Many Kundalini Yoga teachers have visited the Golden Temple in India. It is the home of Guru Ram Das and a beautiful place to meditate. But in the last few years the crowds of people have really increased, making it difficult to sit in deep meditation.
In a bold move January 7, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) banned photography and videography in the Golden Temple Complex, according the Times of India. This is not only inside the temple, where photography has been banned for fifty years, but also on the parkarma, the beautiful marble walkway around the nectar tank.
Signs have been posted: “Photography and videography is strictly prohibited in the prohibited in the precincts of the Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), the spiritual centre of the world.”
While this is disappointing for many visitors, Sikh Dharma International applauds the new prohibition. “The amount of people taking “selfies” on the parkarma has really become a distraction,” explains Sada Sat Simran Singh Khalsa, President of Sikh Dharma. “It is nearly impossible to walk the parkarma as a meditation without stopping multiple times because of requests for photographs. This is something the SGPC has been debating for some time and we feel it is the right thing at the right time.”
