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00:00It's just before dawn and I'm in one of the most sacred locations for one of the world's
00:29oldest faiths. The river I'm traveling along is itself sometimes worshipped as a goddess
00:36and it flows through the heart of a landscape that has nurtured the major world religions.
00:41And there's a kind of unusual calm here, it's a calm before this storm of humanity is going
00:47to erupt. I'm in a country where the deeply sacred collides and combines with a very deeply
00:57felt modern lived experience. India. I'm exploring a subcontinent filled with treasures of body
01:12and soul. Meeting old friends and making new ones.
01:28Witnessing rites at Varanasi and the great golden temple.
01:35Iconic architecture from Rajasthan's palaces.
01:39I thought there were going to be no difficult questions, you know, I thought we had an
01:42understanding. To the Taj Mahal. It is extraordinary.
01:52And incredible traditions. What an amazing night.
01:59It's a place where ideas are made manifest in the splendid, redolent treasures of India.
02:09India, in the heart of Asia. Home to 1.4 billion and now the most highly populated country
02:26in the world, with well over 3,000 archaeological sites. I've been traveling to India for decades
02:35on the trail of the inspirational ideas and pioneering philosophies that emerged
02:40from this subcontinent. My journey starts in one of India's holiest cities.
02:46I'm here to discover an experiential treasure, Varanasi. This is the wondrous city of Varanasi.
02:55It's actually one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the whole of India.
03:01And I'm here to try to explore how our understanding of the cycle of life and our
03:07desire to flourish in this world and the next has generated some extraordinary treasures and
03:15some extraordinary experiences. Varanasi stretches along the Ganges,
03:22the river adored as the goddess Ganga. 80 ghats, banks of steps, lead directly into this sacred
03:29waterway. Every year, millions upon millions of Hindus come to these banks to celebrate and to
03:37worship and to mourn. And I've been invited here by a friend of a friend to take part in one of
03:43the ceremonies, which, you know, I think it's going to be a very moving experience.
03:49Anchal Sachan moved to Varanasi, or Benares, because of its deep history and spiritual
03:56significance. I mean, this is a really, really important destination place for pilgrims. It
04:03really matters that people come here. Ganga herself is considered to be a goddess.
04:10Shiva, he himself emerged as a pillar of light, as it is said. That's right, because it's the
04:14city of light and fires. Very important here, isn't it? Shiva especially happens to be the god of
04:21death or recreation, like you destroy something and you start something anew. Because people come
04:27here to mourn or celebrate, remember their ancestors. But do you think people also come
04:33here to try to understand what the point of life is? Yes, yes, absolutely. You have feelings and
04:39belief expressed in stone and in tradition, so you can almost kind of touch people's ideas here.
04:52Anchal wants to show me how ideas and feelings can become beautiful things. One of Varanasi's
05:00most celebrated crafts plays an integral part in ceremonies of both life and death. Hand-loomed
05:07Banarasi silk. Have I got this right, that when you get married, you're always supposed to have a bit of
05:15silk from Banarasi at the wedding as part of the ceremony? In India, like as many regions are there,
05:20you have as many kinds of arts, as many types of motifs or you can say designs, which are used on
05:26the saree. And wherever you are in India, Banarasi weave has to find a place in your wedding to show.
05:32It's this real combination of craze and spirituality. Yes, absolutely. The city's own existence is
05:39coming together. It is a blend of spirituality, of opulence, all coming together. And are there
05:48any particular colours of silk that are associated with particular religious ceremonies or rituals?
05:55Is there a kind of appropriate colour that I should be wearing? When you are sitting for a
05:58prayer or for a ritual of significance, yellow, the tones of yellow become a more appropriate colour.
06:07How brilliant. They've got a yellow shawl. Perfect for a ceremony Anchal suggested I experience.
06:15I'd love to honour my ancestors. You know, is it okay for me to do it? Because I'm obviously, I'm
06:22not Hindu. I'm obviously a Westerner. You know, is it appropriate for me to do that here? If you have
06:27the right intent, the right feeling, the right motivations, it is appropriate for you to do.
06:36The ceremony is called the Pindadhan, performed for the liberation of the souls of deceased loved ones.
