwaja chisti  which is situated at the foot of the taragarh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards,dargah was built by the shah jahan. It contains the domed tomb of the saint. akbar and his queen used to go there from agra every year to prayed for a son. every day 125,000 pilgrims visit the site .

about khwaja chishti-  Moinuddin Chishti is the origional name of a khwaja chishti .he was born on1141 and died on 1236 he was also known as garib nawaz,he was an imam,  scholer and philosopher from south asia. His parents died when he was fifteen years old.During his childhood, he  was different from other children and kept himself busy in prayer and meditation. He later disposed of his property and other belongings and distributed the money to the poor. He renounced the world and left for bukhara in search of knowledge and higher education. and Various Mughal emperors were followers of Chisti.

khwaja chisti journey to india- chishti turned towards India, reputedly after a dream in which mohammad blessed him to do so. After a brief stay in lahore, he reached Ajmer along with muzz-al-din-mohammad  and settled down. In Ajmer, he acquiring respect amongst the residents of the city. he promoted understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

                 dargah of khwaja chisti

                          ajmer dargah

                urs festival in ajmer

devotee were waiting to open a jannati darwaja

devotee puting a chadar on dargah

Amarnath cave/ Amarnath Temple

about Amarnath cave-   Amarnath is a Hindu shrine located in jammu and kashmir, India. It is dedicated to shiva. The cave is situated at an altitude of 12,756 ft, about 141 km  from srinagar, . The shrine forms an important part of Hindusm, and considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. the cave is open on the summer season. Thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain and the terrorist coming from pakisthan just to see an shivling made up of ice formed inside the cave.
                                                           
 history of amarnath--   The Amarnath cave has been a place of worship since times immemorial. There are references to the legendary king Aryaraja (ascribed dates 300 BC) who used to worship a shivling formed of ice in Kashmir.  It is believed that Queen Suryamathi in the 11th century AD gifted trishuls, banalingas and other sacred emblems to this temple.                         

about the shiv ling in amarnath- Inside the    Amarnath cave, the stalagmite is formed due to freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave on to the floor and grows up vertically from the cave floor. It is considered to be a shivling . The Cave open during May to August, as snow melts in the Himalayan region .

According to a  legend, this is the cave where Shivji explained the secret of life and eternity to his wife,Parvati. so during that time there were a two pegion who were listening to that story and they became amar. so sometime we can also see the amar kabutar inside the cave.devotee beleave that if we see an amar kabutar then our life will became better.

The main purpose of the annual pilgrimage to the cave is worship of the shivling made up of ice and to see the amar kabutaar.

          

 yatra in amarnath-    The temple is a popular yatra destination for the devotees. In 2011 it received about 634,000 persons. The number was 622,000 in 2012 and 350,000 in 2013. Pilgrims visit the holy site during the 45-day season around the festival of shravan mela in July–August, there are  different way to yatra such as from pahalgram,chandwari,pissu top,sheshnag,and panchtarni.1. 

Security during the time of yatra

Every year, thousands of central police and state police personnel are deployed to provide security to pilgrims from potential terror threats.  main reason for the security is that many times pakisthan given a warning to attack on the amarnath cave and sometime pak ranger also done attack during yatra and sometime there is a chanse of attack from a huriat people.so during the time of summer the full police force,B.S.F force and army force 

Were given work for the security of the devotees and the shivling.                       





shiv ling OF amarnath cave 










                                                     AMARNATH CAVE




CAMPS OF THE PILGRIMES




pilgrimes  is going towards amarnath cave    




            SECURITY ON THE WAY



                                     map of amarnath yatra

Mahabodhi temple

The Mahabodhi Temple, is a  World heritage site, is a Buddhist temple in bodh gaya marking the location where siddharth gautam, the buddha, is  have attainedenlightenment. Bodh Gaya is located in gaya district is located about 96 km (60 mi) from Patna, Bihar state, India

THE BUDDHA-    around 530 BC, siddharth gautam, a young prince who saw the suffering of the world and wanted to end it, reached the  banks of the phalgu river, near the city of Gaya, India. There he sat in meditation under a peepul tree  which later became known as the Bodhi tree.in that location, Mahabodhi Temple was built by Emperor Ashoka in around 260 BC.

