It is without doubt that Christian missionaries, wherever they go, have a big role to play in educating the natives or locals of the places where they are working and Shillong is no exception to this. St. Edmund’s School and College, St. Anthony’s School and College, Mawkhar Christian School, Jaiaw Presbyterian School, KJP School are just some of the examples of outstanding educational institutions which have come up directly because of the work done by Christian churches and organisations. In recent times, the Khasi Jaintia Presbyterian Assembly (KJPA), National Lutheran Health & Medical Board (NLHMB) and the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to put all their resources together and start a university which came to be known as the Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) and was created by Act No. 11 of the 2005 Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya and which received the assent of the Governor of Meghalaya on July 06, 2005. This University has been rendering its services to the people of the North East region of India besides filling the gap between demand and supply of higher education services which is a major problem for students in this region of the country.

MLCU, on the 3rd of February 2014 organized its 6th Convocation and was blessed by the presence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as the Chief Guest of this momentous event. The event, which was organized at the U Soso Tham Auditorium in the heart of the city witnessed the attendance of the who’s who of Shillong who were held spellbound by every word His Holiness uttered. After much anticipation, His Holiness was presented an honourary doctorate in Philosophy by the University after which he started his speech by congratulating the successful students even as he warned them that this is where their lives really start. He went on to say, “It is also a real opportunity to translate all your knowledge into action. Your education is not only for your own interest or your life, but in the interest of the nation.” The Dalai Lama also urged the students to pay more attention to secular ethics and to resolve disagreements and conflict through dialogue. “My main commitment is promotion of human values. That is what I call secular ethics. Secular means respect for all religions with no preference for this religion or that. It also means respect for non – believers. We have to find ways and means to educate non – believers to be honest, truthful and compassionate. They have every right to be happy but they do not know the real basis of a happy life or peace of mind,” His Holiness said.

The Dalai Lama also informed the gathering that India has been his home for fifty four years while saying that “All my ideas and concepts come from India. You Indians have traditionally been our gurus. I think that India is the greatest contributor to human knowledge. India, for at least 3,000 years, has had the concept of Ahimsa (non – violence). India is an example of how followers of different religions can live together. Along these lines, His Holiness said “I tell my Chinese friends to learn from India even as he pointed out that some “Chinese hardliners” feel that it is dangerous if Tibetans have their own script and culture. The Dalai Lama also dropped a line which caught everyone by surprise when he said, “We are not seeking separation from China. We are a part of China with common interests and common economic development.” This is a marked step down from the previous demand for a free Tibet which has been in place ever since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and sought refuge in India.

This statement was further elaborated upon by Lobsang Sangay the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile who accompanied the Dalai Lama on his visit to Shillong. While interacting with members of the media fraternity, Dr. Sangay said that the Tibet administration has adopted a midway path and is willing to compromise on its demand for separation from China if Tibet is granted genuine autonomy. “The Tibet administration follows the middle – way policy (meaning in between repression and separation) as we want to see the suffering of the people in Tibet end immediately, for which we are willing to compromise in seeking separation from China if we are given full autonomy in future,” said Dr. Sangay. “A total of 125 Tibetans have self – immolated of which 106 have died which shows how painful the situation in Tibet is,” Dr. Sangay summed up. Talking about the feasibility of this demand, Mr. Sangay said, “Whatever we are seeking is within the provisions of the Chinese Constitution. As per Article 4 of its Constitution, it speaks about the Minority Act 1984” while adding that a memorandum demanding genuine autonomy has been presented to the Chinese Government in 2008.

THE DALAI LAMA’S QUOTES “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” “It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.” “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” “If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.” “It is necessary to help others, not only in our prayers, but in our daily lives. If we find we cannot help others, the least we can do is to desist from harming them.” “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

This 6th Convocation of MLCU was a grand success simply because of the presence of this world reknowned embodiment of compassion who held the audience in the palm of his hand. Displaying his world reknowned wit, His Holiness said that it is sad that corruption has become the bastion of the highly educated. He got an overwhelming round of applause when, much to the dismay of the many dignitaries and high ranking officials present, he said that even though India is a land of spirituality, most people kneel in prayer while asking for their corrupted lives to be a success. “Even Tibetans practice Tantras to defeat their enemies,” the Dalai Lama said while adding that even religion can be turned into an “instrument for bulling and cheating other people.” He urged the successful students of the University to follow the path of peace by saying, “You must gain experience through non – violence. Try to resolve differences through dialogue and make it a part of your life.” He added to this by saying that might or force in the initial stages of a conflict may prove to be very decisive but is very weak in the long run. On the other hand, while the power of truth may not be very decisive in the initial stages, as time goes by, truth always wins.

Going back to his message of peace and India’s concept of Ahimsa, His Holiness told the students of the University that they have a great role to play now that they have successfully earned their degrees. He said that they can carry forward the idea of Ahimsa to the outside world and by doing so, make a better Asia and from there, a better world.

D. Nampui