06:45I'm recently bereaved, so it's an honour to take part.
06:49So, he will be helping you do the Pindadhan for your mother. Okay. Thank you.
06:55I do recognise snippets of the Sanskrit chant, like the word Geh, Earth, root of the ancient Greek Gaia,
07:25a reference to mother nature.
07:32One blessed Pind, a rice ball, is offered to the soul of the departed.
07:38The rest are for other ancestors.
07:41It's honey. Honey. Very good. I'm feeding my ancestors and I've been given wool to
07:48clothe them, so they have five layers of cloth and they've been accompanied by a priest.
07:55Maha Pushpe. Maha Pushpe. Pitra Devata. Pitra Devata. Your mother, father is God.
08:03Not here. No. He's going up. They become divine with the flowers.
08:11Taking the offering to the river, the idea is that the deceased is dissolving back into the universe.
08:19It's an opportunity to come to terms with my loss.
08:25I came here knowing that I was going to honour my mother, because she died quite recently.
08:37And I've been wearing her wedding ring, so that she kind of travels with me, because
08:44she loved the idea that I travel, but she never got the chance to travel.
08:48It's lovely that she's coming on a journey. I'm actively remembering her,
08:53remembering the thing that she always said, is that you are known by your deeds, it's the deeds
08:59that make you, so you live on in the kind of lessons that you teach other people, so that's
09:04what I'll try and do. Whatever it's about, it is definitely about some kind of cycle of life and
09:15love. One of the reasons I've always been attracted to this place is so many different
09:26faiths have come here, as well as the millions of Hindu pilgrims attending the 23,000 temples
09:33every year. Varanasi is special to Jains, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. It is really
09:42pretty likely that the Buddha came here, not least because by the 6th century BCE,
09:48this place had already been known as a centre of spirituality and learning for centuries,
09:54so if you're going to come somewhere to spread your ideas, then this is a really good choice.
09:59Holy texts say he gave a sermon up river, fundamental to Buddhist philosophy.
10:06And, when Varanasi's railway station was built, workers stumbled across the city's
10:12physical roots, dating back much earlier, to the 14th century BCE.
10:20These discoveries prove that Varanasi is one of the oldest,
10:24continually inhabited settlements, not only in India, but in the world.
10:30It's hard to overstate the importance of Varanasi in a story of faith,
10:34because this is a place that is full of clues of the spiritual experience of the past.
10:41Here, there's tangible evidence of what we felt about mortality and immortality,
10:47so the treasures and the wonders here aren't just kind of intellectually and academically
10:52interesting, they're a direct line of communication to the experience of love
10:58and loss through time, so they are treasures that make us care.
11:08Overlooks the plains of modern-day Uttar Pradesh, the vast Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri,
11:16a capital built from scratch in 1569 by one of India's most significant rulers,
11:23the renowned Emperor Akbar.
11:27Akbar's rule saw the Mughal Empire triple in size across North India
11:31over a reign of almost 50 years, from 1556 to 1605.
11:38But Akbar had a problem. He didn't have a male heir to inherit the throne.
11:43He didn't have a male heir to inherit his empire,
11:47and so we're told that he travelled across Mughal India seeking the advice of Sufi saints.
11:55Akbar's prayers were answered when one of them predicted the birth of his longed-for son.
12:04Akbar's delight in Sufism, a mystic, joy-embracing strand of Islam,
12:10would mark a dramatic shift in his reign.
12:14I've travelled to Delhi to encounter Akbar's Sufi world.
12:23And I've never actually been to this place before, but I know I'm on the right track
12:27because it's a really famous Sufi shrine or mausoleum called the Durga.
12:33Hello! So nice to meet you.
12:36So nice, happy to meet you. How lovely to meet you.
12:39What a place, what an incredible place.
12:41Also, Rana Sathy, an expert on Indian Sufism, is showing me the Nizamuddin Dargah.
12:47Look at this place. Look at the one that's in front of me.
12:49It is so beautiful. It is so beautiful.
12:51When you come here, you get so much of peace.
12:54Yes. And, you know, that feeling of acceptance, of inclusivity.
12:58Beautiful. Generations' worth of approaching God.