• MAHABODHI TREE-  The Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya is directly connected to the life of the  gautam Buddha,where buddha do meditating under it. The temple was build directly to the east of the Bodhi tree .
        Buddhist tradition claims that when the world is destroyed at the end of a kalpa vriksh, the  is the last spot to disappear, and will be the first to appear when the world emerges into existence again.. According to legend, in the case of gautam buddha, a Bodhi tree sprang up on the day he was born
• construction of theTEMPLE-  In  250 BC, about 200 years after the Buddha attained Enlightenment,  Emperor asoka visited Bodh Gaya in order to establish a monastery and shrine on the holy site.  Asoka is considered the founder of a Mahabodhi temple's,temple had its  pyramidal structure . temple not have the upper terrace with the small temples in the four corners.  
  Mahabodhi is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick that is still standing in India, from the late gupta period
• 
  
• 2013 ATTACK-   On 7 July 2013, ten low-intensity bombs exploded in the temple complex, injuring 5 people. One bomb was near the statue of Buddha and another was near the Mahabodhi tree. Three unexploded bombs were also found and defused. The main temple is intact and sanitized. On 4 November 2013, the national investigation agency announced that the   indian mujahidin was responsible for the bombings.
• 
  
• MANAGMENT OF TEMPLE-  The Bihar state government is responsibility for the protection, and  management, of temple according to Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, such responsibilities are shared with the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee, and an advisory board. By law, the Committee must consist of four Buddhist and four Hindu representatives. The Committee serves for a three-year term. 
  
  In June 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple became a  world heritage site. All finds of religious artifacts in the area are legally protected under the Treasure Trove Act of 1878.
  The temple's head monk, Bhikkhu Bodhipala, resigned in 2007 after he was charged with cutting the branches of holy bodhi tree on a regular basis and selling them to foreigners for significant amounts of money. 
  
  
• 

                        MAHABODHI TEMPLE 






         MAHABODHI TREE







DEVOTEES LIGHTNING CANDLE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF TEMPLE








TEMPLE AS IT APPEARED  IN THE 1780S







           COMPLEX OF THE MAHABODHI TEMPLE

shirdi sai Temple

ABOUT SHIRDI-   Shirdi is located approx 296 Kilometers from Mumbai  .  It is called the Land of Sai baba. 

ABOUT SAI TEMPLE-   Shirdi Sai temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba.Shirdi is famous temple of  Sai Baba. It was established in 1922 to carry out the services of Shri Sai Baba. is located in Shirdi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.he took samadhi on October 15, 1918.

SAI BABA-   sai baba   is a fakir also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master who was  devoted as a saint,fakir. He was devoted by both his Hindu and Muslim devotees, his life it remained uncertain if he was a Hindu or a Muslim .  Sai Baba is worshiped by people around the world. He had no love for perishable things .One of his well known epigrams, "Sabka Malik Ek" , is associated with Hindusm, islam and sufism. 

DEVOTEES / FOLLOWERS-  Around 55,000 people visit the temple everyday and the number goes up to about one lakh on weekends. During special festivals, at least two to three lakh devotees visit the famous shrine.

.CROWD MANAGEMENT

   Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, the governing and administrative body of the temple and all other temples on the premise, has installed CCTV camera network, fortified with face recognition software to keep crooks at bay. And the `5-crore system has already been yielding results. About 730 private security guards are deployed. The state government has 50 policemen and a bomb detection and disposal squad on standby at the temple. The Maharashtra government has a `400 crore plan to change the face of Shirdi and turn it into a world-class pilgrimage plus tourist spot. The 95th death anniversary functions of Sai Baba were conducted from October 12 to 14. To ensure that everybody gets opportunity for darshan, VIP passes, aarti passes and other puja arrangements were stopped for these three days which saw a footfall of two million devotees.

