DHARAMSHALA, April 5: Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, has been awarded this year Templeton prize with award of $1.7 million for his “life’s spiritual dimension” on Thursday.
Tutu, 81, was awarded the prize for inspiring people around the world by promoting forgiveness and justice. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for standing up against white-minority rule.
Archbishop will receive the prize at the Guildhall in London on 21 May. Last year the award was given to Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who is a great friend of Tutu.
“When you are in a crowd and you stand out from the crowd it’s usually because you are being carried on the shoulders of others,” said South African Nobel Laureate and anti-apartheid campaigner
“I want to acknowledge all the wonderful people who accepted me as their leader at home and so to accept this prize in a representative capacity.”
Archbishop is the third Templeton Prize laureate who has also won the Nobel Peace Prize after Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.
Ahead of formally accepting the award in London, the foundation released a series of videos about the prize, John S. Templeton, Jr, Chairman and President explains of choosing the Tutu as the winner for the prize.
“By embracing such universal concepts of the image of God within each person, Desmond Tutu also demonstrates how the innate humanity within each of us is intrinsically tied to the humanity between all peoples,” Templeton said in the video.
“Desmond Tutu calls upon all of us to recognize that each and every human being is unique in all of history and, in doing so, to embrace our own vast potential to be agents for spiritual progress and positive change. Not only does he teach this idea, he lives it.”
Established in 1972, the Prize is a cornerstone of the John Templeton Foundation’s international efforts to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality.
The monetary value of the prize is set always to exceed the Nobel Prizes to underscore Templeton’s belief that benefits from discoveries that illuminate spiritual questions can be quantifiably more vast than those from other worthy human endeavors.
Tutu, who is an ardent support of the Tibetan freedom struggle, came to Dharamsala in February 2012 and was received at the local airport by the Dalai Lama.
