Dalai Lama Is Okay For A Female Successor But Only If She Is ‘Attractive’!

The 14th Dalai Lama has sparked a debate with his recent comments which many people are considering regressive.

It’s not new for women to get regressive comments from people in power and even from people with great wisdom. The 14th Dalai Lama in a recent interview with BBC expressed many controversial views. He spoke on the topic of a female successor, Brexit and President Donald Trump.

The revered spiritual leader was asked by BBC’s South Asian correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan that whether he’s open to the idea of a female successor or not?

This was perhaps the most surprising moment in the interview. I asked the Dalai Lama if he stood by his earlier comment that if his successor was female, she should be attractive.

He said he did. Watch here:#DalaiLama #BBCDalaiLama. pic.twitter.com/QAy0EFDZTT

— Rajini Vaidyanathan (@BBCRajiniV) June 27, 2019

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

Vaidyanathan also questioned him the basis of his comments about objectifying women and asked, “It’s about who we are inside, isn’t it?” The Dalai Lama replied, “Yes, I think both. Real beauty is inner beauty, that’s true. I think the appearance is also important.”

Noteworthy, that this seems to be a belief he has upheld since his 2015 interview. In that, he had said an unattractive female successor would be of “not much use”.

Refugees “better in their own land”

The Dalai Lama also had views Brexit, and on the role of refugees he suggested that “They (Refugees) themselves, I think better to their own land, Keep Europe for Europeans.”

He also suggested that Europe “should give them (refugees) education and training and training and then aiming is a return to their own lands”

The anchor then asked him what if the Refugees wanted to stay and shouldn’t Europe allow them? To this, the spiritual leader made a very controversial statement and said “Limited number okay. The whole Europe (will) eventually become Muslim country? Impossible. Or African country? Also impossible.”

The irony here is that The Dalai Lama is an immigrant himself. He had fled to Dharamsala, India, in 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet.

People have mixed reactions to his comments

Many tagged his comments to be regressive

Dalai Lama thinks if his successor is a female, she should be attractive.
Why?
Because,
"Dead People I think prefer not to see a 'dead face'."
He literally said that.pic.twitter.com/OmPyZ1zDkr

— Zainab Sikander (@zainabsikander) June 28, 2019

Nothing like a touch of spiritual sexism to kickstart the day. The Dalai Lama knows best. https://t.co/XvrfTUQLhv

— Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) June 28, 2019

Whatever it might be but still this controversy has raised the big question again.

With great wisdom comes regressive beliefs?

This is not the first time that a spiritual or religious leader has made controversial regressive comments. There have been many instances when Islamic “Dharamguru” the “Sole Guardians of culture” have released a “fatwa“ for women wearing short clothes or even just living their life on their own terms because this is something against the Islamic culture (basically beyond their own personal perspective) according to these ‘Guardians’ who are not surprisingly, mostly men.

Now, this is not something limited to one religion. Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati, the Hindu religion guardian had commented that “The entry of women into the famous Shingnapur shrine, which is devoted to Lord Shani, will drive more rapes.” He had even commented that “women can very equally contend for political positions but can never stand for the position of a Shankaracharya.”

If this much regressiveness and misogyny is not enough then there has also been an instance when a priest in Kerala had commented that “the moment we (priest) get out of the church we see women wearing half-nude clothes. We get aroused and slip into sin.” Bible verses say those who provoke you into sin should be drowned in the depths of the sea, with a rock tied to their bodies. “If you [women] arouse men, you’re the sinner.”

Whatever the religion or belief is, all the comments have raised the topic of blind faith. We often see people blindly following religious leaders and now it’s high time that we start using logic and start differentiating between what is right and what is wrong.

Comments