His Holiness the Dalai Lama Opens Global Congress on World ReligionsMonday, 19 January 2009, 11:16 a.m.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama giving the opening address to the conference on ‘Global Congress on World Religions’ in New Delhi, India, on 17 January 2009.

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Friday emphasised the role of interfaith dialogue to promote better understanding of different religions and to create harmony and peace in the world.His Holiness delivered a key-note address after inaugurating a three-day ‘Global Congress on World Religions After September 11” at Jamia Milia Islamia university in New Delhi, which is being attended by over 150 delegates from 14 countries. The conference is jointly organised by the Centre for the Study of Comparative Religions and Civilisation Jamia Millia Islmia and the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Canada.Speaking on the problems of terrorism, His Holiness said “Just because some mischievous elements of a particular religion have done something wrong, the whole community following that religion should not be blamed,” and stressed the role of inter-religious dialogue to promote religious harmony.“Love, compassion and forgiveness are the basic inherent elements in every religion. We need to have inter-religious dialogue to have better understanding of different religions and create harmony and peace in this world,” His Holiness said.Mushirul Hasan, vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, spoke about the misconceptions about Islam promoting violence and clarified it was a religion that speaks of peace and coexistence.“Islam talks of peace more than anything else. Contrary to the thought of Islam having been spread through sword, it was spread through Sufism, which talked of co-existence,” he said.Sufism is the mystical dimension of Islam; in medieval times, it was a major movement, which attracted people from all walks of life.Later during the day,  His Holiness delivered the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial lecture on “Non-violence — A strategic tool,” and underlined the promotion of secular values.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama plants a sapling at the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia University

Emphasising the need to inculcate the spirit of tolerance and compassion from childhood, His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Saturday suggested such lessons would not only create a better world but also a human being at peace with oneself.His Holiness said all Indians should take the lead in practising and spreading the concept of non-violence and ahimsa.“The life of a human being is limited but spiritualism remains for centuries,” His Holiness said. His Holiness wondered why its practice was lessening in India, which had exported these values to other parts of the world.His Holiness said that if children in the kindergarten were to be taught compassion, tolerance and the spirit of accommodation, they would realise that dialogue was the way forward in situations that could otherwise lead to conflict.The concept of non-violence was not just abstaining from violence but to work in a way where violence became redundant. His Holiness recalled that one of the great practitioners of non-violence was Mahatma Gandhi and said personalities like the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King and the former South African President, Nelson Mandela, were deeply influenced by Gandhiji.Responding to a question on the application of non-violence in tackling terror, His Holiness said hope lay in preventing it in the future. He said those indulging in terrorist acts could not be termed mad people as some were very educated. He said such people harboured strong ill-feeling and hatred due to many reasons, some of which could be centuries old.Referring to 9/11, His Holiness said he told President George Bush that while he regarded the U.S. President as a nice person, he stood opposed to Mr. Bush’s policies. His Holiness said he had suggested to Mr. Bush that instead of spending billion of dollars in launching the war, the world would have been a much different place had these funds been utilised to spread education and health care. Besides the family of the late Madhavrao Scindia, those present on the occasion included Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyana Vadra, Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, his predecessor, Shivraj Patil, Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission Sam Pitroda, Rajya Sabha MP Shobhana Bhartia, and members of the diplomatic corps. (Source: Compiled from IANS and The Hindu)