By Maria Koulourioti,
In a now-viral video, a young kid requested a hug from the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso during a charity event at his temple in Dharamshala, northern India, in February. The Dalai Lama may be seen kissing the youngster on the lips and can be overheard saying, “Suck my tongue.” Pedophilia and grooming charges surfaced quickly online. The Dalai Lama then expressed regret. “He has spent the last 60 years traversing the world, sharing love and compassion. Therefore, you cannot judge anyone, let alone him. It is merely a misconstrued film, especially in regards to the tongue”, claims Sunny Sonam, president of RTYC. The Head of Tibet’s exiled government says that the Dalai Lama was merely acting in an “innocent grandfatherly affectionate demeanor”, when he asked a little kid to “suck his tongue” in a video. The spiritual leader had been “unfairly labeled with all kinds of names”, according to Penpa Tsering. The Tibetan Community of Canada also responded to the situation;
“For our community, the Tibetan people who have suffered for six decades at the hands of the Chinese government, [I am] someone who has been stateless for three generations — this week has actually been the most painful of all the experiences”, says Human Rights Activist Chemi Lhamo. In interviews with the local media outlet Voice of Tibet immediately following the interaction with the Dalai Lama, both the boy and his mother express joy and gratitude. All in all, on his Twitter account, the Dalai Lama publicly apologized, saying “His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends around the world for the hurt he might have caused. His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public cameras. He regrets the incident”.
History has an intriguing way of interconnecting, as many religious or political figures have often been involved in “ambiguous” (for some even illegal) activities and practices. More than a century ago, renowned Indian lawyer and political leader Mahatma Gandhi followed a lifestyle of sexual celibacy known as “Brahmacharya” for many years. According to his narrative, he wed Kasturba in 1883 but stopped engaging in sexual activity with her in 1901. However, after Kasturba passed away in 1944, according to several accounts and Gandhi himself, he started sharing a bed with young girls while they were fully unclothed.
There is no conclusive proof that any sexual actions occurred, but the man portrayed it as a technique to test his ability and his willpower to refrain from having intercourse. “I have touched perhaps thousands upon thousands,” he wrote. “But my touch has never carried the meaning of lustfulness. I have lain with some naked, never intending to have any lustful satisfaction. My touch has been for our mutual uplift.” One of the women who participated in these moral experiments was Manu, Gandhi’s grand-niece, who also made mention of them in her journal. The historian Lal emphasized the significance of taking into account the fact that the three ladies in question — Gandhi’s grand-nieces Manu and Abha, as well as his doctor Sushila Nayar — were all among his closest associates and were conversant in his philosophy. Furthermore, here is a look at excerpts from Mahatma Gandhi’s attendant Mridula Gandhi’s diaries:
“Tonight, when Bapu (meaning Father, a title similar to Mahatma referring to Ghandi), Sushilaben, and I were sleeping on the same cot, he embraced me and patted me. He put me to sleep with great love. He embraced me after a very long time. Then Bapu praised me for remaining innocent (of sexual urges) despite sleeping with him. But this is not the case with the other girls. Veena, Kanchan, and Lilavati (other associates of Gandhi) told me that they will not be able to sleep with him.”
Later, she mentioned “I felt very relieved as it will stop tongues from wagging. I told myself I do not care now. Let the world say whatever it wants.”
Finally, the issue of how and if to evaluate Gandhi’s deeds has concerned many individuals. Gandhi was criticized by historian Kusoom Vadgama for abusing his position of authority and utilizing women as test subjects for his philosophy in an interview with the Times of India. “It may have been his way of testing his control over his sexual drive”, Vadgama said, “but these women were used as guinea pigs.”
Looking at these two situations, we find many similarities as well as similar counteractions. Two things are for certain; First of all, we cannot deny and further defy the cultural differences between Tibetan heritage and the rest of the world, both West and East. For instance, as one traverses many parts of Africa – especially the rural areas – the sight of bare-chested women is quite common and the people around them are unbothered. Given that, a practice of culture and ideology should not be a concern of the West when one is not harmed, unlike forced genital mutilation, which endangers human rights.
Lastly, it is important to comprehend that practices must be looked at within cultural and situational contexts. However, since the line between the preservation of culture and abuse of power is very thin, it is equally significant to not encourage exploitation and condemn it, especially when it comes to young and underage individuals.
References
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‘Darkest day of our life’: Tibetans say Dalai Lama video was misinterpreted. toronto.citynews.ca. Available here
- Dalai Lama, 87, was only showing his ‘innocent grandfatherly affectionate demeanour’ in video where he asked a young boy to ‘suck my tongue’, insists head of Tibet’s exiled government. dailymail.co.uk. Available here
- Let the world say whatever it wants. indianews.in. Available here
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The need to see Black women’s breasts outside of the white gaze. minorityafrica.org. Available here
