| Show I 1 aj U 1 e I 1 li 0 aali t where here the sacred ganges leaves the toot foot hills of H the himalayas and enters the plains is still the great place ot of pilgrimage which draham ism has haa madl made it for so many ages and every eiery car on the occasion ot of its fes cival draws drans hundreds eds of thousands of native natho people from all parts of 0 india to seek redemption in these upper wa va of 0 the holy river and incidentally to swell the traffic arno ic returns of the rail ways and com compensate somewhat for the carriage of tourist first class pass passengers ahe he crowds ot of worshipers came for ages before the railways hut but it is only since the brit ish occupation that the practical value of the river has been extended in such gigantic esteems el stems ot of irrigation as the ast canal which carries oft afi the wa na lers ot of the ganges at gardnar Hard Nar during the season of 10 low flood and ad spreads it ON 01 ei the lei level ea flats of the united inces writes arites A hugh risher fisher in the london illustrated news the wide river clear as costal an gloriously blue in the bright sun sunshine chine of that february morning flowed jo bously with eager swiftness the fen een ter of attraction was tas the temple and bathing on we tae reputed site of a divine sacrifice in the water here are hundreds of big large scaled rich fish dirk brownish creatures about ON two 0 feet long which are cherished and fed eulail gu lail on tho the steps stepa of the no lio one Is permitted to wear shoes and it was in m stock ned ined feet that I 1 visited the charan or sacred foot prints on a stone let into the wall nall by the entrance to the temple squatting upon a platform a priestess dressed in bright colors and spangled clothes played upon a flute sacred cows of which I 1 had alread noticed several in the treet street stood about at the top of the steps chev bor a strange deformity in the shape of an all extra limb loosely hanging from tho the hump in some come cases this ended in a hoot hoof and with some in a second pair of horns about the road and along the banks of the river in front of low stone shelters numerous holy people squatted tl and with naked bodies whitened with ashes many places of worship in the inner sanctum of another temple at hardawar I 1 saw tor for the first time the granth the sacred book of the sikhs it was placed rather like a body upon a wooden bed and was mas covered with ith a mauve mauie silk cover let decorated with drawn drain thread work twelve miles farther up the river at af ter a dilli cult daiv arhe e through N ery cry rough country I 1 reached a village called rakh fisli where the sikhs have many places place of worship upon the w wide ide stretch of rounded boulders along the side of the river tho the scene was vera vcr beautiful the hills dicing abrupt ly from the farther bank and the water nater rippling oer shallows shil lows and rac ing ine through thi the deeper channels I 1 carne at intervals to paled in closures 1 within which devout crowds sat listen ing to a priest who was vas sheltered b 1 I 1 i thatched hitched gabled cover coer leming leaving nis mi shoes with nith others at an opening in ili tho the fence of one such inclosure and rec receiving receding ehing welcome I 1 entered and sat upon a reed mat like the rest in the warm arm glow glon of the s setting ettling sun the chief priest sat just in rout of the thatched shelter and round him gris tig tie or minor priests one of whom i a just la in front ol of the priests tere ft ere four black bearded must clans with grav gra clothes and white tur bans plat placing ng drums and a a kind hind ot of viol they were singing words voids ot of the granth to their music and the viol player was blind and made as he sang bang beyond were vere the moun bains and infinite and the sound of 0 the river came faintly ON over or the great expanse of 0 stones it w was as a week later before I 1 reached the center ol of the sikh religion and ing a second time to that coun try of doaby and deserts the punjab land ot of the five rive arrived late one afternoon at the holy city of the sikhs indich has become also 1 i great commercial i enter through which pases much of 0 the trade with ith kashmir and afghanistan I 1 found the whole cit alt shrouded in dense clouds of white choking and almost intolerable dust which not only hid evera everything thing out ot of door a is as in a thick for fag but drove on a furious i ind along the vay of the hotel botel entered every door and window and even when the storm T was as over ak k more than a daa da to cleir clear out of the air water of immortality the legend of the origin of tells how one morning lo 10 long ng ago a t woman noman carried her husband in a has bab ket he being without it hout hands or feet feel and placed him in the shadow of a tree while she sought alms in the neighborhood according to the stor the cripple noticed i crow simi similarly larl afflicted with bilth lameness fly to in ad jacent pod and become cured is as soon as its legs touched tho the w water ater its plumbago turning milk white at tho the panic name time rolling tov towards ards the pool the poor cripple himself became re stored an and d on his iines return she found a perfect husband with normal extremities sitting upon the basket this wis nas a attributed to the power ol of amrit the water ater of Immortal llY ltv which became thenceforward the sa 41 1 Z j t 4 k am Z 1 3 Y 0 o cred tank of in the midst ot of which vas aa built the tha famous shrine oi of the golden temple within this build ing the granth lies cohered with a doth cloth of gold and canary colored silk under a greit great violet lined canopy while a priest watches it taking his four hour bour turn of duty and occasion ally dusting it with a bundle of pea cock feathers over the center of the marble pavement upon a white drug get stand brand in front of the granth sliver silver receptacles tor for offerings of money and rosy eyed pigeons peck at rice scattered upon the floor strikes at caste the religion of the sikhs founded by the guru or prophet nanak who was born in 1469 Is based on the two principles of the unity of god and the brotherhood of 0 man alan it prohibits im age worship and struck from tho the first at the fundamental institution of hin HID deism that of caste the sikhs remained steadfast to their faith through centuries of ius ulman persecution br camo a bul anark against northern invasion ahu the mogul fel linto deca developed later under ranjit into the most cili clent mill tar tars state in all india then after his death challenged a lightle power from the west vest and one once 6 they had accepted vie ti ru rule e 0 their conquerors proved tho the most fiust of subjects atan acil Eh the great crisis oi of ard and today among tho most loyal oi tho Britis hr er |
