PRAY FOR INDIA
with
His Holiness the Dalai Lama

During the morning of March 31st 2009, His Holiness The Dalai Lama along with some Indian friends and a few Tibetan colleagues will visit eight places of prayer and worship in Delhi. They will pray for peace in India and the happiness of its people.

This will be first a gesture of gratitude and appreciation by His Holiness on behalf of the Tibetan people on the 50th anniversary of his arrival into exile in India. It will also be a gesture, celebrating the diversity of India and its long history of inter-faith harmony.  A ‘simple Buddhist monk’ as His Holiness likes to describe himself, accompanied by some of his Indian friends of different traditions, will be welcomed at places of worship of different faiths, where they will all pray together, and engage briefly in each other’s rituals and practices.

His Holiness has often described the people of India, being the source of Tibet’s rich civilisational heritage, as the Guru to the Tibetan people, who are the Chela’s. The Chela will celebrate and pray for the Guru.

You are welcome to join the prayers. Please do make sure you are in position at least half an hour in advance of the expected arrival of His Holiness.

Pray for India: Guest Profiles

Major HPS Ahluwalia heads the Spinal Injuries Research Centre, drawing upon the experience of his own injury. He is an activist for the cause of the disabled. Among his many accomplishments is the remarkable feat of climbing the Mt. Everest.

Dr Mandakini Amte is a doctor, who along with her husband Prakash Amte, received the Magsaysay Award for 'Community Leadership’ in 2008 for their contributions to improving the lives of tribals in a remote Maharashtra village through medical care and education. Together they run a school and a hospital in Maharashtra‘s Vidarbha region for the welfare of tribals.

Dr Prakash Amte is a medical doctor and social worker from Maharashtra. Son of legend Baba Amte, he and his wife were awarded the Magsaysay Award for 'Community Leadership’ in 2008 for their philanthropic work amongst the tribals of Maharashtra and the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, the daughter of Late Devadas Gandhi and Late Smt. Lakshmi Devadas Gandhi was born on the 24th of April in 1934 in New Delhi. She is a granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.
Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee is the Vice-Chairperson of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti and Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust. Gandhi Smriti is the site of Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi for truth and Non-violence. Tara has been working for the welfare of the spinners and the weavers of khadi.

Professor Mushirul Hasan is an eminent historian and currently the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. A visiting professor to many international universities, he was awarded the highest French Civilian Award - Officer of the Order of Academic Palms by the Prime Minister of the France and the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2007.

Professor M. G. K. Menon is an eminent physicist and policy maker, currently Vikram Sarabhai Fellow at the Indian Space Research Organisation. He was Minister for Education in the Union Cabinet; member of the Planning Commission and Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister between 1986 and 1989. Former Chairperson of ISRO, he has been honoured with many awards including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He is the President of India International Cetre, New Delhi.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a highly acclaimed Indian sarod player and composer with a successful career spanning over 40 years. Credited with having developed a unique style of playing the sarod, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Mr. Fali Sam Nariman is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India since 1971. Former Additional Solicitor General of India and a member of the Rajya Sabha, he has been honoured by a number of national and international awards and positions, including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

Mr. Raghu Rai is a photographer and photojournalist. Besides winning many national and international awards, he has exhibited his works in London, Paris, New York, Hamburg, Prague and Sydney. His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1971.

Mr. Shyam Saran is currently Special Envoy to the Prime Minister on the nuclear deal and climate change issues. Previosuly he has served as Foreign Secretary and Ambassador of India to Nepal, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Dr Naresh Kumar Trehan is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon and medical administrator. He has served as personal surgeon to the President of India since 1991 and has received numerous awards, including the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. At present, he is Chairperson, Global Health Private Limited which aims to combine modern medicine with traditional medicine and holistic therapies.

Dr Kapila Vatsyayan is a leading scholar of classical Indian dance, art and architecture. She is India’s representative to UNESCO, and a member of the Rajya Sabha. She heads the Asia project of India International Centre. An author of many books, she was the Founder-Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and has also served as Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Education, Department of Arts and Culture.

Mr. B. G Verghese has been the Editor of Hindustan Times and Indian Express. He is associated with a number of NGOs working in the fields of media, education, environment and community relations. Chairperson of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Delhi, he has been with the Centre for Policy Research since 1986.