13:01Yes.
13:03Akbar prayed in Sufi shrines in Delhi...
13:09..as pilgrims still do today,
13:12laying offerings to saints and their disciples.
13:18So, there's Sufism in Delhi?
13:20Yes, there's Sufism in Delhi.
13:22So, this is where you pray?
13:24Yes, this is where I pray.
13:27So, there seems to be this real tradition of writing and song
13:31and poetry and music.
13:33It's sort of words and words are very important.
13:35A river of love runs in strange directions.
13:39And whoever gets into it drowns.
13:45That doesn't sound good.
13:47And those who drown in the love of...
13:49Drown in the divine.
13:51And those who try to swim across it never get across.
13:53So, you've got to sort of submit yourself...
13:56Yes, this is, as I said, this is the philosophy of Sufism.
14:00Submission to God.
14:02The word Muslim and word Islam means submission.
14:10There's celebration of positivity and tolerance is everywhere here,
14:14particularly in traditional songs.
14:26Look, incredible voices they have.
14:28And I love the fact...
14:30I just spoke to them now and they said,
14:32do you want a particular song?
14:34And I said, I'll sing a song about love.
14:36And they said, every Sufi song is about love.
14:38But I was expecting it to be joyful,
14:40but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so...
14:42just incredibly invigorating and inspiring.
14:44And I can see why Sufism is so important.
14:46And I can see why Sufism is so important.
14:48And I can see why Sufism is so important.
14:50And I can see why Sufism is so important.
14:52And I can see why Sufism is so important.
14:54And I can see why Akbar, this great king,
14:56was kind of fired up by Sufism to achieve in the world.
14:58was kind of fired up by Sufism to achieve in the world.
15:00What an amazing night.
15:17This open-hearted message spurred Akbar
15:19to relocate his capital closer to his favourite guru.
15:21to relocate his capital closer to his favourite guru.
15:24He decided to move here.
15:26And he renamed his new city
15:28Fatipur Sikri,
15:30the City of Victory.
15:32And here it is
15:34in all its amazing splendour.
15:36in all its amazing splendour.
15:45Fatipur Sikri is wonderfully well-preserved,
15:47Fatipur Sikri is wonderfully well-preserved,
15:49which allows archaeologists and historians
15:51to reconstruct Mughal courts
15:53to reconstruct Mughal courtly life here.
15:55And the brilliant thing,
15:57if you think about it,
15:59is that this is the vision of one man.
16:01So every single building
16:03gives us a clue about his ethics
16:05and his values
16:07and how he ruled his vast empire.
16:19Akbar's kingdom was incredibly efficient
16:22and fabulously wealthy.
16:24and fabulously wealthy.
16:26Taxes funded an opulent court
16:28and his borders were expanded
16:30by a 100,000-strong army.
16:32by a 100,000-strong army.
16:36Travellers from across the world
16:38were incredibly impressed by this place.
16:40And we have the accounts of,
16:42one, a Ralph Fitch
16:44who came here in the 16th century
16:46and this is how he described it.
16:48Hither there is a great resort of merchants
16:50from Persia and from out of India
16:52and very much merchandise
16:54of silk and cloth
16:56and precious stones,
16:58rubies, diamonds and pearls.
17:00And it's no surprise really
17:02that he was so blown away by this place
17:04because when he was writing,
17:06England had a population of 4 million
17:08whereas Akbar
17:10ruled over 140 million people.
17:16In a radical move for a Mughal ruler,
17:19he married a Hindu princess,
17:21Jodhabai,
17:23favourite of his six wives
17:25and mother of that longed-for male heir.
17:27In her palace here,
17:29he built Jodhabai
17:31her very own Hindu temple.
17:33He clearly adored her.
17:35He described her as a piece of the moon
17:37and she was supposed to be beautiful
17:39and witty and smart
17:41and an amazing businesswoman
17:43so she traded silks and other luxuries
17:45in her own right.
17:47And Jodhabai's success
17:49was buttressed by religious tolerance
17:51a plus in a growing empire
17:53that encompassed so many belief systems.
