Germany envoy hails Sikhs for COVID-19 humanitarian services

SGPC office bearers honouring ambassador of Germany on his visit to Sri Harmandar Sahib

The Ambassador of Germany to India Walter J Lindner today paid obeisance at Sri Harmandar Sahib which is also known as ‘Sri Darbar Sahib’ and ‘Golden Temple’, and appreciated humanitarian services rendered by the Sikhs and their organizations including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

On his arrival at the supreme Sikh shrine, Mr. Lindner was accorded a warm welcome and honoured him with a Siropao (robe of honour) and a golden model of Sri Harmandar Sahib.

Sharing his feelings on this occasion, he said, “I have felt relieved after paying obeisance at Golden Temple. My whole life I had a lot of respect towards India but especially also towards Sikhism. So, I wanted to see the holiest place of Sikhism. The spirit here is of solidarity, tolerance and of peace. These are the values of which we are in need today in the whole world. There are too many wars, fighting and hatred. So, Sikhism I think is one answer to this.”

“You can feel the spirit when you walk around the water tank (holy sarovar) and see people bathing there and drinking the holy water. It gives you an idea of the strength of Sikhism and its message. I am very happy to be received by my friends here (SGPC officials) and I already feel like a part of the family”, said Mr Lindner.

Sharing his message after the visit, Walter J Lindner said, “The message of Sikhism is of tolerance, peace, solidarity and love. It is a very strong message. If we listen to this message from very closely the world would be a better place. My message will be that let us all believe in these values and if we do so, we can live in a peaceful world.”

The Ambassador of Germany lauded the humanitarian services rendered by the SGPC and the Sikh community, especially, the services of langar (cooked food from community kitchen) and arrangements of free oxygen during COVID-19 pandemic.

The SGPC officials briefed the Ambassador of Germany on the Sikh history, traditions and Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib, to which he expressed special interest and curiosity. Walter asked a number of questions related to the Sikh faith, which were answered by the SGPC representatives.

Walter said that he visited Sri Harmandar Sahib for the second time in his life and earlier, he had visited the shrine 42 years ago when he was a young person with a backpack and now, he came back as an ambassador.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here