Dr. L C Jain was an active participant in the Quit India Movement and has been engaged in economic and social development for the last 60 years. A former member of the Planning Commission and India’s High Commissioner to South Africa, he received the Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1989. He has also been the Chairperson of the All-India Handicrafts Board and Vice-Chairperson of the World Commission on Dams.

Pray for India - Brief Notes on places of Worship

Gandhi Smriti
Gandhi Smriti, housed in the Old Birla House on 5, Tees January Marg, New Delhi, is the place where Mahatma Gandhi's epic life ended on 30 January 1948. Mahatma Gandhi lived in this house from 9 September 1947 to 30 January 1948. Thus, the hallowed house treasures many memories of the last 144 days of his life. The Old Birla House was acquired by the Government of India in 1971 and converted into a National Memorial for the Father of the Nation. It was opened to the public on August 15, 1973. The preserves include the room where Mahatma Gandhi lived and the prayer ground where he held a mass congregation every evening. It was here that the assassin’s bullets felled Gandhiji. The building and the landscape have been preserved as they were in those days.

Acharya Sushil Muni Ashram
This temple was built in the memory of His Holiness Sushil Muni ji. Also known as Ahimsa Paryavaran Sadhna Mandir, it is the place from where he spread the message of Ahimsa, universal love, brotherhood, peace, compassion for all living beings and preservation of ecological balance for the survival of mankind. He attained Nirvana here. Foreseeing that the world was heading towards man made ecological disaster due to excessive exploitation of the natural resources, Acharya Muni Sushil Kumar ji Maharaj launched a global movement to warn the world community about the serious situation facing mankind.

Chilla of Hazarat Nizamudin Aulia
Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia was a Sufi Saint of the Chisti order who lived in Delhi more than 700 years ago. The Chisti order believed in respect for all religious traditions and renunciation of worldly powers. Chilla Sharif is the place where Hazrat Nizamuddin performed Chilla i.e. fasting in seclusion for forty days without food or water.

Judah Hyam Synagogue
Most of India’s several thousand Jews live in or near Mumbai. In New Delhi, it is the Judah Hyam Synagogue which serves as the voice of Indian Jewry in the capital region. Formed in 1956 under the Jewish Welfare Association, it embodies the complexities of Jewish life in India.

Gurdwara Rakab Ganj
Gurdwara Rakab Ganj was built in 1732 by Lakhi Banjara, the devotee who performed the last rites of the martyred Guru Teg Bahadur. It is located on Pant Road, opposite the Parliament House in New Delhi. An interesting legend is attached to Gurdwara Rakab Ganj. It is said that Guruji was executed on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, for not converting to Islam. After he was beheaded, Lakhi Singh escaped with the body of Guruji to his home & cremated the body and later set fire to the house to remove any evidence. When the fire extinguished, he put the holy ashes in an urn and buried it in that very site. Gurdwara Rakab Ganj was built there to commemorate the event. It is said that at that time, the area was a market for stirrups - 'Rakab' translates into stirrup in English.

Cathedral Church of Redemption
Cathedral of The Sacred Heart is situated to the east of Parliament House in New Delhi. The construction of the church took eight years and it was completed in the year 1935. Henry Medd, who designed the Cathedral of The Sacred Heart, is also the designer of this church. The interiors of the church are beautiful and magnificent. In fact, the simple and plain exteriors of the church are a complete contrast to the splendor of its interiors. The Church has beautifully curved high arches and delicate domes. Viceroy Lord Irwin gifted an organ and a silver cross to the church, as gesture of thanks when he survived a near fatal accident in 1929. Also known as "Viceroy's Church", it is adorned with tinted glass windows that lend it a mystical aura. Light streaming through the crescent windows and a group of angels looking down from the curved roof further enhance the splendor of the Cathedral of The Sacred Heart.

Mahabodhi Society of India
Founded in 1891 by Anagarika Dharampal, a Sri Lankan monk, the Maha Bodhi Society is dedicated to achieving global peace. The main aim of this Buddhist organization is the revival of Buddhism in India, the land of its origin where it has flourished for hundreds of years

Lakshmi Narayan Temple
Located approximately 1.5 km west of Connaught Place, this temple was erected by industrialist G.D. Birla in 1938. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on the condition that people of all castes especially those considered to be “untouchables” would be allowed in. The temple enshrines almost all the deities of the Hindu pantheon, the presiding deity being Narayan and his consort Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and good fortune. The revered shrine, nested in the heart of the city, is as famous for its sanctity as much for its architecture.