17:57But nowhere is Akbar's religious policy
17:59in evidence more
18:01than this gorgeous place
18:03the Diwan-e-Kas
18:05is his private audience chamber
18:07because here he'd organise debates
18:09between different religious communities
18:11between Jains and Hindus
18:13and Zoroastrians and Christians
18:16and Muslims and all the time he would listen
18:18and learn.
18:22Dominating the interior
18:24is this two-storey hall
18:26and unusually the central pillar
18:28is crowded with Buddhist
18:30and Hindu
18:32and Islamic designs.
18:34Akbar observed the debates from up here
18:36in a position that represented
18:38the centre of the world
18:40and from what he heard
18:42he came to the conclusion
18:45that no single religion
18:47could claim ownership of the truth
18:49and so he developed
18:51his own religion
18:53Din-e-Ilahi
18:55which was a merging
18:57of all the different faiths in his empire
18:59to reconcile the differences
19:01between his divided people.
19:03The Din-e-Ilahi
19:05which Akbar created
19:07and led
19:09literally means
19:11the divine faith.
19:13It's genuinely moving
19:15because this Din-e-Ilahi
19:17is in many ways
19:19symbolic of the high point
19:21of Akbar's rule
19:23and the whole of Fatehpur Sikri
19:25is its embodiment
19:27but this great flowering
19:29of the rule of this great man
19:31was destined to end.
19:35In 1585
19:37after just 14 years
19:39Akbar abruptly moved his court
19:42first to Lahore and then to Agra
19:44without the optimistic
19:46can-do energy of the man
19:48who created this out of nothing
19:50the city of Fatehpur Sikri
19:52was all but abandoned.
19:54Akbar is cited
19:56by some as one
19:58of India's greatest leaders
20:00and in fact
20:02he and his Hindu wife Jodhabai
20:04often appear as hero and heroine
20:06in Bollywood epics
20:08but you know
20:10Akbar was not just lionized
20:12for the physical conquest
20:14and wise governance of Pan-India
20:16but for their synergistic
20:18listening approach
20:20Akbar's vision
20:22was big and bold
20:24and beautiful
20:26and experimental
20:28and Fatehpur Sikri
20:30is its embodiment
20:32which is why this place
20:34is a broad-minded
20:36treasure of hope.
20:40I've travelled
20:42400 miles across
20:44North India on the trail
20:46of our next treasure.
20:50This story starts
20:52here in the southwest corner
20:54of Rajasthan
20:56It's India's largest state
20:58and laced with rugged
21:00hill forts like this
21:02and those waterways that you can see over there
21:04and the islands and the distant
21:06citadels are confections
21:09of nature and
21:11constituents of my next treasure
21:13the lakeside palaces
21:15of Udaipur
21:21Udaipur is in the
21:23far west of India
21:25on the fringes of the Thar Desert
21:29The city's home
21:31to a proud clan of Rajputs
21:33a warrior culture
21:35whose royal family
21:37would reshape the
21:39environment with huge
21:41man-made lakes
21:43These are expressions
21:45not just of belief
21:47but of self-belief
21:49and they tell us not just about
21:51love of beauty of the soul
21:53but of extreme
21:55physical beauty too
22:01My first destination
22:03is the formidable city palace
22:06completed in 1559
22:08the largest in Rajasthan
22:12The network of at least 11 separate
22:14palaces reveals a passion
22:16for artistic beauty
22:18and defensive
22:20military mouse
22:24Because the palace was also
22:26a defensive citadel
22:28the corridors are incredibly
22:30labyrinthine
22:32designed to disorientate
22:34and outfox any
22:36potential invaders
22:46But then suddenly
22:48the palace opens up into these
22:50perfectly proportioned
22:52aesthetically beautiful
22:54courtyards
22:58The Maharajas didn't just use
23:00their substantial cash to weaponize
23:03their fortresses but also
23:05to adorn them with potent symbols
23:07celebrating the natural world
23:09like rooms decorated
23:11in the colors of peacocks
23:13and suns smiling with the faces
23:15of royal warriors
23:17Descendants of the family
23:19still live in the palace complex today
23:21Now I was hoping that I might get to
23:23talk to the current heir of this place
23:25and I've just heard that I've been
23:27granted an audience so I've whipped out
23:29my posh silk scarf
23:32and I'm on my way to talk to him
23:38Maharaj Kumar
23:40Lakshairaj Singhji
23:42of Miwar
23:44is the son of the current custodian
23:46of this palace
23:50What a spot
23:52to sit and have a conversation
