WholeDude

Whole Trouble – Freedom is in Short Supply in Tibet

TROUBLE IN TIBET – FREEDOM IS IN SHORT SUPPLY

Trouble in Tibet – Freedom is in Short Supply

Science Daily published an article titled, “Water Supplies in Tibet Set to Increase in the Future.” When Freedom is in Short Supply, there is no hope for Water Supplies in Tibet to increase.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

**Comparison Pictures of Rongbuk Glaciers. Trouble in Tibet – Freedom is in Short Supply**

ScienceDaily

Water supplies in Tibet set to increase in the future —

ScienceDaily Water supplies in Tibet set to increase in the future
Date: January 20, 2016

Source: University of Gothenburg

Summary: The Tibetan Plateau has long been seen as a “hotspot” for international environmental research, and there have been fears that water supplies in the major Asian rivers would drastically decline in the near future. However, new research now shows that water supplies will be stable and may even increase in the coming decades.

Researcher Deliang Chen.

The Tibetan Plateau has long been seen as a “hotspot” for international environmental research, and there have been fears that water supplies in the major Asian rivers would drastically decline in the near future. However, new research now shows that water supplies will be stable and may even increase in the coming decades.

A report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2007 suggests that the glaciers in the Himalayas will be gone by 2035. This statement was questioned and caused a great stir.

“This mistaken claim and the subsequent debate pointed to a need for a better understanding of the dynamics of climate, glaciers and future water supplies in the region,” says Deliang Chen, Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.

River flows stable or increasing Since the statement by IPCC in 2007, the Tibetan Plateau has been a focus of international environmental research.

A research group led by Professor Deliang Chen at the University of Gothenburg, in close collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, headed by Professor Fengge Su, has studied future climate change and its effect on the water balance in the region. The great Asian rivers have their source on the Plateau or in the neighbouring mountains.

The researchers recently published a study in Global and Planetary Change which modelled the water flows upstream in the Yellow River, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra and the Indus. The studies include both data from past decades and simulations for future decades.

The results show that water flows in the rivers in the coming decades would either be stable or would increase compared to the period from 1971-2000.
Affects a third of the world’s population The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and most extensive area of high land in the world, and what happens there affects water resources for almost a third of the world’s population.

Dr. Tinghai Ou, who was responsible for the climate projections in the study, has commented that increased precipitation and meltwater from glaciers and snowfall are contributing to increased water flows in the region.

“This is good news because social and economic development in the surrounding areas, including China, India, Nepal and other countries in Southeast Asia, are closely tied to climate change and access to water. But the fact that the glaciers are shrinking in the region could be a concern in the longer term, and we must keep a close eye on what is happening with global warming,” says Professor Deliang Chen.

Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Gothenburg. The original item was written by Carina Eliasson. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

F. Su, L. Zhang, T. Ou, D. Chen, T. Yao, K. Tong, Y. Qi. Hydrological response to future climate changes for the major upstream river basins in the Tibetan Plateau. Global and Planetary Change, 2016; 136: 82 DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.10.012

University of Gothenburg. “Water supplies in Tibet set to increase in the future.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120113706.htm>.

Himalayan Glaciers Retreating at Accelerated Rate in Some Regions: Consequences for Water Supply Remain Unclear

Sep. 12, 2012 — Glaciers in the eastern and central regions of the Himalayas appear to be retreating at accelerating rates, similar to those in other areas of the … read more

Copyright 2015 ScienceDaily or by third parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.

Whole Prayer – Prayer for Freedom to Blossom in Tibet

Peach Blossoms – Prayer for Freedom to Blossom in Tibet

Tibetans need courage and freedom to be the people they were made to be. They need humility to lay aside progress or development granted by occupation. I ask the Lord of Compassion to give wings to Tibetans and they shall fly to experience the Joy of Freedom.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

Clipped from: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201803/28/WS5abb4f62a3105cdcf6514dd7_1.html

Photo taken on March 27, 2018 shows peach blossoms at the Gala peach blossom scenic area in the Baiyi district of Nyingchi, Tibet. [Photo/Xinhua]

Whole Waiting – Be Patient, There Will be a Tibetan Spring

Waiting for the Tibetan Spring with Optimism shared by Richard Gere

WORLD PARLIAMENTARIANS CONVENTION ON TIBET HELD IN OTTAWA, CANADA, 2012. Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington, DC, Professor Jayadeva Ranade, Distinguished Fellow with the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, with Richard Gere, Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.

Richard Gere shared his sense of optimism and expressed his hope for a Tibetan Spring and encouraged Tibetan supporters to wait with patience. At Special Frontier Force, I recognize Patience and Perseverance as part of our military strategy.

If not Tibetan Spring, I am waiting for a Red China “Meltdown” that would eventually lead to the Tibetan Spring. The term ‘meltdown’ describes a situation in which a rapid rise in the power level of a nuclear reactor, as from a defect in the cooling system, results in the melting of the fuel rods and the release of dangerous radiation and may cause the core to sink into the earth. ‘Meltdown’ also refers to a sudden decline or breakdown in a situation or condition. I am really impressed by Red China’s expanding military, economic, and political power. At the same time, I recognize inherent weakness of Red China’s Expansionism. In my analysis, there is no person, and there is no national entity that can save Red China from a catastrophic ‘Meltdown’, a sudden decline, a rapid breakdown of her Evil Power.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA

Special Frontier Force, Establishment 22, Vikas Regiment

Richard Gere: ‘There Will Be a Tibetan Spring Eventually,’ We Have to Be Patient

July 4, 2015 | 09:21AM PT

‘I am welcomed by the Chinese people, but not by the Chinese government’

LEO BARRACLOUGH

KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic — Richard Gere predicted a Tibetan Spring at a press conference on Saturday at the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
The actor, who received the festival’s Crystal Globe for outstanding contribution to world cinema on Friday, was addressing a question regarding Chinese control of Tibet, which it has occupied since an invasion in 1950.

Gere is a follower of the Dalai Lama, the India-based spiritual leader of Tibet, and an advocate for the liberation of Tibet. He disputed a suggestion from a journalist that he was not welcome in China. “I am welcomed by the Chinese people, but not by the Chinese government. I haven’t been able to (visit China) since 1993. But you guys can understand that. The Czech Republic understands Communism very well,” he said.

Gere rejected the suggestion that there were negotiations going on behind the scenes that would lead to an improvement in relations between the Tibetan Buddhists in exile and the Chinese government.

