The Dalai Lama awarded Honorary Doctorate by Chitkara University

The 14th Dalai Lama during his visit to the Chitkara University, Chandigarh Punjab campus, on October 14 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. The Dalai Lama was received by Dr Ashok K Chitkara, Chancellor and Dr Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor of Chitkara University and was offered a traditional welcome from Tibetan students at the university.

The Dalai Lama was awarded with a Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) Honoris Causa, in honour of his unprecedented and indispensable contribution to humanity, world peace and education, and in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in fostering global peace and religious inspiration and leadership.

The leader of the Buddhist faith also opened the Global Week 2019 at Chitkara University and inaugurated the Center for Student Happiness, which will work to improve the value of the experience of the students at Chitkara University.

He also addressed the gathering on The Need for Universal Ethics in Education. He said, "Modern learning is based on material objectives with little room for inner values. With the advent of modern education about 200 years ago, religious institutions maintained a sense of inner values. but as the presence of those institutions has diminished. We want our educational institutions to take responsibility for upholding ideals such as empathy, kindness and consideration for others. "His Holiness claims that the form of the future lies in our hands–the educators of the 21st century. “You, who belong to the present century, can create a world that will be happier and more peaceful.”

He later left the floor open for students and delegates to connect with him after the informative talk, asking questions and even accepting suggestions. When he noticed some questions and looked at the expressions on some of the students' faces and answered them with a smile, His Holiness can easily be seen chuckling. Speaking of maintaining mental health for a happy life, He added, "Since kindergarten, physical hygiene is generally advocated to maintain physical health, but we need a sense of ' emotional hygiene'—the means to address negative emotions such as anger, envy, and fear. The ancient Indian culture was full of knowledge about how to do this, and we need to find a way to inculcate it back into the modern education system, "encouraging everyone to dig into further insight information. "We are social animals; for our very survival we rely on others. Kindness and affection bring us together-anger drives us apart.

The Dalai Lama, answering the questions of students on how to handle challenges, told them his mantra. "I try to look at them from a wider perspective when faced with a challenge or problem." He recommended that young people pay more attention to inner values and ways of achieving peace of mind.

Over 55 international delegates from 39 universities in 22 countries spanning six continents were also present on the day.

Note : This article has been published on the basis of a press communication by the college