SPIRITUALISM – THE LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS: THE SPIRITS OF SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE( ESTABLISHMENT NO. 22) – OPERATION EAGLE – LIBERATION WAR OF BANGLADESH 1971:
TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS OF SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE :
At the beginning, I would like to submit to all of my readers that this conversation is not about the principles of Tibetan Buddhism. I ask my readers to know that I am not speaking about Tibetan’s traditional belief in reincarnation. In Tibetan Buddhism, a “TULKU” is a particularly high-ranking Lama who can choose the manner of his( or her) rebirth or reincarnation. I have no personal affiliation with any high-ranking Lama including the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness The Dalai Lama. I do not seek to represent him in any manner. I am sharing my personal experience, my association, and my contact with non-clergy members among Tibetan exiles, the laity, the peasants, and other ordinary folks of Tibetan origin. The Tibetan Spirits that I know are not supernatural beings and they do not claim to possess any kind of supernatural powers. I am exclusively speaking on behalf of ‘The Living Tibetan Spirits’ that inhabit my ‘Consciousness’ and we are not affiliated with any political organization or governmental Agency. I would like to carefully define each term that I may use in this conversation to avoid confusion and misrepresentation of facts or information that pertains to Tibetan Identity and Tibetan Culture. It must be clearly noted that traditional Tibetan Buddhism supports the concept of “ANATMA” and proclaims the non-existence of human soul. Having studied, Human Anatomy, and Human Physiology, I would like to share my understanding about human soul and spirit. I would not be surprised if a majority of Tibetan Buddhist clergy reject my views about human soul and spirit.
WHAT IS SPIRIT? WHAT IS THE LIVING SPIRIT? :
I use the term ‘soul’ to refer to the animating, or vital, Life Principle in living things. The term ‘spirit’ is often used to refer to the intelligent, or immaterial part of man as distinguished from the human body, and mind. It may be said that the ‘spirit’ is the immaterial reality that is imperceptible to the organs of sense perception. I describe consciousness as the fundamental characteristic of living things and I describe consciousness as a spiritual function; a function that requires the operation of soul, and spirit. I claim that consciousness is the absolute nature of living things or living objects. Consciousness is the natural principle by which a living thing knows and experiences its external and internal environment. Being conscious means recognizing the existence, the fact of something. Consciousness is the biological characteristic which is the evidence of a living thing knowing the fact of its own existence; it knows as to where it exists and knows as to how it is existing. A dead, or non-living thing has no consciousness and the dead object has no awareness of the world in which it may be found. I cannot describe a soul and spirit as entities that may exist independently of living matter. Hence, I would like to suggest that soul, and spirit are known because of their association with a living person. I do not believe in a disembodied spirit. I am intentionally using the term, ‘The Living Spirits’ as I do not believe in the existence of ‘Dead Spirits’. Spiritism is a belief that natural, living objects have indwelling spirits. When used as an adjective, the term ‘spiritual’ means, relating to or concerned with the spirit or soul. This term is often used to describe human relationships. The term ‘spiritual’ in the context of human relationships describes the nature of a relationship, a partnership, an association, a connection, or bonding between two or more living people based upon thoughts, or feelings of sympathy, and understanding.
THE STORY ABOUT THE LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS OF SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE :
I was granted Short Service Regular Commission to serve in the Indian Army Medical Corps during 1969 and had joined the Service on July 26, 1970 in the rank of Lieutenant. On completion of basic military training at Lucknow and professional training at Military Hospital, Ambala, I was posted to Headquarters Establishment Number. 22, C/O 56 APO which belonged to an organization called Special Frontier Force. This organization is primarily concerned about defending the legitimate border between India and Tibet as established by the McMahon Treaty and the Simla Agreement of 1914 and its purpose is that of ending the military occupation of Tibet by People’s Republic of China. This organization was conceived by the 35th U.S. President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy during 1962. President Kennedy had pursued the U.S. Foreign Policy that was initiated by the 33rd U.S. President, Harry S Truman(1949-1952). President Truman founded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or ‘NATO’ on 04 April, 1949. NATO is a multinational defense plan to defend Europe in response to tensions with Soviet Union(USSR). The Truman Doctrine of 1947 was formulated to protect Greece and Turkey from Communist domination. The 34th U.S. President, Dwight David Eisenhower(1953-1961), and his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles continued Truman administration’s policy of containing Communism. Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957 was designed to protect the Middle East from Communist aggression. At that time, the U.S. administration and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) started playing an increasing role to defend Tibetan interests and provided training and equipment to Tibetan freedom fighters to resist the military occupation of Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army of Communist China. During October 1962, after a massive, and brutal attack on India’s Himalayan Frontier, India recognized the military threat posed by Communist China. India needed urgent foreign assistance as it had faced critical shortages in its Defence preparedness. Despite its military weakness, India’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who had embraced the policy of political neutralism, demanded that military assistance would be accepted on a secret basis while India officially continued its adherence to its Non-Alignment Policy. Similarly, Tibetan Exile Leader, His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama continued Tibet’s policy of political isolationism, and had agreed to participate in a military alliance or pact with the United States and India to respond to the military threat and military occupation of Tibet by Communist China without publicly disclosing the military agreement and cooperation between these three nations. The Cold War era of secret diplomacy made it easy to give birth to a secretive military organization called Special Frontier Force. The Government of India, and Tibetan Government-in-Exile have administered the oaths of secrecy to all of their participating members of Special Frontier Force. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency provided the necessary military instructors to train the personnel in the use of U.S. military equipment and stores. The U.S. Congress made the budgetary provision to provide the funds to this organization which primarily uses U.S. military equipment. However, the Officers and the men who serve in this military establishment are not mercenaries who may join battle to provide some benefit to a foreign government or Agency. The men and the Unit are motivated to perform their duties to defend their rights and their own territory. United States participates in the operational activities of Special Frontier Force to collect intelligence about Communist China’s military preparedness. This organization participated in a difficult military operation called Operation Eagle and had initiated the Liberation of Bangladesh in the Chittagong Hill Tracts during 1971. I had witnessed the loss of the lives of some young Tibetan soldiers during this battle. Since I had a spiritual relationship with the men of my Unit, I was not a simple witness to the fact of their death. Without any recognizable sense perception, my consciousness has given home to the Tibetan Spirits. At that time, I had no particular mental awareness of this fact. We had returned to India during January 1972 on completion of our Bangladesh operations. We had returned with a sense of pride for our successful execution of the military campaign. I had served in Special Frontier Force until December 1974 and had lost contact with the men of my Unit. The events of 1971-72 got buried in my memory. In January 1984, I left India with my family to begin our lives away from the country of our origin. In practical terms, I began my life as an exile and I had no direct contact with my Indian relatives or Tibetan exiles who continue to live in India.