He was asked what would happen when the Dalai Lama, who is 80 years old on July 6, dies and the Tibetan Buddhists sought out the next Dalai Lama. Gere referred to an episode in Tibetan history when the Panchen Lama, the second-highest Tibetan lama, spoke out against the Chinese treatment of Tibetans in 1989, and died in “mysterious” circumstances soon thereafter. When the Panchen Lama’s successor, a 6-year-old boy, was named by the Tibetan Buddhists, he was “kidnapped” by the Chinese Communist authorities, Gere said, and “has not been seen since.” The Chinese then selected their own Panchen Lama, whom the Tibetans regard as “bogus,” Gere said. This scenario could be repeated when the Dalai Lama dies, Gere claimed.

“There is a fear — which is based in reality — that the Chinese will try to co-opt the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama. In fact the Chinese Communist Party has said that it is only up to the Chinese to decide who the Dalai Lama will incarnate as,” he said. “So there is a drama going on now about who will decide who is the next Dalai Lama.”

He continued: “The Dalai Lama has said: ‘Well, first of all, he is not going to incarnate inside of China if it is still controlled by the Chinese Communists.’ In any event it is up to him where he, and how he incarnates, not the Chinese Communists, so there is this absurd line of reasoning and declarations from the Communist Party.”

Gere added that the Czechs, because of their experience of living under Communism, could identify with such “absurdity.” “You have such experience with the absurdities of a Communist party, so you’ll understand the position of the Tibetans quite well. It will change eventually as it changed here, and there will be a Prague Spring in Tibet,” he said, referring to the anti-communist uprising in Czechoslovakia in 1968, that was unsuccessful, and the Velvet Revolution in 1989, which ended communist rule in the country. “Things will change,” Gere said. “We have to be patient and we have to keep Tibetan culture alive in the meantime, because the Chinese are doing their best to completely eradicate it.”

Filed Under:

Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Richard Gere

Whole Trouble – “The World We Make” is not the World Tibet Wants

Trouble in Tibet – “The World We Make”

**The Dalai Lama, shown here speaking to the Wisconsin Legislature in 2013, will be back in Madison on March 9, 2016 to participate in a gathering billed as “The World We Make.”**

As of today, our World is in awful shape. Actually, we did not make this World. Just as in the case of Tibet, troubles are imposed upon innocent people who simply mind their own business without causing inconvenience to others. There is no choice other than that of remaking this World to give Peace and Justice to all people.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
Special Frontier Force, Establishment 22, Vikas Regiment

THE CAP TIMES

Madison, Wisconsin

Bill Berry: Wake up, Wisconsin, to impact of Dalai Lama, climate change

BILL BERRY | state columnist Jan 25, 2016 JOHN HART – State Journal

The Dalai Lama, shown here speaking to the Wisconsin Legislature in 2013, will be back in Madison on March 9 to participate in a gathering billed as “The World We Make.” An international spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has worked for decades to building better understanding among the scientific and spiritual communities. John Hart/State Journal111

News that didn’t but should have stopped the presses as we came out of post-Christmas hibernation:

Welcome back: The Dalai Lama will make his 10th visit to Madison come March 9, as reported last week in Madison media. Beyond the Madison market, chances are the word won’t get out much on the visit from this international spiritual, ethical and moral leader. Its too bad. His international impact is immense. He’ll participate in a Capitol Theater event billed as The World We Make, a gathering of world leaders in science, health care and the media, according to its sponsor, the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison. Among his many accomplishments, the Dalai Lama has been able to build better understanding among the scientific and spiritual communities.

The connection between the Dalai Lama and UW-Madison is well known in the Madison area. Outstate, not so much. But people might like to know that the connection has led to vibrant research on the healthy mind at the center, headed by Richard Davidson, and elsewhere on the UW campus. The simple idea that we can learn about humans by studying the healthy mind is transformational. Its also part of a vibrant body of research that stretches well beyond the Madison campus.

Bill Berry of Stevens Point writes a semimonthly column for The Capital Times. billnick

About the columnist

Bill Berry is a self-employed writer and editor who contributes to state and national publications. His Capital Times columns cover an array of topics, but he specializes in conservation, agriculture and sustainable land use.

Whole Problem – The Great Problem of Tibet is on the Back Burner

The Great Problem of Tibet is on the Back Burner

During the month of March, Tibet Awareness Month, I regret to report that The Great Problem of Tibet is still on the Back Burner. But, I am adamantly hopeful for the word Evil means Doom, Apocalypse, Calamity, Cataclysm, and Disaster. The global attention for Tibet has shrunk but the Evil Red Empire could be rushing ahead to meet its unavoidable Fate. My hope comes from a Biblical Prophesy.

How China has shrunk global attention for Tibet and the Dalai Lama — Quartz

Clipped from: https://qz.com/1565178/how-china-has-shrunk-global-attention-for-tibet-and-the-dalai-lama/

***The global attention for Tibet has shrunk but the Evil Red Empire could be rushing ahead to meet its unavoidable Fate. My hope comes from a Biblical Prophesy.***

March is a sensitive month in Tibet. In 1959, an uprising led to a bloody crackdown by Chinese forces, culminating in the 23-year-old Dalai Lama’s escape to India on March 17, where he arrived after two weeks of apprehension over his fate. Protests marking the Tibetan revolt were put down in 1989, and most recently in 2008, months before China was set to showcase itself to the world with the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

It’s hard to imagine such acts of defiance taking place today. In 2011, Beijing further tightened its chokehold on the autonomous region under the leadership of new Tibet Communist Party secretary Chen Quanguo (paywall), who implemented a vast array of security measures, including the incarceration and “re-education” of those who had returned from listening to the Dalai Lama’s teachings in India. Tibetans were also forced to adapt their culture to party ideology and to learn how to “revere” science, part of Beijing’s ongoing propaganda campaign that portrays its rule in Tibet as a benevolent exercise in modernization and anti-feudalism. Ten years ago today (March 28), the Chinese instituted Serfs’ Emancipation Day as a holiday to celebrate its program.

Reuters

Smoke rises from burning buildings below the Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital Lhasa during protests on March 14, 2008.

“To some extent, China has been very successful in dealing with Tibet,” said Tsering Shakya, an academic at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Beijing is applying the Tibet model to another minority considered to pose a danger to the state. In 2016, Chen became party secretary in the Xinjiang region of northwest China, where his Tibetan policies are largely seen as the foundation for repression of the Uyghur minority. Large-scale re-education camps hold hundreds of thousands of Muslims as Uyghur cultural and religious practices face systematic erosion.

From Kundun to Rock Dog

Advocates hope that growing international awareness over Xinjiang will help rekindle the world’s attention toward Tibet, which has dwindled amid the Chinese Communist Party’s relentless efforts to reshape the global conversation about the region.