23:54It does feel like there's a sort of harmony
23:56here between the palaces
23:58and the lakes and the islands
24:00I think Udaipur is one of the greatest examples
24:02from that perspective of being able to create
24:04things in tandem with nature
24:06and when you don't
24:08poke and probe too much
24:10and let things be natural, they flourish better
24:12And also just the fact that nature is so
24:14inspirational to us as humans
24:16but it's amazing seeing all around the images of the sun
24:18everywhere in this palace
24:20because your ancestors, they didn't just worship the sun
24:22they said that they were descended
24:24from the sun
24:26Well, sun is life
24:29Even for water
24:31is worshipped in our part of the world
24:33The greatest reason is so that
24:35it's not wasted, it's not abused
24:37it's not taken for granted
24:39So those were the elements
24:41that I think from our history and our culture
24:43it's really to be able to make sure
24:45that we are in a situation today
24:47to pass it on to the next generation
24:49better than what we received it
24:51So we're sitting here in this beautiful palace
24:53that's witnessed so much history
24:55Your family has created history
24:57What is the one lesson do you think
24:59that we should learn from the past?
25:01I thought there were going to be no difficult questions
25:03I thought we had an understanding
25:05of all easy questions
25:07I think the past certainly teaches us
25:09one thing and if I can sum it up in one word
25:11would be respect
25:13from nature to people to food
25:15to environment
25:17and we need to ask ourselves
25:19how much of that are we really doing?
25:21The City Palace
25:23is magnificent
25:25but not the only royal residence in town
25:35Perhaps most breathtaking
25:37is Jagnewar's Palace
25:39commonly known as the Lake Palace
25:41By the way, if this palace looks familiar
25:43it's because you'll have seen
25:45Roger Moore arriving at it
25:47in the James Bond film
25:49Octopussy
25:57The Lake Palace
25:59now a very swanky hotel
26:01was built by Miwar ruler
26:03Maharana Jagat Singh II
26:05as a pleasure palace
26:07to retreat from the blistering
26:09Rajasthani summers
26:19and throughout there are open
26:21pavilions and verandahs
26:23and colonnades to tempt in
26:25the lake's cooling breezes
26:31Built between 1743
26:33and 1746
26:35decorative details like glass
26:37inlays and courtyard pools
26:39reflect the beauty of the lake
26:45The whole palace is
26:47orientated east
26:49so its inhabitants could worship
26:51the dawn, the rising sun
26:53the god Surya
26:55and this corner is called the Kush Mahal
26:57the Happy Palace
26:59because the sun's rays
27:01play through these beautiful
27:03stained glass windows
27:05to create a kind of kaleidoscope
27:07of living light
27:17The lakeside palaces of Udaipur
27:19emerge from a glorious
27:21and sometimes gritty past
27:23but do they have this kind of
27:25fairytale quality to them
27:27don't they?
27:29And they're a treasure of India
27:31because they celebrate the beauty
27:33of the natural world
27:35and the inspiration
27:37of beauty itself
27:47music
28:09I am incredibly
28:11lucky to be here
28:13because these are the abandoned
28:15private gardens
28:17of a man who built
28:19one of the wonders of the world
28:21They were a place
28:23that were full of feeling
28:25in their heyday
28:27and they are fabulously atmospheric now
28:29because this was a place
28:31of mourning for Shah Jahan
28:33the man
28:35who conceived and created
28:37this architectural
28:39jewel
28:41the Taj Mahal
28:45music
28:51The Taj Mahal complex
28:53with its stunning
28:55secret gardens is in Agra
28:57the historic capital
28:59of the Mughal Empire
29:01Conceived by Shah Jahan
29:03ruler from 1628
29:05to 1658
29:07it's a testament to his ability
29:09to harness the perfection of nature
29:11to glorify his reign
29:13Taj Mahal
29:15or crown of palaces
29:17is one of the new seven wonders of the world
29:19and a monument
29:21to love
29:25The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb
29:27as a tribute to
29:29Shah Jahan's favourite wife
29:31Mumtaz who tragically
29:33died in 1631
29:35giving birth to their
29:3714th child and basically
29:39Shah Jahan was saturated
29:41with grief and he went into mourning
29:43for two years and when he emerged
29:45he ordered the construction
29:47of this magnificent
29:49majestic memorial
29:57How are you? Good, how are you?
