11 March 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji at New Zealand Parliament

550th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, by MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi at the New Zealand Parliament.

A documentary (produced and provided by Rajwant Singh and Aautaur Productions) to show the life and teachings of the great Guru was showcased. The event was well attended by Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic core and guests. Shri J Ramados represented the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand Shri Muktesh Pardeshi; S. Bhavdeep Singh Dhillon Honorary Consul General of India in New Zealand also made time to participate in the celebrations.

A special stamp to mark this occasion was also released on the day.

Guru Nanak’s lessons were true then as they are now. Celebrations of Guru Nanak and his lessons of embracing diversity, welcoming others and practising selfless service are timely as we are about to mark the first anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks.

Sikhism the youngest religion of the world and the fifth largest, it is made up of selfless volunteers who obey the teachings of their Guru and are always ready to help.

Guru Nanak was a visionary, he spoke of equal rights for women at a time when this notion didn’t come to mind of many others.

His words were “Sau kyun manda aakhiye jit jamme rajan” translated this means how can we talk negative of women of our society, when they give birth to us.

Another teaching of Guru Nanak was on ecology where he constantly advocated the need to plant trees and care for our flora and fauna. Once again this teaching was ahead of his times. -TIN Bureau