Frankly speaking, it was the reputation of the protagonist, HH the XIV Dalai Lama (Lama Thondup turned Tenzin Gyatso) that cropped a desire to read this work. The day I spotted the book with my colleague RP Rao, without delay I acquired the reading rights.
The author though entitled to a lot of air, surprisingly and delightfully is more grounded than most of us. The simplicity and sincerity of his tone rivets you to the story. Added to this is the colourful culture and landscape of Tibet (Potala palace reinforces it). His hope and cultivated patience in the face of provocative oppression, in the interest of his land and people is the undercurrent in the later half of the book.
The unique beliefs, passion for religion, simple life of Tibetans enchant us consistently. This unfailingly leads us to empathize with the Tibetan cause.
Few learnings from this book for my benefit:
- For it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.
- "Political power comes from the barrel of a gun"- Mao
- 'Man is ultimately responsible for his own destiny'- Marxism".
- There is a limit to what individuals can do but no limit to universal response
- When men become desperate they consult the Gods. And when Gods become desperate they tell lies.
- deed done with good motivation is a religious act
- Words were like rainbows - beautiful but without substance.
- Intense competitiveness and insecurity makes people to show their true feelings only to their cats and dogs.
- Skeptical mind can be positive if used as the basis for further enquiry.
- Religion to serve humanity without ignoring reality.
- Human behaviour and not human beings that makes them my enemy.
- Intellectually directed desire
- I am aware that not finding something does not mean that it does not exist. It only proves that the experiment was incapable of finding it. (If I have a non-metallic object in my pocket which is not picked up by a metal detector, it does not mean that my pocket is empty)
- Universal responsibility as Human beings
- No matter what part of the world we come from, fundamentally we are all the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering.
For as long as space endures,
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I, too, abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
Some more:
Milarepa, Norbulingka
No comments:
Post a Comment