29:59Where are you from?
30:01I'm from London. Ok, keep it up
30:03Bye, see you
30:05No
30:09Noble laureate
30:11Rabindranath Tagore
30:13called the Taj Mahal
30:15a teardrop on the cheek of eternity
30:17and it doesn't
30:19disappoint
30:21This is the main gateway through which
30:23most people get their first glimpse
30:25of the Taj Mahal
30:27but this whole complex was designed by
30:29Shah Jahan and actually that inscription
30:31there, a quote from the Quran
30:33reads, enter among
30:35my servants, enter
30:37my paradise
30:39The idea is that this is a kind of
30:41paradise on earth to reflect
30:43the heaven that Mumtaz
30:45is hopefully inhabiting
30:57It is extraordinary
30:59so you can see why it's world famous
31:01and why it draws crowds
31:03from around the world
31:07Millions of visitors come to enjoy
31:09these glorious gardens
31:11that surround the brilliant white
31:13marble mausoleum
31:15including
31:17a happy coincidence
31:19my old friend and philosophy expert
31:21Shantum Seth
31:23This is my first time
31:25No
31:27I don't believe it
31:29I hope that you'll be pleasing me
31:31because why I'm here is talking about
31:33the gardens. I tell you what, it's a bit like
31:35paradise meeting you here
31:37Paradise made real
31:39Yes, it is paradise
31:41That's the word, that's what they use
31:43in Persian and Sanskrit
31:45so we've entered paradise
31:47and of course for the Muslims
31:49having anything green
31:51that whole religion
31:53in the desert, it's so important to have
31:55greenery and
31:57gardens
31:59Floral details everywhere
32:01are a nod to this celebration of the natural
32:03world
32:05but the initial
32:07design of the gardens
32:09was quite different
32:11They were originally a central
32:13part of Shah Jahan's vision
32:15but you have to completely
32:17wipe from your mind everything
32:19that you see here now because
32:21this was designed by Lord Curzon
32:23during British rule
32:25so it's basically a kind of manicured
32:27English lawn
32:29version of perfection
32:3119th century
32:33photos show what the gardens
32:35looked like before Curzon's
32:37restoration of 1909
32:39and you can see that originally the garden
32:41was much more kind of verdant
32:43and pastoral
32:45and almost mystical
32:47you'd have glimpsed it through the cypress
32:49trees and it makes complete sense
32:51that because actually the word
32:53paradise stems from an old
32:55Persian root that originally meant
32:57a walled garden so
32:59what was being created here
33:01was literally a kind of
33:03sacred landscape
33:07And on the far side
33:09of the Yamuna River
33:11there's another garden, often overlooked
33:13that's revealing clues
33:15to Shah Jahan's vision
33:17This magical place is
33:19called the Mehtab Bagh or the
33:21Midnight Garden and
33:2318th century drawings tell us that this was
33:25part of the concept of the original
33:27complex with that river over there
33:29the river Yamuna representing
33:31one of the rivers of paradise
33:37This is a lost world that's
33:39only now being carefully
33:41reconstructed. A few years ago
33:43there was a brilliant bit
33:45of botanical detective work
33:47that happened here because
33:49archaeologists dug down and they
33:51discovered the seeds of plants
33:53that were originally planted here
33:55so there was the coxcomb plant
33:57with a wonderful red flower
33:59that attracted birds
34:01red cedars that would flower
34:03fragrantly at night and the jujube tree
34:05which is still here
34:07laden with fruit that could be
34:09plucked for a midnight feast
34:15But the grieving Shah Jahan wasn't free
34:17of these gardens for long
34:19In 1658
34:21a mere decade after the Taj Mahal
34:23was completed
34:25he was imprisoned in Agra's
34:27Red Fort until his death
34:29by one of his own sons
34:33From his cell we're told that
34:35the grief stricken emperor
34:37could see the monument of devotion
34:39that he'd constructed
34:41for the wife he so loved
34:47After his death
34:49the Mughals remained the dominant military
34:51administrative and cultural force
34:53in India for much of the next century
34:55and they continued
34:57to put enchanting gardens
34:59at the heart of their
35:01inspired creations
35:03This great dynasty
35:05has left behind
35:07an unparalleled inheritance
35:09some of the
35:11finest monuments in world
35:13history, the very
35:15best of which, like the Taj Mahal
35:17harness the
