Today, November 8, is a special day for Sikhs across the globe as today is the 553 rd
Prakash Utsav (birth anniversary) of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji – the founder of the
Sikh religion.
On the occasion of Guru Nanak’s Jayanti, the chairperson of the NZ Central Sikh
Association (NZSCA), Prithi Pal Singh Basra, visited the offices of the Indian
Consulate in Auckland. He and other senior leaders of the Indian diaspora met Hon
Consul of India in Auckland, Bhav Dhillon, at the Consulate.
Mr Dhansukh Lal, who is the President of the 100 year-old Auckland Indian
Association, was also present.
Mr Singh and Mr Dhillon exchanged greetings and wished the Kiwi Indian community
members on the occasion of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Gurpurab. A small meet and greet was also organised at the office of the Hon Consul of India in Auckland on this auspicious occasion.
The NZCSA is a national body that brings together 25 Gurdwaras, Sikh sports clubs,
Sikh associations and other bodies spread across New Zealand under a single
umbrella. It represents 60,000 Sikhs in this country and endeavours to unite the
entire Sikh community in NZ on a common platform to address issues concerning
their people and seek solutions.
During their meeting, Mr Dhillon presented a book on Guru Nanak Dev Ji, which
came from the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, as part of his
global outreach programme to Sikhs across the world.
“Today is the 553rd birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak
Dev ji, whose profound wisdom and message of peace made India the spiritual
capital of the world. He showed the path of a compassionate, virtuous life and an
inclusive society. Even the practice of langar (communal kitchen), whereby Sikh
gurdwaras around the world serve free food and the poor and hungry can eat there
as often as they want, is an embodiment of his compassion. His life is a tribute to his
commitment to equality and social justice.," Mr Dhillon said.
It may be noted that the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, attended and
offered prayers at celebrations of the 553rd Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
at New Delhi last night.
Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi said, "Inspired by Guru Nanak Dev
Ji's thoughts, the country is moving ahead with the spirit of the welfare of 130 crore
Indians."
He recalled Guru Nanak Dev Ji's teaching for spiritual enlightenment, worldly prosperity, and social harmony.
Underlining the eternal relevance of Guru's teaching, he said, "The glory of the Amrit
that we have in the form of Guru Granth Sahib, its significance is beyond the limits of
time and geography. We also see that when the crisis gets bigger, the relevance of
these solutions increases even more. In times of unrest and instability in the world,
the teachings of Guru Sahib and the life of Guru Nanak Dev ji are showing the
direction to the world like a torch."
The Prime Minister said that the more we live the ideals of our Gurus, the more we
embody a sense of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'; the more we give importance to
the values of humanity, the louder and clearer the teachings of Guru Sahibs will
reach every person. I have complete faith that, with Guru's blessings, India will keep
enhancing the glory of its Sikh tradition and will keep moving on the path of
progress."
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