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Good morning. Today marks the 554th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith. The Guru lived during a period of great upheaval in society, when divisions in respect of faith and identity were becoming ever more apparent. Guru Nanak’s message was simple and yet profound. He called for compassion in the world and a dedication to the selfless service of others. He travelled Asia extensively for over a quarter of a century in order to spread those teachings and to unite disparate groups across the region. His travels even took him as far as the Middle East. During these travels, he engaged in dialogue with people from different backgrounds, challenging what he saw as hypocrisy in society, and questioning the values of individuals who appeared to put their own self-interest before the needs of the wider community. He was a revolutionary who advocated for changes in gender equality, rejected the caste system, and was committed to social justice. However, his revolution was created through fostering an environment of love and respect rather than through fear or violence. We may be five centuries on from the life and times of Guru Nanak, but when we look back to those times and compare them to today, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We are still grappling with the same issues of treating people fairly, equally and justly, and trying to move beyond discrimination in society towards a more egalitarian approach. It perhaps explains why his teachings continue to resonate with so many people, Sikh and non-Sikh alike, to the present day. Amongst Guru Nanak’s many teachings is the phrase “I am not good, no-one is bad”. For a religious leader to be ambiguous about concepts of good and bad, of righteousness and evil, may seem strange, but the Guru is asking us to think more deeply about such ideas. He is encouraging us to look beyond the binary forms of existence or argument, and to consider the nuance of the world around us with greater care and attention. All humans are fallible, people make mistakes, there are no absolutes when it comes to the experiences throughout one’s life. What matters is how one responds to those experiences. At a time when once again the divisions of identity are running deep, I hold on to the teachings of Guru Nanak as a touchstone for humanity, encouraging us to look at each other as one big family, united by what makes us human, faults and all, and to recognise that our shared values can ultimately overcome our differences.