The sunny side of human nature

Rajashree Birla
Times of India
7 December 2013

One of the contemporary world’s greatest transformational leaders, the Dalai Lama, is cast in a totally different mould. Revered and respected by millions across the globe, he has no overt base of power, no political position, no army and no control over economic resources. Yet, he strikes a powerful and positive chord in a world riven by materialism that is divided by constant conflict and strife.

However, the Dalai Lama’s influence is a profound one, more so because he consistently offers the message of peace, hope and humanity.

It is so true that the Dalai Lama’s quiet persuasion and reaching out, has drawn many to the message of Buddhism. He has made Buddhism more contemporary – so much so that today, his positive perspective and teachings are part of mainstream spiritual thought. Over the last 50 years the Dalai Lama has relentlessly transmitted the message of peace, non-violence and tolerance to millions of people across the globe.

At a personal, individual level also, the Dalai Lama’s presence tends to rekindle and re-affirm the fact that every human being is trying to achieve peace of mind, tranquillity and happiness. The journey towards these goals can be attained, in the eyes of the Dalai Lama, through pursuing what I understand as the three-fold path. First, having genuine compassion; second, minding the mind and third, being aware of the law of impermanence. I shall very briefly share these learnings with you.

First, on the importance of compassion: Compassion gives us great inner strength. It is spirituality of the highest order, for it leads to positivity and contentment. It is negation of the feeling of hatred, revenge and criticism of fellow sentients. In compassion, as the Dalai Lama says, is that unique sense of caring, which binds people into a single human family. In sum, it upholds the principle of vasudhaivakutumbakam, that the world is one family.

I move on now to the second major learning which is that of ‘minding the mind’. The mind can sway you; it can manipulate you. The mind can control you completely. The Dalai Lama’s teachings focus on the Buddha dharma as an instrument that helps one keep the mind always in a good frame. He emphasises that we must not let storms of the heart blank out the sun in the mind. Instead, we must learn to mould our mind, never regretting the past, and taking forward its lessons into the future. In other words, beat the game of expectations by keeping your compass always on the sunny side of human nature.

From this flows the third important learning which is becoming aware of the fundamental law of impermanence. This encapsulates the sequence of birth and death, and the illusory reality of worldly existence, what is referred to as maya – the transitory nature of all phenomena. Nothing is forever. The lesson here is – know that life is a river, so go with the flow.

This is the sum of the three-fold path, which one has gleaned from the teachings of the venerated Dalai Lama. And as he points out, still, one remains a seeker; always…

Rajashree Birla is Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development.