Perhaps the starkest manifestation of that is in the arts. Tibet, once a cause célèbre in Hollywood as the subject of films such as Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet—in which Brad Pitt played the role of an Austrian mountaineer who tutored the young Dalai Lama—is today almost nowhere to be seen on screen. Actor Richard Gere, one of the most well-known celebrities to support Tibetan independence, said in 2017 that he has been shut out of major productions because of his outspokenness.

Reuters/Yuri Gripas

Nancy Pelosi talks to Richard Gere at a memorial event for Kasur Gyari, former special envoy of the Dalai Lama to the US, March 12, 2019.

When Tibet is still visible, said Seagh Kehoe at the University of Leicester, it is often in a watered-down and totally depoliticized fashion, as in the animated Rock Dog, a 2016 joint US-China production about a Tibetan mastiff who becomes a music star. Self-censorship over Tibet can be seen at work in London as well, with a West End theater suspending performance of a play about Tibet last year reportedly at the urging of the British Council, the UK’s international cultural organization, which is partly government funded. Following accusations of censorship by its playwright and apologies by the theater, Pah-la is now due to be staged next month.

Shaping the narrative on campus

Universities are another important battleground in Beijing’s attempt to mold its narrative. Campus activism in an earlier era was generally pro-Tibetan. That’s changing today with the ballooning number of Chinese students abroad—over 600,000 now compared with fewer than 50,000 in the late 1990s.

Chinese authorities “see overseas students as allies in their ongoing efforts to counter regime opponents” including groups sympathetic to Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan, and the Falun Gong, according to a report (pdf) last year by the Wilson Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank. The report detailed attempts by Chinese officials to put pressure on institutions to cancel invitations to the Dalai Lama and to bring more Chinese delegations to US universities to espouse the Communist Party’s line on Tibet.

Chemi Lhamo, a Tibetan student who was elected last month as a student president at the University of Toronto, received thousands of threatening Instagram messages from Chinese students. The student union decided to close her office out of concern for her safety. Chinese officials in Canada denied having anything to do with the incident or a case in which an Uyghur speaker was disrupted by Chinese students at McMaster University who had reportedly sought advice (paywall) from the consulate in Toronto. Chinese diplomats in Canada have praised the actions of students in both instances as being “patriotic.”

“Slow violence” gets less attention

Draconian restrictions on travel by Tibetans, foreign diplomats and journalists have made getting disseminating information from the region immensely more difficult.

Ever-tightening security has eliminated visible, large-scale displays of protest. The “optics of urgency” spotlighting the Xinjiang situation, such as satellite photos of camps and reporting by journalists on the ground, are missing from the Tibet narrative, wrote Gerald Roche, an anthropologist at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The “slow violence” that characterizes the plight of Tibet today, Roche added, makes it harder to get global attention.

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the uprisings in Tibet, Chinese authorities further tightened control, restricting even foreign tourists from traveling there. Meanwhile, a white paper from China’s State Council on Tibet released yesterday (March 27) boasted of “democratic reform” over the past six decades, including a chapter titled “The People Have Become Masters of Their Own Affairs.”

During the month of March, Tibet Awareness Month, I regret to report that The Great Problem of Tibet is still on the Back Burner. But, I am adamantly hopeful for the word Evil means Doom, Apocalypse, Calamity, Cataclysm, and Disaster. The global attention for Tibet has shrunk but the Evil Red Empire could be rushing ahead to meet its unavoidable Fate. My hope comes from a Biblical Prophesy.

Reuters/Thomas Peter

Armed police attempt to prevent a photographer from taking pictures at the entrance to the village of Taktser, known in Chinese as Hongya, where the Dalai Lama was born in 1935, Qinghai province, China March 9, 2019.

Dramatic protests have continued. Since 2009, Tibetans have been self-immolating as a form of protest, with the act spreading from nuns and monks to laypeople. The International Campaign for Tibet’s latest count of self-immolations totals 155, with the last of the three known to have occurred in 2018 taking place in December. International media coverage, however, has largely disappeared. “We have some 150 cases of self-immolation, but for all, I know it could be 300,” said Kevin Carrico at Monash University in Australia. “Even for people who pay attention to this situation, we don’t really know what’s happening.”

The debate over the next Dalai Lama

Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch in Washington, said that spotlighting China’s human-rights abuses in Xinjiang can reinforce mutual support between diaspora Uyghur and Tibetan groups. There’s a common “core pathology” underlining Beijing’s actions in both places, including the “erasing of cultural identities and practices,” she said. Lhamo, the Tibetan student, told Quartz that a growing focus of her activism now involves building ties and sharing information with Uyghurs, Taiwanese, and the Falun Gong.

Advocacy groups have also welcomed renewed pressure by the US on Beijing. Congress passed the Tibet Reciprocal Act in December, which denies entry to the US any Chinese official who blocks Americans from going to Tibet. Matteo Mecacci, a former lawmaker in Italy and president for the International Campaign for Tibet, said the bill signals “enduring, bipartisan support for Tibet” in the US. The law requires annual reports detailing access to Tibet for Americans, with the first published this week.

AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia

The Dalai Lama smiles as he sits on his chair at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharmsala, India, Feb. 27, 2019.

The fight over the Dalai Lama’s succession—and China’s obsessive control over it—could also return Tibet to headlines in the coming years.

Amid a flurry of attention this month marking the leader’s 60th anniversary in exile in Dharamsala, the 83-year-old Dalai Lama said in an interview that his next incarnation could be found in India, adding that Beijing is likely to appoint its own successor whom “nobody will trust.” Beijing, which consistently maintains that the Dalai Lama is a separatist, promptly reiterated that the selection of the next Tibetan spiritual leader must follow Chinese law.

Whole Awareness – Less Snow and Less Freedom in Tibet – A Recipe for Disaster

Tibet Awareness – The Third Pole of Earth is vanishing – A Recipe for Disaster

**Whole Awareness – Less Snow and Less Freedom in Tibet – A Recipe for Disaster**

A report published in Climate Dynamics suggests that less snow in Tibet means more heatwaves in Europe. How about less Freedom in Tibet? What repercussions it would have on rest of the world? As Doomsayer of Doom Dooma, I predict that less ‘Freedom’ in Tibet is a recipe for a great disaster. A calamity, a catastrophe, and a disaster will strike Red China forcing her out of Tibet.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA
Special Frontier Force. Establishment 22. Vikas Regiment

Less snow in Tibet means more heatwaves in Europe

Worsening heatwaves in Europe and north-east Asia are to thinner snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau, highlighting its key role in global weather systems, a study by Chinese scientists finds

**TIBET AWARENESS – GLOBAL WARMING – CLIMATE ACTION. RED CHINA REFUSES TO ACCEPT THE CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING. RED CHINA IS USING DECEPTION AND PROPAGANDA INSTEAD OF ADDRESSING CORE ISSUES.**

Chinese scientists found that reduced snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau triggers high pressure over southern Europe and northeast Asia, reducing cloud formation and pushing up temperatures.