TREASOUREY /FUNDS-   shirdi sai temple is the richest temple in the world after tirupati temple. Saibaba Sansthan trust has recorded Rs 1,441 crore income in the last five years, with 22 per cent higher donations received every year, Sansthan's executive officer Kishor More said on Wednesday. The trust has spent Rs 828 crore on various beneficial works for devotees, including Rs 160 crore on hospital, 'prasadalaya' and funds allotted in the form of donations to various charity trusts.During special festivals at least two to three lakh devotees visit the famous shrine, More said, adding that the daily income now was around Rs 45 lakh, as compared to Rs 20 lakh per day five years back.

SAI PRASADALAYA-  At present, in the new Sai Prasadalaya, everyday 25 to 30 thousand Sai devotees take meal as a Prasad. During the time of vacation the number of Sai devotees rised up to 55 thousand. Free Prasad meals are served to poor, blind handicapped & sages. Like this, approx 1000 persons are served everyday with this facility. The prasadalaya is open from 10 am to 10 pm.The food is first offered to Sai .Expenses for a plate of Prasad Meal  is around Rs. 15/-. 

Apart from this, Children below age 10 are charged Rs 3/- for the same.

The prasadalay yearly expenditure is Rs 30 crores.

                          SAI BABA

                SAI TEMPLE OF SHIRDI

                  INSIDE SAI TEMPLE

 

                   SAMADI OF SAI BABA

  

ORIGIONAL COLOUR PHOTO OF SAI BABA

Haji Ali Dargah

About dargah-   The Haji Ali Dargah is a mosque and dargah  located on an islet off the coast of worliin south mumbai .,  dargah is one of the famous landmarks of Mumbai.

it is an example of indi-islamic architecture,  the dargah contains the tomb of Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.

about  phir hji ali shah-  The  Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to mecca. he travelled around the world in the early to mid 15th century, and then settled to mumbai.

            NUMBERS OF VISITOR in a dargah-                   On Thursdays and Fridays, the shrine is visited by at least 40,000 pilgrims. Irrespective of faith and religion, people visit the dargah to get the blessings of the legendary saint.

STRUCTURE OF A DARGAH-  The Dargah is built on a tiny islet  in the middle of Worli Bay.  The islet is linked to the city precinct of mahalakshmi by a narrow causeway, which is nearly a kilometre 0.62 mile long.

visiting  to the dargah is dependent on the tides. when the causeway gets submerged during high tide it becomes inaccessible.  This walk on the causeway, with the sea on both sides, is a amazing   trip to the shrine.The tomb within the mosque is covered by a brocaded red and green chaddar . As per the Muslim traditions separate praying rooms for ladies and gents are provided here to pay their respects.

REPAIR AND RENOVATION of dargah-   The six-hundred-year-old Dargah structure has corroded, due to constant erosion, saline winds and constant flow of 80,000 people per week. upgrade of  Dargah started in October 2008. 

The repair and upgrade work is envisaged to take 24 months divided into two Phases.When the reconstruction work will complete, the holy shrine will give the feel of a Taj right of Mumbai’s 

trustee and donation-  he trustees of haji ali Dargah has taken step  for providing facilities to the devotees of Pir Haji Ali Shah , especially  those who are far away. The Trust has launched the capability for devotees and visitors to make online donations using their VISA or Master Card through a secure platform.

                        way to dargah                                      

                                                              

              ENTERENCE OF DARGAH

                  Haji Ali Dargah  

                      CHADAR ON DARGAH

                   

                            night view of dargah

Latest News of Haji Ali Dargah-  The Bombay High Court is expected to deliver its order today on a petition challenging the ban on women's entry in the inner sanctum of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah. The Dargah Trust has justified its decision arguing that in Islam it is considered a sin for women to come close to the tomb.