Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 9, 2017
URL:   http://indianexpress.com/article/india/dalai-lama-reminds-students-of-ancient-indian-knowledge-4974612/lite/?__twitter_impression=true

“There are various levels of truth, one truth on the basis of appearances, and one truth on the level of ultimate reality," said Dalai Lama.

“How old do you think I am? Can you make out my age from my face?” Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama teased school students who had gathered to meet him.  The question was thrown to the children to stress the importance of rest and meditation to remain youthful.

“I sleep for six hours everyday, from 9 pm to 3 am, and after I wake up, I spend some time in meditation,” said the 82-year-old Buddhist leader. Speaking at an interaction on Friday with close to 400 students of The Somaiya School, the 14th Dalai Lama spoke about the wealth of ancient Indian knowledge.

“There are various levels of truth, one truth on the basis of appearances, and one truth on the level of ultimate reality. You are the future generation of the great nation with a thinking that goes back three thousand years. You must pay more attention to the ancient Indian knowledge. Modern science and modern education is wonderful and very useful but as far as the inner world is concerned, the modern education and knowledge including western psychology are still very primitive,” he said.

“So now, it is up to you to eliminate this gap. Ancient Indian knowledge of the mind can eliminate this gap. India is the future and can work regarding the promotion of inner world and with that inner peace,” he added.

He also spoke to the children about friendship saying: “We are social animals and need friends. Even animals need friends. You may have all the money or political power but that’s not what will get you friends. You need a genuine smile. Your smile makes you a warmhearted person.” After the interaction, he greeted some of the children and allowed them to seek his blessings. “It was wonderful to meet him and shake hands with him. He told us that we are the future of this country and must value ancient Indian knowledge that we have been blessed with. I might go abroad to study further but I should never forget the knowledge from my country,” said Nithya Kannan, a student of Class V.