Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib - 400 Years

July 1st, 2006 by admin

July 2, 2006 is the FOUR-HUNDREDTH anniversary of the foundation day of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib.

Akal Takhat means the Throne of the Immortal. The Akal Takhat was founded by Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji and was established as the place from which the spiritual and temporal concerns of the Sikh community could be acted upon. It is the most supreme of all the Takhats. (There are four takhats established by the Gurus: Amritsar, Anadpur Sahib, Patna Sahib, Hazur Sahib - and a fifth Takhat at Damdamma Sahib was established later.)

The Jathedar of the Akal Takhat is the highest spokesperson of the Sikh Panth and is meant to be a spiritual leader without control or influence from any outside, politically motivated sources. (Current jathedar)

Role of the Akal Takhat

The Akal Takhat was built a fraction lower than the Harimandir Sahib, implying the order of importance, that the search for spiritual grace was always to lead. A similar balancing of assertion and submission was built into Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji’s daily routine, which alternatively highlighted the shrine, with its spiritual function and self-effacing architectural symbolism, and the throne platform, with its assertion of sovereignty and temporal authority. The Guru started the day with worship in the Harimandir; he would then go on a hunt in the late morning and grant audience from the Akal Takhat in the afternoon; in the evening he would return to the shrine for prayers and hymns, and at night he and his followers would return to the Akal Takht to listen to martial songs of heroic deeds.

It is from the Akal Takhat that Hukamnamas (edics or writs) are announced to provide guidance or clarification on any point of Sikhdoctrine or practice. It may lay under penance persons charged with violation of religious discipline or with activity prejudicial to Sikh interests or solidarity. It may place on record its appreciation of outstanding services rendered or sacrifices made by individuals espousing the cause of Sikhism or of the Sikhs. Importantly, no individual is above the Akal Takhat.

On one occasion the Sarbat Khalsa met at the Akal Takhat and decided to penalize Maharaja Ranjit singh for his misdemeanours with a certain number of lashes on his back. The Gursikh in Ranjit Singh surrendered to the discipline and presented himself at the Akal Takhat to receive chastisement. However, corporal punishment to the sovereign was converted into a heavy fine.

Architecture

On the original plot of land of the Akal Takhat, there only existed a high mound of earth across a wide open space, where Guru Hargobind as a child used to play. The Gurus original Takhat is said to have been a simple platform, 3.5 metres high, on which the Guru would sit like a king at court, surrounded by insignia of royalty such as the parasol and the flywhisk, and perform kingly tasks of receiving petitions and administrating justice. Today’s Akal Takhat is a large 5-storey modern structure (3 storeys were added by Raja Ranjit Singh) with inlaid marble and a gold-leafed dome, that does not convey the design of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji’s simple Takht or plinth. However, recent restoration work has uncovered a layer of lime plaster, with painted decoration, that may have been part of the original Takhat. That plinth was far higher than the plinth of the Harimandir; yet the absence of a superstructure kept the original Akal Takhat at a level lower than the shrine.

The elaboration of the structure on marble pillars, as a semi-circular platform with an open view to the courtyard, reminiscent of an air-house, must have grown from the use to which the Durbar hall was put.The gilding of the ceiling with ornamentations like those in the interior of the Hari Mandir is perhaps later than in the holy of holies. The wall paintings apparently belong to a later period, as there are panels showing Europeans.

The total effect of the Akal Takhat is of a unique and noble structure spread out somewhat like an outer court of the piazza Saint Marco in Venice.

1984 Akal Takhat Martyrdom

On June 6, 1984 Indian military tanks stormed the Golden Temple, thousands of Sikhs were killed, and the Akal Takhat, the supreme seat of religious authority for the Sikhs martyred itself in order to awaken a sleeping spiritual nation. On the occassion of the 21th anniversary of the Akal Takhat martyrdom all Sikhs of the Guru have the blessing to remember and commemorate the Akal Takhat and all those who died in order to uphold and protect our Dharma.

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