Amritsar

03 October 2018

Secretary-General's comments at the Golden Temple

António Guterres, Secretary-General

I want to express my deep respect for the religion of the Sikh people and this wonderful Golden Temple, in which the spirit of peace, tolerance and ecumenism is present. I prayed here as a Catholic but, all people, from all religions in the world, can pray in this holy place.
 
There are unfortunately not many temples in the world where this is possible, and this makes me feel very happy to be here and very proud to be invited. And, at the same time, it increases my admiration for the Sikh communities everywhere: the Sikh community in India, the Sikh community in my part of the world, in Europe, in North America, everywhere where Sikhs are contributing to the development of our world.
 
I want to express to my hosts my deep gratitude and wish you all the best – to the wonderful practice that the Golden Temple represents, receiving everybody, sharing with everybody the food, but, more than the food, sharing this wonderful spirit of peace, of harmony, of understanding that we badly need in today’s world.