DHARAMSHALA, July 29: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Sunday took part in an interactive session titled ‘Ru-ba-ru Roshni’ at the inaugural event of the 95th birthday celebrations of Rev. Dada J.P. Vaswani, head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission.
The discussion was moderated by popular India actor Aamir Khan and was attended by around 5000 people.
The Dalai Lama and Dada Vaswani spoke about secularism and the importance to inculcate moral values and ethics in children from an early age.
“Secularism means respecting all religions. One can be secular even while being a non-believer. By teaching children the right values, one can empower them to make the distinction between wrong action and the actor,” said the Dalai Lama.
Calling himself a messenger of the ancient Indian ideal of ahimsa (non violence), the 78-year-old Noble Peace Laureate described India as a proof for the entire world that different religions can co-exist in the world without conflict.
He further added that the service of humanity is the biggest form of prayer to god.
Speaking about politics creating divisions in the community, Dada Vaswani noted that belief in god is more important than being part of any community.
“No one will ever indulge in any wrong-doing if there is faith that there is a supreme power which is watching all humanity. Let us bring back god into our lives and homes,” he said.
Born on August 2, 1918, at Hyderabad, Sindh, now in Pakistan, Dada Vaswani is a scientist by training but later gave up a career in academics to follow in the spiritual footsteps of his illustrious uncle and Guru, Sadhu T. L. Vaswani.
On the sideline of taking part in the interactive session, His Holiness also attended the inauguration ceremony of the Tibetan Pavillion at the Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History in Wadgaon Shinde, Pune.
In his address the Dalai Lama urged Indians to practice two of its ancient values — Ahimsa and the tradition of religious harmony – and later spread it to the world.
“Great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and even Martin Luther King Jr. followed the Indian way of Ahimsa as it is the power of truth and sign of strength,” he said.
His Holiness also released a book ‘Glimpses of the History of Tibet’ by noted historian and writer Claude Arpi.
The Tibetan Pavilion is an exhibition of text and pictures on the travails of people from Tibet over the last 60 years.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama had arrived in Pune from an extended teaching and talking tour of the major Tibetan settlements in south India.
Following the programmes in Pune, the Dalai Lama left for Leh, Ladakh in north India on Monday to undertake about a month’s meditational retreat.