Wednesday 7 October 2015

Recent summer heatwaves in Europe and northeast Asia have caused massive water shortages and a large number of deaths. But the mechanism behind these extreme weather events is not fully understood.

Scientists at China’s Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology now say that decreasing snow cover in the Tibetan Plateau could be playing an important role.
Professor Wu Zhiwei and her team used monthly snow cover and air temperature data from the past fifty years to build a global circulation model.

Their findings show that reduced snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau triggers high pressure over southern Europe and northeast Asia, reducing cloud formation and pushing up temperatures. Warmer and drier conditions in turn further inhibit cloud formation, intensifying local heat waves, says their paper, published recently in Climate Dynamics.
With further snow loss projected in the future, “Tibetan Plateau snow cover may play an increasingly significant role in shaping the Eurasian heat waves in the next decades,” the Chinese scientists conclude.

Summer snow cover on the Tibetan plateau has already decreased significantly over the past 50 years with rising levels of global greenhouse gases. The region is warming at almost three times the global average.

Global climate connections

As climate models grow more sophisticated and complex, scientists have identified a set of long-distance atmospheric connections – or “teleconnections” – linking climate and weather in regions that are far apart.

These teleconnections also explain why rising sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean affect summer rainfall in North America and why there are major global climate anomalies when an EL NINO occurs.

The findings are significant for southern Europe and north-east Asia, where heatwaves have become more frequent and more severe over the past decades.
In 2003 Europe was caught off guard as sweltering temperatures brought the hottest summer since records began, leading to 70,000 deaths. In July – August 2010, another heat wave caused an estimated 56,000 deaths in western Russia.

In northern China heatwaves have led to major drinking water shortages for over half a billion people.

Tibet – the weather maker

Scientists agree that as the largest and highest plateau in the world, Tibet plays a key role in the global climate system. But many of the details remain a mystery.
The authors of the paper acknowledge their findings contain a number of caveats – including the lack of high quality and long-term climate data for the Tibetan Plateau.
The plateau and the Hindu Kush Himalayas are together often called the third pole because they hold the world’s largest stock of ice outside the poles. The plateau’s remoteness, high altitude and harsh conditions mean that even basic weather stations are few. Satellite data only exists from the 1970s and is plagued by errors because of the lack of calibration from ground observations.

Earlier studies have shown how heavy snowfall over the Tibetan Plateau can both weaken and prolong the duration of the summer monsoon system in the region. Another study linked greater winter snow cover in Tibet with warmer winters in Canada.

The Nanjing study adds fresh insights: “The findings in this paper are very important for understanding the causes to the increased frequency of heatwaves in Eurasia,” said Wen Zhou from the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacific Climate Impact Centre, City University of Hong Kong. She is leading a separate team to study the influence of high summer temperatures in southeast China on the Asian monsoons.

Plugging the gap

China is trying to fill this data gap. Last year, government institutions launched a US $49-million initiative to wire up the plateau with sensors in an unprecedented attempt to understand its influence on climate — especially the Asian monsoons.

The Chinese effort could help to predict extreme weather — both in Asia and as far afield as North America — and give scientists a steer on how climate change affects these events.

The China Meteorological Administration and the National Natural Science Foundation of China has set up sensors on high towers and in the soil to monitor temperature and moisture and cloud formation, as well as deploying sensors mounted on weather balloons and unmanned aerial vehicles.

© Eco-Business 2009—2015

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. MELTING GLACIERS OF TIBET.**

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. GLACIERS IN TIBET MELTING. CONSEQUENCE OF COLONIALISTIC EXPLOITATION BY RED CHINA.**

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. EFFECTS OF POLLUTION, GLOBAL WARMING IN TIBET.**

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. CLIMATE CHANGE IS SYMPTOM OF TIBET’S MILITARY OCCUPATION.**

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. TIBETAN PLATEAU GLACIERS MELTING RAPIDLY AFTER THE LOSS OF FREEDOM.**

**TIBET AWARENESS – LESS SNOW AND LESS FREEDOM IN TIBET – A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. GLACIERS IN TIBET MELTING.**

Whole Colors – The Celebration of Joy and Love

The Festival of Colors is about the Celebration of Joy and Love

**The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on March 14, 2025.**

Holi is celebrated at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Falgun. The date of the festival varies depending on the lunar cycle. Typically, it falls in March, and will be celebrated this year on March 14. The Full Moon of March 2025 is associated with Lunar Eclipse on the night of Thursday, March 13.

Phalgun Purnima occurs in Phalgun (or Falgun), the final month of the Hindu Lunar Calendar, at the end of the Shukla Paksha (Waxing Lunar fortnight).

**Bharat Darshan. The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on Full Moon Day of the Last Month, Phalgun of Hindu Lunar Calendar**

**Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on March 14, 2025.**

Another name for the Full Moon Day of the month of Phalgun (or Falgun) is Vasanta Purnima, which is one of the six Vedic astrological seasons. It falls on the same day as Vasanta Ritu.

**Bharat Darshan-The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on Full Moon Day of the Last Month, Phalgun of Hindu Lunar Calendar. Holiday Dahan is celebrated on Thursday, March 13, 2025.**

Hindus celebrate this Purnima as Kama Dahanam in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, in South India.

**Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on March 14, 2025. The story of Kama Dahanam, the sacrifice of Lord Kamadeva.**

The ceremonies related to Kama Dahanam are similar to those for Holika Dahan. But the mythology behind Kama Dahanam is different. It relates to the sacrifice made by Lord Kamadeva who disturbed the penance of Lord Shiva to get His attention to Goddess Parvati. In Tamil Nadu, it is called Kaman Pandigai, and as Kamuni Panduga in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Holi is more of a North Indian festival.

Indians celebrate Holi for they have the choice to choose their personal God. In the Indian tradition, God manifests in various vibrant colors giving the people a sense of joy from several directions.

Why India Celebrates Holi: The Legends Behind the Festival of Color – CNN

By Manveena Suri, CNN

**Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors.**

March 2018, New Delhi (CNN): It’s the bold image of India most often seen in ad campaigns, films and music videos.

