Srinagar, July 14: The spiritual leader of Buddhists, Dalai Lama, who is currently on his week-long visit to Indian administered Kashmir Saturday prayed for peace, and prosperity of the region.
Addressing a public reception function organized by Tibetan community to honour him at the Tibetan High School, he prayed for peace, prosperity and the well beings of the people of Kashmir.
He emphasized the need of introducing value based education in schools to create a healthy and harmonious society. “The material and money aspects should not be the goal of education. Education should nurture and groom young children in the best mould decorated with all values of human dignity, compassion and togetherness”, he said.
Calling for creating a harmonious society where mutual brotherhood, tolerance and care for each other will rule the roast, the Dalai Lama said, “man is a social animal and his intelligence should always guide him in the life process. The anger and negative feelings should never be allowed to conquer the intelligence and commonsense of human beings gifted to them by the God. You should not get your life process and day to day activities disturbed by negative feelings, jealousy and anger”, adding that animals may nurture such feelings but human beings are gifted with intelligence and they can analyse and make difference between good and bad, negative and positive.
He said that circumstance may compel to take counter measures but these should be without anger, hatred and negativity. “This attitude possesses more mass and is more effective to obtain long term and short term benefits for the society and human beings. The humans have the ability to control destructive feelings and anger and they should utilize their intelligence to suppress and check these feelings which are detrimental both to the human beings and the society.”
Lauding the harmony prevailing between the Tibetan and Kashmiri communities, Dalai Lama said both are living in harmony and amity. He expressed the hope that the relations between the two will get further strengthened and they will jointly contribute for the development of the State.
Welcoming Dalai Lama, the Chief Minister of Kashmir Omar Abdullah said Dalai Lama’s visit to Srinagar after a gap of 24 years is a great occasion. “You are not only our respected guest but a revered religious personality”, he told Dalai Lama and sought his good wishes for the State and the people for peace, development and progress.
He said that Tibetan School enrols both Kashmiri and Tibetan students and the teachers in the school are from both the communities. “This symbolizes the traditional brotherhood and cultural harmony”, he added and emphasized the need for its further strengthening.
Later, in the evening Dalai Lama met Kashmir’s Governor N N Vohra.
The Governor presented a shawl to the Dalai Lama, gave two books to the former and wished him success in bringing peace and progress in the State.