DHARAMSHALA: The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Virbhadra Singh, graced the second day of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday celebration organised by the Domey Association.
Extending his heartiest birthday wishes, the chief minister said, “I join with you all to wish a happy long life to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who lead not only the Tibetan people but also humanity at large. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has not only been the leader of Tibet but also a teacher of peace, tranquility, brotherhood and goodwill among all the nations, for which he is recognised by the world community.”
“We are very happy that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his government in exile are situated at Dharamshala in my state of Himachal Pradesh. We adore him and he is a leading example of tranquility and struggle and also of high thinking even under very adverse conditions”, he added.
Mr Edward John, a prominent First Nations Canadian political leader, reminisced His Holiness’s recent visit to Australia where he met with a group of indigenous people and talked about their culture and language and the importance of keeping these in the family of humanity. He added, “I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, for our children, grandchildren and over 370 million indigenous people across the world, how important the message is from you”. He gifted a pair of slippers and a colourful traditional blanket as a token of profound gratitude to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
In his address, His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressed deep concern over the plight of indigenous peoples in various countries. He said that the aboriginals must be educated so that they can learn to blend with modernity. Talking on the preservation of one’s culture and tradition, His Holiness said “Script is prerequisite to preserve one’s culture and tradition. He said those who do not have script should make one. He said as a Tibetan he is thankful and proud of his ancestors for having a very rich Tibetan script and language.
Talking more on the indigenous people, His Holiness recalled his conversation with a black native who is emotionally and mentally cowed. His Holiness expressed his sadness when that man believed that a brain of a black man is less abled than a brain of a white man. Referring to the inferiority complex of the aboriginals, His Holiness said that Chinese have treated the Tibetans as uncivilized as well. “Had the Tibetans not curbed by limited opportunity, they would have been par with the Chinese people”, His Holiness said. The 21st century is the century of equality, he said, adding that one doesn’t need to be submissive.
His Holiness further talked about the sense of unity and interdependency. He said that ‘self-centeredness’’ is the root cause of all the troubles in the world. “Due to the self-centered attitude, the world never ceases to create problems. We live in a community where we cannot stay isolated, thus we have to be dependent on others. Our happiness depends on how healthy our humanity is,” His Holiness said.
Sharing his thoughts on universal happiness, he said that the real nature of human kind is being compassionate since the creator of the world himself is an embodiment of love and compassion. He said that love and compassion are innate in every human being because of being nurtured by mother’s love.
Attributing the lack of love and compassion to today’s education system which focuses solely on materialism, Holiness underlined the need to bring equal focus on inner values as well.