But what is Holi and why do Indians celebrate it?

Hindu devotees play with color during Holi celebrations at the Banke Bihari temple on March 27, 2013 in Vrindavan, India.

The beginning of Spring

Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the start of Spring.

Celebrated across India, it’s an ancient festival with the first mentions of it dating all the way back to a 4th century poem.

It was even described in detail in a 7th century Sanskrit play called “Ratnavali,” written by the Indian emperor Harsha.

“Witness the beauty of the great cupid festival which excites curiosity as the townsfolk are dancing at the touch of brownish water thrown … Everything is colored yellowish red and rendered dusty by the heaps of scented powder blown all over,” wrote Harsh.

Indian students smear colored powder during an event to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi in Kolkata on February 26, 2018.

How it looks today

**Bharat Darshan – The Celebration of Holi, the Festival of Colors on Full Moon Day of the Last Month, Phalgun of the Hindu Lunar Calendar.**

Although a Hindu festival, Holi is celebrated by Indians across the country and is a great equalizer.

Children can douse elders with water, women splash men with color and the rules of caste and creed are briefly forgotten with everyone taking part.

The evenings are spent visiting friends and family.

A national holiday, it takes place on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month, which is usually March.

This year’s national holiday falls on Friday, March 18.

The festival takes place a day earlier in the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha. In some parts of northern Uttar Pradesh state, the festivities take place over a week.

An Indian artist dressed as Hindu god Lord Shiva takes part in a procession ahead of the Holi festival in Amritsar on February 26, 2018.

Mythological roots

The roots of the festival lie in the Hindu legend of Holika, a female demon, and the sister of the demon, King Hiranyakashipu.

Hiranyakashipu believed he was the ruler of the universe and superior to all the gods.

But his son, Prahlad, followed the god Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe.

Prahlad’s decision to turn his back on his father left Hiranyakashipu with no choice. He hatched a plot with Holika to kill him.

It was a seemingly foolproof plan; Holika would take Prahlad onto her lap and straight into a bonfire. Holika would survive because she had an enchanted shawl that would protect her from the flames.

But the plan failed. Prahlad was saved by Lord Vishnu and it was Holika who died as she was only immune to fire if she was alone. Soon after, Lord Vishnu in His Narasimha Avatar killed Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad became king.

The moral of the story is that good always triumphs over evil.

Indian Hindu devotees throw colored powder during celebration of Holi Festival at Sriji temple in Barsana in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on February 23, 2018.

The love story behind Holi

In modern day Holi celebrations, Holika’s cremation is often reenacted by lighting bonfires on the night before Holi, known as Holika Dahan.

Some Hindus collect the ashes and smear them on their bodies as an act of purification

Rangwali Holi takes place the next day and is an all-day affair where people throw and smear colored powder on each other.

Indian college girls throw colored powder to one another during Holi festival celebrations in Bhopal on February 28, 2018.

The tradition of throwing colored powder and water is believed to originate from the mythological love story of Radha and Krishna.

Krishna, the Hindu god depicted with dark blue skin, is believed to have complained to his mother about Radha’s fair complexion.

To ease her son’s sadness, his mother suggests to change Radha’s skin color by smearing her with paint. It’s believed that this is where the custom of smearing loved ones with color during Holi came from.

Whole Disaster – Biblical Prophesy Brings Hope to Tibet

Trouble in Tibet – Hope comes from the prophesy discovered by Doomsayer of Doom Dooma

K. N. Raghavan author of book on Tibet titled ‘Vanishing Shangri La: Tibet and Dalai Lama in 20th Century) expressed deep concern for the future of Tibet after Dalai Lama.

Communist China’s military occupation of Tibet in 1950 is a true disaster. In my analysis, Red China’s actions are Evil and the consequence of Evil is described by the meaning of the term Evil; it means calamity, disaster, catastrophe, apocalypse, and Doom. Beijing is Doomed and Red China’s fate is sealed. As Doomsayer of Doom Dooma, I share prophesy of Prophet Isaiah (Book of Isaiah, Chapter 47:10&11) to declare Red China’s unexpected, unavoidable, inevitable, sudden downfall and there is no nation that can save Red China from her predicament.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

As Doomsayer of Doom Dooma, I share prophesy of Prophet Isaiah (Book of Isaiah, Chapter 47:10&11) to declare Red China’s unexpected, unavoidable, inevitable, sudden downfall and there is no nation that can save Red China from her predicament.

Trouble in Tibet – Hope From Doomsayer of Doom Dooma. Author K.N. Raghavan expressed deep concerns about future of Tibet after Dalai Lama. As Doomsayer of Doom Dooma, I share prophesy of Prophet Isaiah (Book of Isaiah, Chapter 47:10&11) to declare Red China’s unexpected, unavoidable, inevitable, sudden downfall and there is no nation that can save Red China from her predicament.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

The Glory of Tibet and the Tragedy of Tibetans;A Scholarly Book Puts Them In Perspective

By T J S George
Published: 17th April 2016 04:00 AM

India has always been in a lose-lose situation vis-à-vis Tibet. And China always in a win-win situation. Which means that, in realpolitik terms, the Tibetan refugees of today will remain refugees for ever and Tibetan Buddhism will never again have a home of its own. The plight of the displaced Tibetans has attracted world attention because of the international respect the present Dalai Lama has won with his humanity and championship of peace. But after him?

India has always been handicapped by a cultural inability to understand the intricacies of Tibetan politics and mores. On the other hand, China’s perception of Tibet as part of its geography and history has remained constant during the era of the emperors, the interregnum of Chiang Kaishek’s nationalism, and the triumphalist communism of Mao Zedong.

In 1956, when the Dalai Lama visited Bombay, Delhi directed governor M C Chagla to serve the guest strict vegetarian fare. Chagla arranged a grand thali-style dinner at the state banquet. The next morning, the ADC conveyed a message to the governor that the Dalai Lama would like to have kidney and sausages for breakfast. “So much for Delhi’s knowledge about the culinary habits and tastes of important visitors,” noted Chagla in his autobiography Roses in December.

Delhi’s knowledge of diplomatic delicacies was no better. In October 1950, as Tibet’s attempt to strike a deal with the new Communist rulers of China came to nothing, China invaded Tibet and paused at Chamdo. India had two options. It chose the first, apparently at the behest of the then foreign policy boss Girija Shankar Bajpai, and sent a strongly worded protest note to Peking. The Chinese replied by calling India a “running dog of Anglo-American imperialism”. Thereupon India adopted its second option, proposed by K M Panikkar, ambassador to China.

