26 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019
COVER STORY
THE DALAI LAMAHe then walked towards the wait-
ing audience and spoke in Tibetan.
He pointed to his forehead and
showed them an infection. It was per-
haps a reaction to the antibiotics he
took after a recent hospitalisation (a
rare occurrence). He then asked them
to heal him. Th e eyes that had so far
been stuck on his footsteps rose to his
face and started welling up. Could the
Dalai Lama, who transcends the mis-
eries that infl ict mortal souls, suff er?
A young woman broke down and ran
towards him. Th e Dalai Lama gave a
radiant smile—he had reminded his
followers that he, too, was human.
As he sat on his chair, people
came to him one by one. Th ey tightly
gripped his hand. Even his security
men shed a tear as the Dalai Lama
touched a speechless boy on his neck
and blew on his forehead, making
him smile. Th e boy then took away
his wheelchair-bound grandmother,
knowing he had found hope that day.
Born Lhamo Th ondup in Tibet
in 1935, and recognised at age two
as the reincarnation of 13 spiritual
ancestors, the Dalai Lama has been
living in India for 60 years and will
turn 84 on July 6. Questions of his
mortality and reincarnation are being
discussed not only in Mcleodganj,
but among Tibetans all over the
world and in political and diplomatic
offi ces in Delhi, Beijing, Washington
and elsewhere. Enthroned before
he turned four, the Dalai Lama’s
stature in India is nothing less than
that of the Buddha reincarnated. He,
however, would not agree. He says
the Buddha did not reincarnate, and
neither did any of the spiritual gurus
of Nalanda (see interview).
Th e Dalai Lama’s routine is now
fi xed. He wakes up at 3.30am,
performs prayers, takes a shower
in warm water treated with Tibet-
an herbs, meditates, and meets his
private guests from 9am till 11.30am.
He eats frugally, but does not like
to be disturbed while eating. After
lunch (he likes rice and dal), he readsholy texts, meditates and sometimes
watches television for news. He
takes a light snack, mostly tea and a
biscuit, at 4.30pm. He winds up the
day by sunset, and sleeps for nine
hours. “Th e best form of rest for him,”
quipped an aide.
Th e Dalai Lama says that while he
may have got his physical form from
Tibet, his spiritual consciousness was
Indian. “I consider myself a son of
India,” he told THE WEEK. “My way
of thinking has been shaped by the
works of the masters of the historical
Nalanda university, which I have
studied since childhood.”
He also talks about India to those
seeking spiritual solace, such as Sim-
ran Mittal, a student from Himachal
Pradesh, who broke down when she
asked him what the purpose of her
life was. Th e Dalai Lama held both
her hands and said: “As a young Indi-
an, you should feel proud that India
is the only nation that can combine
modern education that brings phys-
ical comfort, and ancient knowledge
on how to tackle destructive emo-
tions and keep peace of mind. It is
the only country that talks of ahimsa
(nonviolence) and karuna (com-
passion) in the 21st century. India
can make signifi cant contributions
to world peace through inner peace.
I sometimes feel I am more Indian
than western-educated Indians.”
Th en he laughed. Th e Dalai Lama
laughs a lot and giggles like a child.
His eyes twinkle all the time. But
when he speaks, he does not break
eye contact till he has completed
what he is saying.
Indeed, ahimsa is the greatest
article of his faith. In 1950, after
China’s invasion of Tibet, the Dalai
Lama was called upon to assume
full political power. In 1959, after the
brutal suppression of the Tibetan
national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese
troops, the Dalai Lama sensed a
threat to his life and, at the age of 24,
fl ed to India with a retinue of soldiers
and cabinet ministers. Th e one lakhTibetan refugees who followed him
are today expressing gratitude to
India for showing compassion and
large-heartedness.
As we moved on from the temple,
we found the Tibetan Children’s
Village tucked in a corner in Dhar-
amshala. We saw children in uniform
drinking water from a tap installed in
a crevice in a green hill. Th ey smiled
and waved at us. Atop the hill was
the dormitory where neatly kept
bunk beds, and the care of a foster
mother provide them a home away
from home. “One of the critical needs
of that time was to provide care for
the many children who had been or-
phaned or separated from their fami-
lies while fl eeing Tibet,” said Tsultrim
Dorjee, director of TCV in Dharamsh-
ala. “Th e fi rst batch arrived from the
road-construction camps in Jammu;
they were ill and malnourished. His
Holiness proposed that a centre for
destitute children be established and,
with the help of the government, the
Tibetan Children’s Village was born.
Today, it is a thriving educational
community with several branches in
India, extending from Ladakh in the