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Krishnamurti Birth Centenary Year Inaugurated by Dalai Lama
INDIAN EXPRESS JAN. 22 1995:
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Dalai Lama calls for 'love free of religion'
MADRAS - Human beings should develop love and compassion independent of any
religion or faith, the Dalai Lama, who is the spiritual head of Tibetian
Buddhists, declared on Saturday. 'When we're born, we're free from any
religion, but we're not free from human love," he said while inaugurating the
J.Krishnamurti Birth Centenary programmes in the City.
Compassion should arise from the goodness of human beings, rather than
from any particular faith. Individuals must have universal responsibility;
"without that, how can we solve our problems?" he asked.
Paying homage to J.Krishnamurti, the Dalai Lama said Krishnaji was one
of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of the age and pointed out that the
philosophy left behind by great thinkers was immortal, irrespective of whether
they were alive or dead.
Underlining the interdependency of the world, he said there could not
be any individual interest which was independent of human interest as a whole.
"If humanity is happy, I'm happy; if humanity suffers, I suffer," he said and
added that the future of any individual was related to the future of the entire
humanity.
Rather than be "foolish-selfish", individuals must be "wise-selfish":If
there was a compassionate atmosphere in the whole world, then individuals would
get the benefit.
On the need for greater harmony, the Dalai Lama said:"It won't come
from the sky like some blessing;No, no;we have to make the effort." There was
no use blaming the politicians; the effort must come from each individual.
Highlighting the importance of non-violence as a guiding principle of
life, he said this principle came closest to human nature. Non-violence was
not just mere absence of violence, but was a manifestation of compassion. It
involved love and respect for the other's rights. There must be genuine concern
for one's enemy - everyone had the right to be happy and to overcome suffering.
Non-violence was an effective instrument in solving problems. While
violence could achieve certain things, it could bring some side-effects and
counter-violence. However, non-violence, even if it did not bring cent per cent
success, was most effective as a long-term solution, he said.
The Dalai Lama identified gentleness as a basic human nature. While
jealousy and anger were also part of the human mind, they were not a dominant
part. If the mind was disturbed by jealousy and fear, it would "spoil our
physical condition".
There was a need for reducing negative emotions in human beings, and
for increasing positive emotions like love and compassion. The very purpose of
human existence was happiness, he said.
The Dalai Lama called for a middle-path between 'permanence' and
'nihilism'. While a belief in the primacy of the object was wrong as external
objects did not "exist from their own side", the concept of 'nihilism' went
against human experience, he said.
On the struggle of the Tibetan people, he said while this could be
termed as sad and unfortunate, there was also the opportunity to realise the
full human potential. There was need for bringing together the brain and the
heart in solving problems. Most of the human problems "are actually our own
creation". While certain problems were unavoidable, the rest could either be
reduced or eliminated. Human intelligence could solve the problems of its own
creation, but there was need for using the heart also, he said.
The most important thing was to take effort in solving problems. "With
effort, even failure does not matter, but if there is failure without any
effort, then it is unfortunate." There must not be any regrets about not having
made the effort, he said.
The Dalai Lama released a Souvenir brought out to mark the birth
centenary of the philosopher.
Former President R.Venkataraman, who is the chairman of the
Krishnamurti Birth Centenary Committee, while paying tributes to J.
Krishnamurti, said the philosopher was not a guru or a teacher, but a
fellow-searcher in the quest for truth.
Vice-chairperson of the Birth Centenary Committee, Mrs. Pupul Jayakar,
said Krishnamurti was the great religious revolutionary of the age. He
repeatedly stated 'Hold on to the teaching and forget the teacher' and was
against any memorial being built for him. His presence was felt everywhere,
especially in the schools now being run in his name.
Secretary of the Krishnamurti Foundation India, Mr. O.R.Rao, proposed a
vote of thanks.