The position now was that India should make a gesture of friendship towards the new Communist country by not opposing the occupation of Tibet. (The official Indian note mentioned that India recognised the sovereignty of China over Tibet. It turned out that the word intended was suzerainty, but sovereignty crept into the message wrongly because of oversight at the Cypher Bureau in Delhi. The External Affairs Ministry tried to correct the mistake with another message to China, but was dissuaded from doing so on the ground that such a major correction would cause serious misunderstandings besides damaging India’s reputation.)

Facing imminent conquest, Tibet appealed to all the big nations of the world and to the UN for help. Nobody showed any interest. And nobody was to blame but Tibet itself. K N Raghavan, author of the latest book on Tibet (Vanishing Shangri La: History of Tibet and Dalai Lama in 20th century) says, “Tibet’s inaccessibility, solitude and its unfriendly response to even the friendliest of overtures all combined to ensure that it would not receive any support from other nations during its hour of need.”

Raghavan is not in unfamiliar territory. Author of the definitive Dividing Lines: Contours of India China Conflict, he has an extraordinary eye for detail and a gift to put complex issues in simple terms. He shows how the Dalai Lama began his rule with “a period of honeymoon” with China. He even visited China as an honoured guest in 1954, was ardently cultivated by Mao, and appointed a Vice-President of the Steering Committee of the People’s Republic of China. But relations soured in a few years. When rumours spread of Chinese plans to arrest the Dalai Lama, Tibetans rose in anger against the Chinese. Amid chaos in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and party managed to leave the capital in disguise and, sick and tired, entered India on March 31, 1959. Raghavan argues convincingly that China had allowed the escape in order to avoid the adverse world reactions his capture would have invited. With the Dalai Lama out of the scene,

China “brought the entire might of the PLA to crush the incipient rebellion” by the Tibetans.
With a comprehensive and scholarly analysis of China’s policies in Tibet after the Dalai Lama left, the soft power Tibetan exiles have been exerting on western intelligentsia and the Middle Way Approach conceived by the Dalai Lama, Raghavan provides an exhaustive overview of Tibet in its transformatory age—an account that is both inspirational and sad. The resilience shown by the Tibetans wins our admiration but their homelessness leaves us feeling sorry for them.

The Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize and all, carried the helpless diaspora on his brave shoulders. But after him.

**Trouble in Tibet – Hope From Doomsayer of Doom Dooma. Beijing is Doomed. Doom Dooma, Assam is known as Tea City of India.On bhavanajagat.com**

Whole Disaster – Occupation of Tibet is a Disaster and Heavenly Strike will come as a Blessing

Trouble in Tibet – Compassion delivers a Heavenly Strike on the Evil Empire

**Whole Disaster – Occupation of Tibet is a Disaster and Heavenly Strike will come as a Blessing. The Fall of Babylon. Revelation, Chapter 19.**

Trouble in Tibet. World can be changed in three or four decades through education. I speak of ‘Compassion’ as an instinctual response in recognition of pain and suffering of another human being.

Compassion acts like a Physical Force and it can transform man and the world in which man exists. To uplift Tibetans from pain and suffering, Compassion Strikes the Evil Empire to change her heart and mind.

Beijing is Doomed. Evil Empire’s Fate is Sealed. Doom, Disaster, Calamity, or Cataclysmic Event to Strike the Evil Empire is destined as an act of Compassion for it is purposive, goal-Oriented, and not a random, unguided collision event.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

LESSONS FROM THE DALAI LAMA

**Trouble in Tibet – Which Type of Force Can Evict China? Dalai Lama Opens California Temple With Message of Compassion.**

Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, visited Boulder for two talks on compassion, education, and training the mind.

By KIRAN HERBERT June 24 2016, 10:45 AM

“We are all the same human beings—mentally, physically, and emotionally,” says the Dalai Lama, beginning the first of two sold-out appearances at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Coors Events Center. For someone who carries the title His Holiness, it might seem an interesting place to start, but not if you’re familiar with the 14th Dalai Lama and his major tenets.

The 80-year-old monk was born Tenzin Gyatso on a straw mat in rural Tibet. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, which believes in reincarnation, there exists a select subset of enlightened individuals who are said to be able to control the time and place of their future births. The Dalai Lamas are the most famous example and are believed to be manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, continually eschewing nirvana in order to serve humanity—Gyatso was discovered at the age of two, after an extensive process that included consulting an oracle and interpreting numerous signs.

For non-Buddhists, the Dalai Lama still serves as a spiritual leader, touting a message of secular ethics, peace, non-violence, inter-religious harmony, and the preservation of Tibetan culture. He touched on all those themes during his two talks: “Eight Verses for Training the Mind” (which was heady and focused on Buddhist dharma) and “Educating the Heart and the Mind” (where the Dalai Lama answered audience questions). Throughout, he spoke with a sense of humor, approachability, and humility seldom associated with world leaders.
Colorado has about 300 Tibetans living in exile and that community’s children kicked off the day’s events with traditional costumes, dancing, and song. After introductions from

Congressman Jared Polis (who earned a standing ovation after announcing he was returning to D.C. for the sit in ) and Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones (who fittingly gifted the Dalai Lama a bike helmet and jersey), the Dalai Lama began speaking with an accent, occasionally using a translator to ruminate on everything from globalization and materialism to analytical thinking and forgiveness.

When the talks concluded, the audience—old Tibetan women, folks in Burning Man garb, college students—were left with a lot to digest. Here are our takeaways.

The Dalai Lama meets with students. It was the Dalai Lama’s third visit to the university campus and his first in nearly 20 years. (Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado-Boulder, Glenn Asakawa)

A NEW REALITY

“Reality has changed, but our thinking is old and dated: In order to gain you destroy the other,” says the Dalai Lama. “The new reality: the destruction of your neighbor is the destruction of yourself.” In a globalized world, he continued, things like climate change and the global economy have no national boundaries, and we’re in for “the same miserable century,” filled with starvation, poverty, and death, unless we ignite change.

Change Begins With One

Small transformations have a butterfly effect—as one individual becomes more compassionate she spreads it to a friend and then more friends, until gradually thousands have been drawn into the fold.

A More Compassionate Humanity

“We need to make an effort through education so that we can achieve a happier, more compassionate world,” says the Dalai Lama, calling on politicians, the media, and educational institutions to lead the charge. Again and again, the Dalai Lama stressed the importance of cultivating tolerance, contentment, and forgiveness in order to practice altruism. “If we think one goal—a happier, more compassionate world—then I think it’s possible the second half of the century will be a happier world.”