35:19soul lifting beauty
35:21of nature in their grand designs
35:23which is why
35:25the Taj Mahal and its secrets
35:27will always be
35:29a wonder of India
35:41Our next treasure takes me to the
35:43northern state of Punjab
35:45to a city that is
35:47the heart and soul
35:49of the Sikh religion
35:51the Golden Temple
35:53in Amritsar
35:59I've never actually been here before
36:01so I've arranged to meet
36:03a man who's as passionate
36:05about history as I am
36:07and we've only spoken on the phone
36:09I think this is, oh this is him
36:11This is Karan D
36:13How are you? Such a long time
36:15that we've been talking about things
36:17Finally, great to have
36:19an acquaintance with you
36:21So lovely, and thank you
36:23I'm a stranger in this city
36:25Amritsar is
36:27infamous as the place where more than
36:29370 civilians
36:31were killed by the British in 1919
36:33That atrocity
36:35is commemorated by memorials
36:37throughout the city
36:39which symbolised India's drive for independence
36:43This was the site of
36:45an abominable
36:47massacre
36:49affected by the British
36:51Is it OK that I'm here?
36:53Should I be here?
36:55It was an abominable act
36:57but at the same time
36:59I think the root of
37:01the belief, the Sikh belief system
37:03is in compassion
37:05is in forgiveness
37:07You should feel
37:09welcome because you're coming
37:11to the house of the Golden Temple
37:13and anyone who comes here
37:15with a seeking heart is welcome
37:17Great, I definitely have a
37:19seeking heart
37:21Amritsar is also home to
37:23the Sri Armandir Shahid
37:25the Golden Temple
37:27It's taken us a lot
37:29of time to get permission
37:31to film here because it
37:33is an incredibly sacred
37:35spiritual place
37:37and the people here don't want it to
37:39seem like a kind of tourist attraction
37:41but we have got permission
37:43and I'm allowed in so I'm not going to go in
37:45as a historian or a visitor
37:47but I'm going to go in
37:49and feel it spiritually by myself
38:06Sikhism was founded
38:08by Guru Nanak
38:10in the 15th century
38:12In 1601
38:14just over 60 years
38:16after his death
38:18this complex was completed
38:36A five metre deep pond
38:38gives the city its name
38:40Amrit means nectar
38:42of immortality
38:44and Sar, pool
38:51A dip in the sacred water
38:53is believed to wash away
38:55bad karma
39:02At its heart is the
39:04magnificent Golden Temple
39:08protecting the holiest Sikh text
39:10Guru Granth Sahib
39:14A record of Sikh leaders
39:16this scripture is honoured
39:18as the religion's ultimate guide
39:28Tarandeep is taking me to see
39:30a part of the temple that
39:32reflects the nature of Sikhism
39:34It's a kitchen
39:36and dining hall
39:38of mind boggling scale
39:40The Langar
39:42open to all
39:44Thank you
39:50So the idea of this
39:52is that no person
39:54should go to bed hungry
39:56Thank you
39:58Oh baby
40:00The idea is that
40:02everyone who comes to Amritsar
40:04is welcome
40:06It's between 75 and 100,000 a day
40:08a day
40:10are fed here
40:12and that's 24-7 as well
40:14It's a kind of representation
40:16of Sikhism this isn't it
40:18this idea that you have to help people
40:20with your deeds
40:31The food's simple
40:33and delicious
40:35eating together with hundreds of other people
40:37and companionable silence
40:39is an unexpectedly poignant experience
40:47And I'm allowed behind the scenes
40:49to witness the incredible mechanics
40:51that make this possible
41:01Be good
41:03These extraordinary pans
41:05cook almost
41:07two tonnes of dal
41:09and a tonne and a half
41:11of rice every day
41:15The scale of the production
41:17is incredible
41:19so there are five tonnes of wheat
41:21that are used here every day
41:23to make chapatis
41:25so that's not a cement mixer
41:27that's a chapati maker
41:31It's a humbling fact
41:33that 80% of the workers here
41:35are volunteers
41:44This is the most
41:46impressive logistical exercise
41:48but it must say something
41:50fundamental about Sikhism too
41:52Yes
41:54So the most basic thing
41:56is this concept of service
41:58serving others
42:00with no expectations in your heart
42:02When you see stories about Sikhism
42:04internationally
42:06often if there's some massive
42:08natural disaster like an earthquake
42:10or a kind of conflict
42:12then you see Sikh communities
42:14often kind of preparing
42:16but is that part of your service
42:18to your faith as well?
