 Photo Credit: Linda Russel Before starting the business of the summit, Prof. Laurie Patton, moderator of the summit announced: "In a spirit of moderation with our communities, we are delighted to move on to a short ceremony of honor to be held by our friends of the Gandhi Foundation of USA in Atlanta to bestow the 'Peace Pilgrim Award' on His Holiness Dalai Lama, our distinguished guest." Then she invited the Gandhi Foundation officials onto the dais to make the presentation. Subash Razdan, acting chairman of the Gandhi Foundation, in his opening remarks said: "We are honored that the Gandhi Foundation was included in the first Emory Summit on Religion. It was a matter of honor and privilege for us to be part of the Gandhi Foundation of USA 'Peace Pilgrim Award' presentation at Emory University. Everyone is talking about non-violence and peace. The Gandhi Foundation has the same message. It was a perfect marriage that worked with Emory and the community.”  Dr. Giriraj Rao, executive director of the foundation, presented a Kashmiri shawl to His Holiness as a token of southern hospitality and tradition to welcome Dalai Lama to Atlanta. After reading the citation on the plaque, which read "Gandhi Foundation presents Peace Pilgrim Award to His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso Dalai Lama for dedicating his life to dispel misery of the world by inspiring and promoting the spirit of non-violence, social justice and happiness. Awarded on this day of 21st October, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia." Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, joined Subash Razdan and Dr. Giriraj Rao in presenting "The Peace Pilgrim Award" to Dalai Lama amidst continuous applause. Dalai Lama presented khatas Tibetan scarves to Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi, Dr. Giriraj Rao, Subash Razdan, Antonym Taliath and Viren Mayani of Gandhi Foundation.
Addressing Dalai Lama, Dr. Laurie Patton, professor of Religion, Emory University, said: "You have received many awards, including the recent highest civilian award, Congress Gold Medal of Honor. We hope this award by the Asian community of Atlanta and Interfaith communities will be a memory in your future years of teaching and peace building to come." Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi, who is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari, first Governor General of India, and a panel speaker of the First Emory Summit on Religion, Conflict and Peace-building," said: Dalai Lama is not able to go home for 48 years. This man without a home is loved in million of homes. This man without a country is honored in country after country. The happiness of returning home has been denied to him. People of all lands are at home with this homeless man. They are happy to be next to this smiling yet sorrowing man. Denied access to his land and people, he walks smilingly in a variety of lands and increasingly into the hearts of people of China. Yes, he is icon of many young Chinese." Responding on getting the "Peace Pilgrim Award," Dalai Lama said: "I always consider as a follower of Mahatma Gandhiji. When I was young, I had in my dream, met Gandhji once. Personally I never met Gandhiji. He was an England-educated Indian. Throughout his life, he is like ordinary Indian. Sometimes he looked like a poor Indian. Really wonderful. He led the Indian freedom struggle through nonviolence. Some people at that time might have felt that leading freedom struggle through nonviolence was a sign of weakness. Now today worldwide, people really admire his inner strength. Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of civil rights movement here had done very much in Gandhiji's style. "I never met Dr. Martin Luther King jr., but I met his wife Corretta Scott King. She told me, one time Dr. King dressed in Mahatma Gandhji's dress. When I heard that, I had visualized his image. Dressing in Mahatma Gandhiji's dress is very strange." Dalai Lama appreciated the efforts of Gandhi Foundation and said that it was significant for him to receive the award from the hands of Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi. Dalai Lama was in Atlanta between October 20-22 attending various programs in Emory University. He was installed as presidential distinguished professor of Emory University on October 22 Reprinted from India Tribune http://www.indiatribune.com/popuparticle.aspx?Article_ID=7950 |
