Ishnaan Seva - Washing Golden Temple at Midnight

Dadi: "Guddu, have you ever cleaned something with so much love that it felt like prayer?"

Guddu: "Cleaned with love? Cleaning is just... cleaning, isn't it?"

Dadi: "Not at the Golden Temple, beta. There, cleaning the floors is one of the most sacred privileges anyone can receive."

Guddu: "The Golden Temple in Amritsar?"

Dadi: "Yes! Every single night, around midnight, something beautiful happens. When the whole city sleeps, five special people are allowed to wash the temple floors with milk and water."

Guddu: "With MILK? That seems wasteful!"

Dadi: "*(smiling)* The milk isn't just cleaning, beta. It's honoring the marble that has absorbed four hundred years of sacred hymns. Imagine - that floor has been touched by countless devotees, has vibrated with prayers for centuries. The milk is like giving a blessing to the blessing."

Guddu: "Only five people?"

Dadi: "Only five each night. They stand in a circle around the most sacred spot - where the holy Guru Granth Sahib has been placed every single day for over four hundred years."

Guddu: "What do they do?"

Dadi: "First, an Ardas - a group prayer. Then they pour milk onto the marble and begin washing. Every rug, every brass railing, every flower decoration is removed. The whole temple is cleaned until it shines."

Guddu: "How long does it take?"

Dadi: "From midnight until about 1:30 in the morning. It's the only time in the entire day when the continuous singing of hymns stops at the Golden Temple."

Guddu: "They sing all day and night otherwise?"

Dadi: "For almost the full twenty-four hours! The Golden Temple never stops - sacred sound vibrates there constantly. Even during the cleaning, devotees recite hymns from memory, keeping the spiritual energy alive."

Guddu: "What does it feel like to do this seva?"

Dadi: "One person who did it described the temple as a "portal" - like an opening into another dimension. He said the floor wasn't just marble. It was a connection between heaven and earth, charged with centuries of devotion."

Guddu: "That sounds magical, Dadi."

Dadi: "The Sikh gurus taught that ishnaan - washing, bathing - isn't just physical. When you clean something sacred with a pure heart, you're also cleaning your own soul."

Guddu: "So the people doing seva are also becoming purified?"

Dadi: "Exactly! That's why it's a privilege, not a chore. Thousands of people volunteer for this honor. Being chosen for Ishnaan Seva is considered one of the greatest blessings."

Guddu: "I thought cleaning was the boring job nobody wants."

Dadi: "*(laughing)* That's the beauty of this teaching, Guddu! Nothing is "boring" when done with devotion. Washing floors can be as holy as chanting mantras - if your heart is in the right place."

Guddu: "So even when I clean my room..."

Dadi: "If you do it thinking, "This room is my temple, this work is my prayer" - yes! You transform the ordinary into sacred."

Guddu: "Why midnight, Dadi? Why not during the day?"

Dadi: "The amrit vela - the ambrosial hours before dawn - are considered the most spiritually powerful time. While the world sleeps, the veil between material and spiritual becomes thin. That's when the deepest seva can happen."

Guddu: "I want to visit the Golden Temple someday."

Dadi: "When you do, remember: every inch of that place has been cleaned with love for four hundred years. You're walking on prayers. You're surrounded by centuries of devotion. And somewhere in the marble beneath your feet, there's still the echo of milk poured at midnight by someone who thought washing floors was the greatest honor imaginable."

Guddu: "I'll never think of cleaning the same way again."

Dadi: "*(touching his head)* That's the gift of Ishnaan Seva, beta. It teaches us that there is no small work - only small hearts. Make your heart large, and even cleaning becomes a doorway to the divine."