‘Religious leaders play major role in promoting harmony’

New Delhi, Feb 4: Religious leaders in India, especially the Muslims, have a major role in promoting religious harmony, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Saturday. “The Indian religious leaders, especially the leaders of Muslim community, have a major role in promoting religious harmony,” the elderly Buddhist monk said while addressing over four hundred Indian students and scholars at a teaching session organised by Vidyaloke here.

Vidyaloke is an initiative focused on revitalising ancient Indian traditions. He said in India, concepts such as ‘ahimsa’ have existed for more than 3,000 years. “It’s time for Indians to activate these principles for the benefit of the entire human family.”

“Indians should take more active role in promotion of inner values, as it is a part of the ancient Indian tradition,” he said. Concluding his discourse on Buddhist philosopher garju’s ‘Letter to a Friend’, the spiritual leader advocated the revival of ancient Indian knowledge through scholarships on the landa tradition and the teachings of the 17 landa masters.

“You are the master of the ancient Indian knowledge, particularly the landa tradition. As Tibetan Buddhists, we are the messenger. On the level of messenger, we are making every effort. Now the Indians as masters should take active role in promoting these human values; not through prayers but rigorous study,” he said.

Identifying himself as a messenger of the ancient Indian thought and as a son of India, the Dalai Lama, who is revered by the Tibetans as a living god, said: “Each cell of my brain is filled with landa thought and physically I am survived by Indian food. Therefore, in all sense, I describe myself as son of India.”

“If I boast a little bit, since I follow these great masters of landa, I have also become a tiny master myself,” he said with a hearty laugh. In an emotiol recollection of his experience as a leader of the Tibetan people and as a Buddhist scholar, he said, “At the beginning, the concern was of my own survival. (ians)