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| Sunday, 19 October 2003 |
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Image of Buddha even inspired Nehru - Sinha by Anjana Gamage "The picture of the Anuradhapura Samadhi Buddha statue was the only companion of late Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when he was held captive during the Indian freedom struggle at the Dehradun prison and the image of Buddha gave him inspiration and strength to stabilise his mind, the Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said. The Indian Minister disclosed this at the inauguration of the exhibition on Buddhist sites and art heritage titled "The Path of Compassion" at the National Art Gallery last week. The exhibition which comprised over 80 photographs by renowned Indian photographer and art historian, Benoy K. Behl, provided a comprehensive perspective of the monuments and art heritage of Buddhism from ancient times. The exhibition took the viewers on a visual pilgrimage to the birth place of Buddha, place of his enlightenment, the sites of first sermon and final renunciation. Mr. Sinha said: "People say that Buddhism as a religion gradually faded from India. But there can be no doubt that the message of the Buddha and his personality have impressed so powerfully on the Indian people and delved so deep into their thinking and their lives that nothing had been or could be taken away. "The bond of the Buddha and all that it stands for is similar to the one between India and Sri Lanka and nothing can sever it. The two countries are sharing a unique relationship on the basis of geography, history, culture, religion and ethnic ties for several centuries. India's prompt response in the form of relief assistance such as medical supplies and various other donations during the recent floods in Sri Lanka bear ample testimony to the friendship between the two countries", he pointed out. Minister of Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku said that most of our ancestors were from India and, from the time of Emperor Ashoka, Buddhism was not only followed throughout India but also became a prominent religion in the whole of Asia. Sri Lanka became the centre of the earlier Theravada order of Buddhism from where the Buddhist tradition spread to the countries of South East Asia, he added. |
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