Modi visits gurudwara, temple in Vancouver

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Khalsa Diwan Gurudwara and the Lakshmi Narayan Temple here. He was accompanied by his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.

At the Khalsa Diwan Society's Sikh Gurudwara, located on the southern edge of Vancouver, a large crowd of supporters gathered at the temple before filing inside.

Modi on Thursday said at the gurudwara: "We should fill life with colours of humanity, and serve mankind."

An official of the historic Sikh society said Modi will be the third Indian prime minister to visit, after Jawaharlal Nehru's visit in 1949 and Indira Gandhi's sojourn 42 years ago.

Modi described the reconstruction of the gurudwara at Lakhpat in Gujarat during his tenure as chief minister.

"The gurudwara at Lakhpat, where Guru Nanak had stayed for 15 days, had been damaged in the 2001 earthquake, and had been reconstructed successfully."

In his remarks at the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, the Indian prime minister thanked Harper and the people of Canada for the warm welcome and hospitality they had accorded to him.

Modi also urged the gathering to live life in balance with nature, and with compassion.

Noting that the United Nations had recently adopted June 21st as the International Day of Yoga with 177 countries co-sponsoring India's resolution, he said yoga had great potential to help the world overcome the stress of modern life, and urged people to spread this message.

Modi and Harper also visited the Komagata Maru Museum.