SIKH ISSUE

Replica of golden temple

A LINE OF THOUGHT
Should we really object if somebody copies the design/architecture of the Golden Temple, which represents the values preached by our Gurus?  One’s desire to replicate the Shrine only exhibits one’s deep appreciation of it.

An original painting’s worth remains unmatched.  If any state/country chooses to construct the Taj Mahal on its land, it shall always be the replica of the Taj Mahal at Agra, India; if India decides to install a Statue of Liberty similar to the one in New York, there shall be nothing original about it – courtesy the modern technology that has shrunk the globe to a village.

As such, given the popularity our sacred Darbar Sahib enjoys the world over, any copy thereof shall always be referred to as the replica of the Golden Temple.  As it is, it’s not the present-day ‘Golden’ Temple that the Gurus gifted us.  It is the dharti and the concept that is sacred.  The dharti shall belong only to Darbar Sahib, and the concept, if replicated, is only a step towards realization of Guru’s vision for humanity as a single race.
Moreover, has the ‘Temple’ in its popular name not come to mean that it’s a Sikh place of worship, and not a Hindu, as the word actually implies?

We should encourage, in whichever way possible, the spread of Sikh concepts, such as, equality of all mankind, the Sole Almighty, the saint-soldier, and so on, which are indispensable for a healthy future of humanity.

We could expect a replica of the Golden Temple to place prominently, a prominent banner acknowledging the fact.  Yet, if the Panth is, indeed, convinced that a replica of Golden Temple be not permitted, then a copyright of the architecture of the Golden Temple is a must, if we do not have it already.  (Other such issues must also be taken care of in time, before unpleasant situations are created.)