Rajapakse calls for ‘tolerance’
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said here on Friday that the message of tolerance is of great relevance today and is of equal importance in the East and West due to the tragic results of enmity and hatred towards other faiths leading to violence, destruction and great loss to societies.
The Sri Lankan President was addressing a special function here after laying the foundation of Sanchi University of Buddhist and Indic Studies. He said it is more than a coincidence that this auspicious occasion is graced by two heads of governments of two nations in South Asia — Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigme Yoser Thinley was also a special guest on this occasion.
Mr Rajapakse said both Sri Lanka and Bhutan have benefited from the spark of civilisation that came with the dawn of Buddhist practice. He said, the University of Buddhist and Indic Studies should become a beacon of light for this region “as we battle against intolerance and hatred; separatism and ethnic prejudice; terrorism and violence; and social inequality and exclusion.”
The Sri Lankan President said that Mahatma Gandhi, who gave spiritual strength to the Freedom Movement, was moved by the great values of non-violence, peace and compassion — which remain the core values of this region. This message should go deeper to touch the larger world that is trapped in material-based progress.
The Prime Minister of Bhutan said that the traditional model of development is seriously wrong since it has relegated in background the emotional and psychological well-being of citizens. Bhutan has chosen to strike a balance on this count by following the holistic approach which encompasses material growth with emotional well-.being, he said adding Bhutan follows the gross national happiness model of development. He said that Buddha’s message is timeless and its relevance today is far greater than ever before. He also said with great degree of optimism that the Sanchi University will foster harmony among different cultures of the world. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recalled how 2,300 years ago, Emperor Ashoka’s son Mahendra had gone to Sri Lanka, along with his sister Sanghmitra, who had carried with her a sapling of the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya under which Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment. Today another Mahinda (Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse) has come with the sapling of the same pipal tree which was planted in Sri Lanka in the third B.C.
Mr Chouhan also emphasised that only materialism cannot make a person happy and said the path to global peace and harmony should originate from Sanchi. Mr Chouhan also made a surprise announcement by declaring that the state government is ready to provide funds to build a magnificient temple devoted to Goddess Sita at the same place in Sri Lanka, which is associated with “Sita’s agni pariksha.”
(Sita’s fire ordeal
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