His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks to the media at the Taj hotel, New Delhi. March 31, 2009/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL
New
Delhi, India, 1 April 2009 (By Namgyal Kunga, phayul.com) - His Holiness the Dalai lama visited various religious
sites here in the Indian capital and prayed with members from other
religious faiths yesterday on the 50th anniversary of his setting foot
on the Indian soil which was commemorated by the exile Tibetan
government as "thank you India day".
The 73 year old Tibetan
leader says promotion of religious harmony among various faiths is one
of his three commitments of life.
The Tibetan leader spoke at
a press conference attended by reporters from various national and
international media. He asked the media persons to visit the restive
Himalayan region themselves to find out the real situation. He said if
unbiased reporting found Tibetans in Tibet to be truly happy under
Chinese rule he would abandon his quest for greater autonomy. "If you
really see that things are good, we will drop our struggle." His
Holiness later attended the "thank you India" event at Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Thousands gathered at FICCI
to listen to the revered Tibetan leader who likes to describe himself
as a simple Buddhist monk. Presiding over the function as the chief
Guest was Shri Rabi Ray, former speaker of Lok Sabha and union
minister. Others present at the event include Dr. N.K Trikha, convenor
of core group for Tibetan cause, Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche, and
Kalon Tempa Tsering.
Speaking about India at the event, His
Holiness said, "I always describe our relation as guru (teacher) and
chela (disciple),so sometimes I jokingly tell my Indian friends when
chela facing difficulties, guru has some more responsibilities to take
care, so for the last 50 years year's experience I think guru really
take serious, sincere, care of us."
"Thank you," he said with his palms touched against each other.
In
an exclusive interview that was broadcast on the Indian national
television channel Doordarshan, the Tibetan leader said India should
take more active role in spreading the message of peace and non
violence which have been traditionally rooted in the Indian culture.
The
event concluded with the screening of a music video produced by the
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts on the occasion to thank the
people and government of India.
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