By Saramma Emmanuel

Bhopal: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has exhorted religious leaders in India to raise their voice against the country’s caste system which he said is bad.

The exiled spiritual leader hailed India as a perfect example of religious harmony. He urged Indians to maintain the harmony in a world wracked by sectarian violence that threatens humanity.

The Buddhist leader made these observations during his visit to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh to bless a special drive for conservation and to create awareness against polluting Narmada, a river considered holy for by Hindus in the state.

After blessing the Narmada Seva Yatra (protect Narmada march) on March 19, Dalai Lama addressed legislators of the state and guests inside the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly in Bhopal.

The five-moth march launched in December last year is scheduled to end May 11 after covering 1,077 kilometers of the river that passes through the state. The 1,312 kilometer river flows west running through two other states before emptying into the Arabian Sea.

The Buddhist spiritual leader stressed promotion of secular education in the country to end violence of all forms and disparities and to inculcate qualities of love and compassion in the citizens.

The loss of the love and compassion in one’s life, he said, has spawned hatred, disharmony, violence and other inequalities.

Dalai Lama with Fr Anand Muttungal
According to him, children who experience mother’s care in childhood would become compassionate.

He then credited his mother for developing love and compassion in him saying, “”My first Guru to teach love was my mother. My mother was very kind. I never saw her angry.”

On the contrary, he said he did not have the same feeling for his father who was short-tempered.

He lauded the harmonious existence of different religions in India for more than 2000 years.

“No religion says God is full of anger. God is full of love and we are all children of such a compassionate Father and, therefore, the basic of all religion is harmony and mutual respect,” he asserted.

Dalai Lama also urged the people to stay away from anger and man-made problems such as starvation, violence, killing and other inequalities and to spread the fragrance of love and compassion for a happy life.