THE JOY OF EMPTINESS – THE DISCOVERY OF THE LIVING TIBETAN SPIRITS :
I had arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan with my family during July 1986 and started leading a life of voluntary simplicity. I had maintained very minimal indirect contacts with my relatives who live in India. Apart from the fact of physical separation, there is mental separation from all the events and experiences that had shaped my life in India before I left the country. While I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it came as a big surprise to me when His Holiness The Dalai Lama visited Ann Arbor to speak at a function organized by The University of Michigan. He had explained the concept of finding “JOY” in Emptiness or the emptying of the mind in which the mind has been emptied of all particular objects and images. Emptiness is created by casting aside the attachment to everyday things and worries. While I practiced the emptying of my mind, I have recognized that I cannot remove the desire for Freedom in the Land of Tibet. On careful introspection, I have discovered that this desire is attached to The Living Tibetan Spirits who inhabit my consciousness. I have no personal attachment to the Land of Tibet. I have no personal attachment to the Tibetan Identity. I have no personal attachment to Tibetan Culture. I have no personal attachment to Tibetan Buddhism. I believe in God as the Creator of man, this world, and the universe. But, I find myself attached to this desire that seeks Freedom in the Land of Tibet. I can remove all my desires and break my attachment to impermanent things or thoughts. This desire for Tibetan Freedom is not a thought that I have imagined in my mind. This concern for Tibetan Freedom is the evidence for the existence of The Living Tibetan Spirits in my consciousness. There are two aspects of consciousness that are registered by a living individual; 1. Consciousness is a state of knowing or awareness of what goes on around an individual, and 2. Consciousness is a state of knowing or awareness of what goes on within the individual. In my Consciousness, there is the existence of Freedom in Tibet. In the world that I am conscious and aware of today, there is no Freedom in Tibet. So, I have decided to fight the sense of fear and darkness that has enveloped my mind and tell the people around that I demand Freedom in Tibet. I want to give a sense of “JOY” to The Living Tibetan Spirits. I want to share these photo images that have captured the moments of pride and victory in War. These photo images were illegally obtained by the Enemy. This Enemy Agent who took these photo images had killed himself for his act of betrayal; for he had worked for the Enemy. However, The Living Tibetan Spirits recognize a moment of glory in their sacrifice. They were not alive on June 03, 1972 and could not personally witness the event shown in these photo images. The Living Tibetan Spirits can easily identify all the objects shown in these images and are pleased by viewing these images. The Enemy had unintentionally served a purpose while he engaged in acts of espionage. I am not surprised and we as an organization have always accepted the challenge and are willing to meet the Enemy on the battlefield.
THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM IN TIBET :
In conclusion, I suggest that without effort and struggle, there can be no real upward movement in our lives, or in the lives of people, or in the history of a Nation. The people of Tibet need to struggle to realize the hope of regaining their natural Freedom. The darkness of military occupation has enveloped the Land of Tibet. When the oppressor intends to be unjust, he would use any excuse and he will always find a pretext for his tyranny. It is useless for the innocent to try reasoning to get justice from a tyrant. Let us all join and work together to Fight the Battle of Right against Might.
I would like to invite all of my readers to visit my Facebook Page dedicated to ‘The Spirits of Special Frontier Force. I would request all of you to show your support to the Spirit of Tibetan Independence by clicking on I “LIKE” this Page box:
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spirits-of-Special-Frontier-Force/362056613878227
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
Related Blog Posts:
1. http://Bhavanajagat.com/2007/07/26/India-The-Land-of-Gautama-Buddha/
2. http://Bhavanajagat.com/2008/03/04/His-Holiness-The-Dalai-Lamas-Visit-to-Ann-Arbor-Michigan/
3. http://Bhavanajagat.com/2011/05/10/A-Letter-to-The-Living-Tibetan-Spirits/
4. http://bhavanajagat.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-spirits-of-special-frontier-force.html
5. www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spirits-of-Special-Frontier-Force/362056613878227
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