42:20100%
42:22Ultimately
42:24food is the most important thing
42:26and on a disaster
42:28the first thing that people
42:30then seek is the food
42:32and the concept of it being
42:34so beautifully ingrained
42:36in the Sikh system or in the Sikh psyche
42:38means that you bring this also
42:40to the world
42:42when the world needs it
42:44That's a beautiful thing
42:48Every feature of the complex
42:50the Golden Temple itself
42:52the pool, the langar
42:54are all clues to Sikh values
42:56and belief
42:58I mean I've just come from the temple
43:00it was genuinely moving
43:02because people really feel the spirit there
43:04you could see them praying
43:06I'm so glad to hear that
43:08Oh it's just such a beautiful calm atmosphere
43:10Did you notice in the sanctum
43:12you walk down the stairs to the sanctum
43:14and the sanctum sanctorum
43:16actually is below the level of the city
43:18the one symbolization of which
43:20is that you are supposed to be humble
43:22when you enter the house of God
43:24The other thing that you will probably notice
43:26is that there are four entrances
43:28which means everyone
43:30irrespective of the caste, creed, colour
43:32belief system is welcome
43:34which in that time would be something
43:36very very special
43:38And very radical for its time
43:40Very very radical
43:42I like to call it a living monument
43:44with the people's energies
43:46always being a part of creating the space
43:48or the monument so to say
43:50I mean I've been coming here for 35 years
43:52on the trail of philosophies and faith systems
43:54and belief
43:56Why do you think it is that India has
43:58nourished and nurtured so many different religions
44:00so many different ways of thinking
44:02That is a big question
44:04but I would say that in my understanding
44:06I think this only speaks about
44:08the
44:10nurturing
44:12and the welcoming space that India has to
44:14offer to all these belief systems
44:16That's great for me to hear as a historian
44:18because you realise that it really is
44:20one generation after another
44:22learning from each other
44:24Yes, isn't that beautiful
44:26we ought to learn from each other
44:28and consciously so
44:30Pavan Guru
44:36Pani Pita
44:48On this incredible journey
44:50I've been welcomed by spiritual
44:52seekers
44:54devoted pilgrims
44:56artists
44:58musicians
45:00all dedicated to sharing India's
45:02interwoven history
45:04Quite rightly, India is famous
45:06as the wellspring of so
45:08many different philosophies and
45:10faiths
45:12and beliefs
45:14and all kinds of systems
45:16metaphysical and spiritual journeys
45:18that have generated
45:20incredible physical remains
45:22so if you think about it
45:24there's Hinduism and Jainism
45:26and Sikhism and the flowering
45:28of Islamic culture here too
45:30quests for
45:32understanding that have left behind
45:34remarkable treasures
45:36so that this rich
45:38beautiful, deep, diverse
45:40place doesn't feel like
45:42one nation but a whole world
45:44of wonders
45:50I spoke to the Open University about my
45:52exploration of India
45:54To watch this exclusive interview
45:56and to discover more about past and
45:58present global cultures
46:00go to the Open University's website
46:02at connect.open.ac.uk
46:04forward slash
46:06treasures