Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh presenting His Holiness the Dalai Lama with an honorary degree from Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, India on March 19, 2014. Photo/Tenzin Choejor/OHHDL

Inculcate ancient Indian teachings with modern education: Dalai Lama

Shimla, HP, India, 19 March 2014 (IANS) – Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama Wednesday stressed the need to inculcate ancient Indian teachings with modern education.

Addressing students and faculty of the Himachal Pradesh University at its convocation here, he said: “India is a very rich country full of knowledge and wisdom and there is an urgent need to harness that, especially by the youth, for educational prosperity.”

The Dalai Lama, who was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree by Governor Urmila Singh, said the students should use the knowledge gathered for the welfare of society and their real achievement lies in using the knowledge with wisdom.

The Nobel Peace Laureate stressed the need of traditional education system for transforming a realistic society which in return gives new heights to the philosophy of the “gurus”.

“Even I am a follower of ancient Indian gurus and I have used the knowledge to fight problems in life,” he said.

He said India has a flourishing democratic set up which has paved the way for peace, progress and stability throughout the world.

“The three big civilizations — Indus Valley, Indian and Chinese — have given new vistas to the phrase of humanity and incidentally all of them lie in the Asian continent,” he added.

“The ancient Indian language Sanskrit has contributed a lot to the educational platform in society. There is an urgent need to study the language and understand the values enshrined in Sanskrit literature.”

Honorary D.Litt degree was also conferred on Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change during 2007.

Renowned historian S.R. Mehrotra was also given D.Litt degree in social sciences while Priyadarshani R. Kalra received it for medical sciences.

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