In news– The 14th Dalai Lama was recently conferred the Gandhi Mandela Award 2022 a by Himachal Pradesh governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
What is Gandhi Mandela Award?
- It is a peace prize awarded by the New Delhi-based Gandhi Mandela Foundation.
- A government of India registered Trust, the Gandhi Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation, formed with the motive to promote Mahatma Gandhi’s and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela’s values of non-violence.
- The foundation instituted the award on the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, MK Gandhi.
- The award recognises global leaders who inspire citizens for peace, unity and freedom.
- The award is given to personalities who have carried forward the legacies of Gandhi and Mandela by making significant contributions in the fields of Peace, Social Welfare, Culture, Environment, Education, Healthcare, Sports and Innovation.
About Dalai Lama(Tenzin Gyatso)-
- He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet.
- The Dalai Lama’s birthday is celebrated as one of the grandest events of Tibetan community.
- He is the 14th Dalai Lama.
- Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest of the classical schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
- At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognized as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
- The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron saint of Tibet
- It has been over six decades since he started living in India.
- Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama has control over his re-birth and he can choose the body into which he is reincarnated.
- He calls himself a “son of India” and somebody who has lived the longest in India as a “guest”.
- The Tibetan spiritual leader is the recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/dalai-lama/
Source: The Indian Express
