Exclusive Interview- The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama settled in India in 1959. Now, after 60 years in exile and approaching his 84th birthday, the spiritual leader says he wants coexistence between the people of Tibet and China, even if he does not get to return to his homeland

- Namrata Biji Ahuja/Mcleodganj

The Dalai Lama, now shrunken and frail, sometimes needs his followers’ support to move around. Yet, he remains a pillar of support to millions worldwide, many of whom cross mountains and oceans to meet him and seek his healing touch.

The spiritual leader lives in Thekchen Choeling in the small town of Mcleodganj in Dharamshala, welcoming the diseased, the sinned and the enlightened together with open arms.

The scene was no different when we met him on June 28. His followers had been waiting for him since daybreak carrying the khata (a Tibetan scarf offered to a dear one), hoping for a glimpse of him.

At 9am, as I stood outside the temple, soaking in the positivity of the moment, the figure in a maroon robe walked towards his audience. Then he stopped and turned to me. “Touch my head,” he said. While I wondered if I should, his Indian security officials shifted in discomfort. “I need a healing touch,” he said, encouraging me and evoking a bout of compassion not just in me, but also in the large gathering. I obliged.

He then walked towards the waiting audience and spoke in Tibetan. He pointed to his forehead and showed them an infection. It was perhaps a reaction to the antibiotics he took after a recent hospitalisation (a rare occurrence). He then asked them to heal him. The eyes that had so far been stuck on his footsteps rose to his face and started welling up. Could the Dalai Lama, who transcends the miseries that inflict mortal souls, suffer? A young woman broke down and ran towards him. The Dalai Lama gave a radiant smile—he had reminded his followers that he, too, was human.

As he sat on his chair, people came to him one by one. They tightly gripped his hand. Even his security men shed a tear as the Dalai Lama touched a speechless boy on his neck and blew on his forehead, making him smile. The boy then took away his wheelchair-bound grandmother, knowing he had found hope that day.