DIBRUGARH, April 3 - In order that the virtues of love, compassion and feeling of oneness permeated among fellow human beings for a peaceful society, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today stressed on the need to have a curriculum on �secular ethics� in the education system.
Delivering a talk on �ethics in modern education� at Dibrugarh University�s Rangghar auditorium here, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso said that the existing education system was very much oriented towards material value. The generation who come from this kind of education will be driven by material value, or eventually, their thinking will be about material value, money and power. The compassionate feeling or thinking about humanity must come from among the generation of the 21st century who are witnessed to violence in the form of war and conflicts, to bring peace, he said.
�The human intelligence and human brain is the key factor. Humans have the ability to develop infinite love and feeling for fellow human beings owing to their intelligence. The instrument to open this intelligence is only education. Education is the only way to instill these humane feelings in the minds of the new generation because they are the only hope of the future,� stated the Dalai Lama.
The Nobel Peace laureate called upon the Indian scholars, including religious leaders, to contemplate on what kind of education system they ought to adopt for the country. He spoke about his commitment to revive the ancient Indian knowledge or thought about inner self.
�India is the only nation which can combine modern education, modern technology plus ancient Indian sort of knowledge like how to tackle emotions, minds and how to bring peace of mind. The 21st century education system must embrace this wider perspective,� he said.
The Dalai Lama also extended invitation to Dr Alak Kumar Buragohain, Vice Chancellor, Dibrugarh University to be part of the forthcoming conference in New Delhi to finalise a curriculum on �secular ethics�. He said that the conference will be a serious one strictly on secular ethics and not based on religion but based on one�s own experience, common sense and scientific findings.
The Tata Institute of Social Science and several other leading universities of the country are expected for the conference. A draft of the curriculum has already been prepared. The curriculum will be finalised after further discussion, deliberations and research works, the Dalai Lama said.
