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| Gyani Harbhajan Singh, Gyani Manjit Singh and Gyani Bachitter Singh holding up a picture of Guru Hargobind Singh during his birthday celebrations at the Lautoka Sikh Temple. Picture: Jai Prasad |
President of the Sikh Association of Fiji Baiyant Singh said the celebration of the birth of Guru Hargobind was significant in that the former religious head espoused the virtues of being a saint while at the same time championing the ways of war to bring peace, equality and freedom.
"He was responsible for establishing the concept of saint and soldier within each individual. His teachings advocated goodness and also taught devotees to be prepared for battle against evil by overcoming all adversity," he said.
Mr Singh added that celebrations at the Lautoka Sikh Temple saw more than 200 devotees gather to recite hymns from sacred scriptures and participation in verbal discourses about Guru Hargobind's life and the principles he stood for.
Guru Hargobind was born in Amritsar in north-western India and is renowned as the first guru to engage in warfare. He followed in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev and was declared a guru in 1606. There are over 600 Sikhs living in the Sigatoka to Lautoka corridor.