Merging conflict in git-novice repository

I got an error message stating "Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result" after following the exact instructions in the option 2 at the line : https://github.com/dmgt/swc_github_flow/blob/master/for_novice_contributors.md

after typing the command at 2e : git pull upstream gh-pages

As a result, subsequent command to commit holds an error too. The prior command git status showed that there are no new commits. But, pulling the changes from the remote "uptream" creates merging conflicts.