CHENNAI: “The inherent human nature is ‘positive and compassionate,” His Holiness the Dalai Lama said during a lecture on ‘Human Touch to World Peace’ as part of the Extra Mural Lecture Series at the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai yesterday.
Addressing the audience, His Holiness the Dalai Lama spoke in detail on his three main commitments in life. Firstly, he said, “Being one of the seven billion human beings, my primary commitment is promoting a ‘sense of oneness’.” He added that all human beings are same; they want happiness and do not want suffering. But unfortunately all of the conflicts and chaos in the world today is due to the secondary level of differences, he explained.
Calling himself as a 20th century man, His Holiness stressed on the bloodshed and conflict caused by his generation despite the massive technological development. Pointing at the young energetic IIT students, His Holiness remarked, “these young people of the 21st century generation, you have the real responsibility to build a happy century, and for that you need a sense of ‘Universal Responsibility’ with vision. We also need patience and determination then only you can make a difference to the world.”
On his second commitment, His Holiness said that as a Buddhist monk and a religious man, he aspires for inter-religious harmony. “All major religious traditions espouse the same human values,” he said, adding that there are minor differences in philosophical views and concepts, but all the major religious institutions’ real message and real practice is same; the practice of love.” In order to practice love, His Holiness added, “One must also practice forgiveness, practice of contentment, practice of self-discipline.”
Appreciating the peaceful co-existence of the multi-religious traditions in India, His Holiness said that today conflicts often take place in the name of religion in the world; However, India is a unique example of religious harmony. His Holiness also suggested that India should initiate inter-faith meetings to further contribute towards religious harmony.
Describing himself as a ‘messenger of ancient Indian philosophy’ His Holiness said, “Every single cell in my brain is filled with Nalanda thoughts, Nalanda philosophy and Nalanda logic. This physical body too, for over 50 years, survived on Indian Dal and Indian chapattis. Moreover, a major portion of my lifetime was spent in this country. Therefore, I consider myself as son of India. I am also the longest guest of the Indian government.”
Speaking on his third commitment, His Holiness elaborated, “I am a Tibetan. I think 95% of Tibetans in Tibet fully trust me so they put lot of hope on me. So I have a moral responsibility to serve them as much as I can.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama also emphasized on the environmental issues facing the Tibetan plateau, particularly the melting of the snowy glaciers and the construction of dams on the rivers originating from Tibet.
Recalling a report on the environmental impact of Tibetan plateau written by a Chinese ecology expert, His Holiness said that Tibet can be described as the third pole and documented the impacts of environmental degradation on the Tibetan plateau. He stated, “Political matters can be changed overnight through political decisions. However, if ecology is destroyed, it takes decades to repair the damage, so it is very important.” He also explained that the impact of the Tibetan plateau is not only limited to the Tibetan people but millions of Chinese people and Indians as well.
Responding to a question about his role model, His Holiness answered that his role model is his mother. “My mother was uneducated and illiterate, just like any other typical village farmer. But she was a very kind person,” He also added that in modern days, Mahatma Gandhi is his role model. He also included Gandhi’s followers Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela among his heroes.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama also had a brief meeting with the Tibetan college students and other professionals residing in Chennai after his engagement at IIT.
– Report filed by Tenzin Yangchen –