Take the High Road

“Our enemies are our greatest teachers,” says the Dalai Lama, expounding on the need to always practice humility in dealing with others and be aware of our own afflictions in order to counter them. When others are negative, be tolerant and patient, remaining unperturbed.

Mind Your Materialism
Inner beauty trumps outer beauty. Technology used only for temporary entertainment is a waste of time. We need to move away from an emphasis on materialism in our lives and culture.

Our Only Hope is Education

“Our only hope is through education—to change our thinking and our way and life,” says the Dalai Lama, emphasizing the importance of dialectical thought, as well as the use of both the head and the heart. “We need teaching and education in the existing secular education field which covers the entirety of humanity.” Maybe then, in three or four decades, our children will be born into a better world.

Trouble in Tibet – Have Hope – Compassion Will Strike The Evil Red Empire. **Whole Disaster – Occupation of Tibet is a Disaster and Heavenly Strike will come as a Blessing. The Fall of Babylon. Revelation, Chapter 19.**

Whole Hope – Tibet’s March of Living Hope

March 1959 – Tibet’s March of Living Hope

**Whole Hope – Tibet’s March of Living Hope – In March 1959, Tibetans marched with a sense of Hope.**

‘Trouble in Tibet’ dates back to 1950 and Tibetans began their very long “March of Living Hope” in March 1959 following National Uprising against Red China’s military occupation. Tibetan Journey is far from over. If words can give any comfort, I ask Tibetans to continue this Journey with Patience and Perseverance until their “March of Living Hope” reaches its final destination.

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST : — **Whole Hope – Tibet’s March of Living Hope – In March 1959, Tibetans marched with a sense of Hope.**

“March of Living Hope” – Remarks by the US President at National Prayer Breakfast:

U.S. President Barack Obama takes the stage to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, February 5, 2015. Flanking Obama are Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey (L) and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

On behalf of Special Frontier Force I thank The White House (whitehouse.gov) for sharing with me ‘Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast’. We join the President in this “March of Living Hope” to resolve ‘Trouble in Tibet’.

Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada

Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162 USA
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For
Immediate Release
February 05, 2015
Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast
Washington Hilton
Washington, D.C.
9:13 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Well, good morning. Giving all
praise and honor to God. It is wonderful to be back with you here. I
want to thank our co-chairs, Bob and Roger. These two don’t always agree in the Senate, but in coming together and uniting us all in prayer, they embody the spirit of our gathering today. I also want to thank everybody who helped organize this breakfast. It’s wonderful to see so many friends and faith leaders and dignitaries. And Michelle and I are truly honored to be joining you here today.
I want to offer a special welcome to a good friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama — who is a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion, who inspires us to speak up for the freedom and dignity of all human beings. (Applause.) I’ve been pleased to welcome him to the White House on many occasions, and we’re grateful that he’s able to join us here today. (Applause.) There aren’t that many occasions that bring His Holiness under the same roof as NASCAR. (Laughter.) This may be the first. (Laughter.) But God works in mysterious ways. (Laughter.) And so I want to thank Darrell for that wonderful presentation. Darrell knows that when you’re going 200 miles an hour, a little prayer cannot hurt. (Laughter.) I suspect that more than
once, Darrell has had the same thought as many of us have in our own lives —
Jesus, take the wheel. (Laughter.) Although I hope that you kept your
hands on the wheel when you were thinking that. (Laughter.)
He and I obviously share something in having married up. And we are so grateful to Stevie for the incredible work that they’ve done together to build a ministry where the fastest drivers can slow down a little bit, and spend some time in prayer and reflection and thanks. And we certainly want to wish Darrell a happy birthday. (Applause.) Happy birthday.I will note, though, Darrell, when you were reading that list of things folks were saying about you, I was thinking, well, you’re a piker. I mean, that — (laughter.) I mean, if you really want a list, come talk to me. (Laughter.) Because that ain’t nothing. (Laughter.) That’s the best they can do in NASCAR? (Laughter.) Slowing down and pausing for fellowship and prayer — that’s what this breakfast is about. I think it’s fair to say Washington moves a lot slower than NASCAR. Certainly my agenda does sometimes. (Laughter.)
But still, it’s easier to get caught up in the rush of our lives, and in the
political back-and-forth that can take over this city. We get sidetracked with distractions, large and small. We can’t go 10 minutes without checking our smartphones — and for my staff, that’s every 10 seconds. And so for 63 years, this prayer tradition has brought us together, giving us the opportunity to come together in humility before the Almighty and to be reminded of what it is that we share as children of God. And certainly for me, this is always a chance to reflect on my own faith journey. Many times as President, I’ve been reminded of a line of prayer that Eleanor Roosevelt was fond of. She said, “Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength.” Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength. I’ve wondered at times if maybe God was answering that prayer a little too literally. But no matter
the challenge, He has been there for all of us. He’s certainly strengthened me “with the power through his Spirit,” as I’ve sought His guidance not just in my own life but in the life of our nation.

Now, over the last few months, we’ve seen a number of challenges — certainly over the last six years. But part of what I want to touch on today is the degree to which we’ve seen professions of faith used both as an instrument of great good, but also twisted and misused in the name of evil. As we speak, around the world, we see faith inspiring people to lift up one another — to feed the hungry and care for the poor, and comfort the afflicted and make peace where there is strife. We heard the good work that Sister has done in Philadelphia, and the incredible work that Dr. Brantly and his colleagues have done. We see faith driving us to do right.
But we also see faith being twisted and distorted, used as a wedge — or, worse, sometimes used as a weapon. From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it. We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism terrorizing religious minorities like the Yezidis, subjecting women to rape as a weapon of war, and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions.

We see sectarian war in Syria, the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion.

So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities — the profound good, the strength, the tenacity, the compassion and love that can flow from all of our faiths, operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends?

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST : HIS HOLINESS THE 14TH DALAI LAMA, THE EXILED TIBETAN LEADER WITH MS. VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST HELD AT WASHINGTON HILTON ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 05, 2015.

So this is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith. In today’s world, when hate groups have their own Twitter accounts and bigotry can fester in hidden places in cyberspace, it can be even harder to counteract such intolerance. But God compels us to try. And in this mission, I believe there are a few principles that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe.

And, first, we should start with some basic humility. I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt — not being so full of yourself and so confident that you are right and that God speaks only to us, and doesn’t speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn’t care about others, that somehow we alone are in possession of the truth.

