[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      RECOGNIZING THE 550TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF GURU NANAK

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                        HON. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 2020

  Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 
550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh 
religion. The 8th Congressional District of Illinois is home to many 
Sikh-Americans and Sikh faithful. I wish to acknowledge Guru Nanak's 
birth anniversary in the history of the Sikh religion and the important 
influence of Guru Nanak and Sikhism on other religions.
   Born the child of Hindu merchants, Guru Nanak spent his childhood in 
the village of Talwandi, which is located in the modern-day province of 
Punjab in the modern nation of Pakistan. In keeping with the custom of 
the times, he married at an early age and was quickly blessed with two 
sons. He began his adult years working at a storehouse for tax 
collections, and exploring his spiritual side through meditation, 
writing hymns, and poetry.
   Guru Nanak soon felt an irresistible calling to pursue spiritual 
enlightenment, however, after his thirtieth year embarked upon a series 
of pilgrimages in search of wisdom and religious truth. During this 
phase of his life, he composed a series of hymns that formed the basis 
of the Sikh religion and the foundation of the Adi Granth, the sacred 
text compiled in the early 17th century by the Fifth Sikh Guru Arjun.
   As revealed by Guru Nanak and the Adi Granth, Sikhism teaches that 
there is only one God, that God is without form or gender, that we are 
all equal before God, and that a good life is lived as part of a 
community and expressed by good deeds (and not merely by faith or good 
thoughts). Sikh spirituality encompasses a belief in an unending 
succession of birth, life, death and rebirth until perfection is 
realized and one's soul is released from this cycle after achieving a 
complete understanding and acceptance of the nature of God.
   Guru Nanak is recognized as the first of the ten gurus revered by 
Sikh faithful throughout the world. His truths continue to guide the 
Sikh community and form the bedrock of its commitment to public service 
and deeply ethical behavior.
   Madam Speaker, on this 550th anniversary of his birth I want to 
recognize the founding contribution of Guru Nanak to Sikhism, one of 
the world's great religions, and also the many gurdwaras in the greater 
Chicagoland area and the Sikh faithful in the 8th Congressional 
District, for their service to their communities.

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