The struggle for sanctity

"It was the magical hour at the Golden Temple.

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The sun was taking its leave discreetly; the early winter twilight was settling in unobtrusively.

The kirtan, sung in classical ragas, was floating over the sarovar, the holy pool. Hundreds of pilgrims waited to enter the sanctum sanctorum or sat by the sarovar savouring a moment of peace. It was a time to withdraw, to reflect, perhaps meditate.

This serenity was not always a given. During the persecution of the Sikhs in the 18th century, the gurdwaras (or dharamsals, as they were known) were looked after by the Udasis, who professed the Sikh faith but did not conform to its outward symbols.

While many were men of learning, some gave in to vain temptation.

They set up their own institutionsderas and akharas-and came to be known as Mahants. With royal patronage during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the coming of the canal irrigation, the estates attached to the gurdwaras became very valuable. Many Mahants began to treat them as personal, even hereditary, possessions and lived licentious lives; the shrines became dens of corruption and vice.