Our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth — our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments. And we should assume humbly that we’re confused and don’t always know what we’re doing and we’re staggering and stumbling towards Him, and have some humility in that process. And that means we have to speak up against those who would misuse His name to justify oppression, or violence, or hatred with that fierce certainty. No God condones terror. No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives, or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number.

And so, as people of faith, we are summoned to push back against those who try to distort our religion — any religion — for their own nihilistic ends. And here at home and around the world, we will constantly reaffirm that fundamental freedom — freedom of religion — the right to practice our faith how we choose, to change our faith if we choose, to practice no faith at all if we choose, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination.

There’s wisdom in our founders writing in those documents that help found this nation the notion of freedom of religion, because they understood the need for humility. They also understood the need to uphold freedom of speech, that there was a connection between freedom of speech and freedom of religion. For to infringe on one right under the pretext of protecting another is a betrayal of both.

But part of humility is also recognizing in modern, complicated, diverse societies, the functioning of these rights, the concern for the protection of these rights calls for each of us to exercise civility and restraint and judgment. And if, in fact, we defend the legal right of a person to insult another’s religion, we’re equally obligated to use our free speech to condemn such insults — (applause) — and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with religious communities, particularly religious minorities who are the targets of such attacks. Just because you have the right to say something doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t question those who would insult others in the name of free speech. Because we know that our nations are stronger when people of all faiths feel that they are welcome, that they, too, are full and equal members of our countries.

So humility I think is needed. And the second thing we need is to uphold the distinction between our faith and our governments. Between church and between state. The United States is one of the most religious countries in the world — far more religious than most Western developed countries. And one of the reasons is that our founders wisely embraced the separation of church and state. Our government does not sponsor a religion, nor does it pressure anyone to practice a particular faith, or any faith at all. And the result is a culture where people of all backgrounds and beliefs can freely and proudly worship, without fear, or coercion — so that when you listen to Darrell talk about his faith journey you know it’s real. You know he’s not saying it because it helps him advance, or because somebody told him to. It’s from the heart.

That’s not the case in theocracies that restrict people’s choice of faith. It’s not the case in authoritarian governments that elevate an individual leader or a political party above the people, or in some cases, above the concept of God Himself. So the freedom of religion is a value we will continue to protect here at home and stand up for around the world, and is one that we guard vigilantly here in the United States.

Last year, we joined together to pray for the release of Christian missionary Kenneth Bae, held in North Korea for two years. And today, we give thanks that Kenneth is finally back where he belongs — home, with his family. (Applause.)

Last year, we prayed together for Pastor Saeed Abedini, detained in Iran since 2012. And I was recently in Boise, Idaho, and had the opportunity to meet with Pastor Abedini’s beautiful wife and wonderful children and to convey to them that our country has not forgotten brother Saeed and that we’re doing everything we can to bring him home. (Applause.) And then, I received an extraordinary letter from Pastor Abedini. And in it, he describes his captivity, and expressed his gratitude for my visit with his family, and thanked us all for standing in solidarity with him during his captivity.

And Pastor Abedini wrote, “Nothing is more valuable to the Body of Christ than to see how the Lord is in control, and moves ahead of countries and leadership through united prayer.” And he closed his letter by describing himself as “prisoner for Christ, who is proud to be part of this great nation of the United States of America that cares for religious freedom around the world.” (Applause.)

We’re going to keep up this work — for Pastor Abedini and all those around the world who are unjustly held or persecuted because of their faith. And we’re grateful to our new Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Saperstein — who has hit the ground running, and is heading to Iraq in a few days to help religious communities there address some of those challenges. Where’s David? I know he’s here somewhere. Thank you, David, for the great work you’re doing. (Applause.)

Humility; a suspicion of government getting between us and our faiths, or trying to dictate our faiths, or elevate one faith over another. And, finally, let’s remember that if there is one law that we can all be most certain of that seems to bind people of all faiths, and people who are still finding their way towards faith but have a sense of ethics and morality in them — that one law, that Golden Rule that we should treat one another as we wish to be treated. The Torah says “Love thy neighbor as yourself.” In Islam, there is a Hadith that states: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” The Holy Bible tells us to “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Put on love.

Whatever our beliefs, whatever our traditions, we must seek to be instruments of peace, and bringing light where there is darkness, and sowing love where there is hatred. And this is the loving message of His Holiness, Pope Francis. And like so many people around the world, I’ve been touched by his call to relieve suffering, and to show justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable; to walk with The Lord and ask “Who am I to judge?” He challenges us to press on in what he calls our “march of living hope.” And like millions of Americans, I am very much looking forward to welcoming Pope Francis to the United States later this year. (Applause.)

His Holiness expresses that basic law: Treat thy neighbor as yourself. The Dalai Lama — anybody who’s had an opportunity to be with him senses that same spirit. Kent Brantly expresses that same spirit. Kent was with Samaritan’s Purse, treating Ebola patients in Liberia, when he contracted the virus himself. And with world-class medical care and a deep reliance on faith — with God’s help, Kent survived. (Applause.)

And then by donating his plasma, he helped others survive as well. And he continues to advocate for a global response in West Africa, reminding us that “our efforts needs to be on loving the people there.” And I could not have been prouder to welcome Kent and his wonderful wife Amber to the Oval Office. We are blessed to have him here today — because he reminds us of what it means to really “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Not just words, but deeds.

Each of us has a role in fulfilling our common, greater purpose — not merely to seek high position, but to plumb greater depths so that we may find the strength to love more fully. And this is perhaps our greatest challenge — to see our own reflection in each other; to be our brother’s keepers and sister’s keepers, and to keep faith with one another. As children of God, let’s make that our work, together.

As children of God, let’s work to end injustice — injustice of poverty and hunger. No one should ever suffer from such want amidst such plenty. As children of God, let’s work to eliminate the scourge of homelessness, because, as Sister Mary says, “None of us are home until all of us are home.” None of us are home until all of us are home.

As children of God, let’s stand up for the dignity and value of every woman, and man, and child, because we are all equal in His eyes, and work to send the scourge and the sin of modern-day slavery and human trafficking, and “set the oppressed free.” (Applause.)

If we are properly humble, if we drop to our knees on occasion, we will acknowledge that we never fully know God’s purpose. We can never fully fathom His amazing grace. “We see through a glass, darkly” — grappling with the expanse of His awesome love. But even with our limits, we can heed that which is required: To do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.

I pray that we will. And as we journey together on this “march of living hope,” I pray that, in His name, we will run and not be weary, and walk and not be faint, and we’ll heed those words and “put on love.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He bless this precious country that we love.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

END
9:37 A.M. EST