A dream yet unfulfilled
Pratibha Chauhan

EVEN after three years of his stay in India, following his great flight from Tibet, the traditional seat of the Kagyu sect at the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim remains elusive for the 17th Karmapa, whose future remains as uncertain as ever.

"With each passing moment, the urgency to go to the Rumtek monastery for fulfilling my spiritual responsibility is becoming more pressing and I must admit that it is not easy to bear it all the time," says a clearly disappointed Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the head of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who celebrated his 18th birthday at the Gyuto Tantrik monastery on June 26.

Taking the world by surprise, it was on a frosty wintry morning on January 5, 2000, that the boy monk made a sudden appearance at McLeodganj, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Though chosen as the reincarnate of the 16th Karmapa in 1992, he shot into fame when he gave a slip to the Chinese police to arrive in McLeodganj, along with his sister and five other aides.

"It is rather sad that given the present circumstances and political trappings, there are restrictions on my free movement, which is definitely creating hurdles in execution of my spiritual activities," he rues. As a result of restrictions clamped by the Ministry of Home and External Affairs on his free movement, he cannot travel anywhere without prior permission.

Thus the mission for which the Karmapa risked his life remains unaccomplished. Having walked to freedom, to the abode of the Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, the Dalai Lama, the going has not been all that easy. "To say the least, contrary to my expectations, I was in for a lot of unpleasant surprises on my arrival here in India and till date I am anxiously awaiting the nod to allow me to move to my rightful seat at Rumtek," he says.

Considering the sensitivity of the issue and questions pertaining to law and order in Sikkim, the Indian Government has not allowed the Karmapa to assume his traditional seat at Rumtek. Speculating that it was Tai Situ Rimpoche, one of the four regents of the Kagyu sect, who masterminded his escape from Tibet, the intelligence agencies, including RAW and the IB, made several trips to Dharamsala to quiz the Karmapa about his flight to freedom on his arrival here.

"Knowing Tai Situ’s proximity to the Communist regime in China, the Indian intelligence agencies are till date rather sceptical about the real motive behind the Karmapa’s flight from Tibet," explains a senior police official. The matter assumes greater significance given the intra-community strife within the Kagyu sect over the issue of real Karmapa, as other than Dorje there had been another contender for the headship of the sect.

The Gyuto Tantrik monastery, on the outskirts of Dharamsala, which was to be his temporary abode, has become his permanent address. Barring meeting and addressing the public on weekends, he goes about with his routine of receiving empowerments, transmissions and meditation. With a Mercedes Benz and Land Cruiser parked outside and monks from the Rumtek monastery in his attendance, he is guarded round the clock by sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau, Tibetan security and the local police.

"With restrictions on my movement within India and abroad, I am unable to fulfil the wishes of my followers the world over, from whom requests to visit them keep pouring constantly," he avers. He maintains that it is not just the Tibetan government-in-exile but also the Dalai Lama who has personally taken up the issue of granting him permission to go to Rumtek with the Government of India.

Embarrassed by his escape, the Chinese regime had even rushed emissaries to McLeodganj, including his maternal uncle, to convince him to return to Tibet. While ruling out the possibility of returning to Tibet, he says he has not yet thought of moving to another country in case he is now allowed to go to Rumtek. There is a feeling amongst his followers that while in Lhasa, it was the watchful eyes of the Chinese which hindered his free movement and spiritual growth and here in India, things have been only a little better.

Intriguingly, even after three and a half years’ stay at Dharamsala, the Karmapa has not been granted permission to make a trip to the Sherabling monastery at Bhattu near Baijnath, just 70 km from his abode. The monks and spiritual gurus at Sherabling have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the boy monk at their monastery right since the day he stepped into India. Keen to accord him a grand welcome, elaborate arrangements were made at the sprawling monastery, set up by Tai Situ. Owing to restrictions, however, he is yet to visit the place.

Barring pilgrimages to Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Varanasi, Ladakh and Rewalsar, the Karmapa has not travelled much during his stay in India. The turn of events do make him sad but then he feels that receiving spiritual teachings from the Dalai Lama and other prominent teachers of the Kagyu lineage has been a big achievement.

"Except for getting permission from the Indian authorities, I have no future plans as all I can do is to have faith and trust in them. I hope they do understand my anxiety," he says, faced with an uncertain future. Having left home three years ago, he is not in touch with any of his family members except his elder sister, Ngodup Palzom, who had fled with him and is currently residing with him.

"It is during such difficult and trying times that one tends to miss one’s parents, family members and home, much more than ever," he admits, hoping that he will ultimately succeed in realising his dream of assuming the traditional seat of the Kagyu sect at Rumtek.