The Dalai Lama was about 24 years old when he fled (including about
80,000 countrymen) to India. He was aided by the CIA. How many are great
statesmen at this age? It was feared the Chinese were going to abduct
him. China had occupied the capital since 1951 and things got very
complicated when the Tibetans revolted in 1959. Exactly what is a
spiritual failure? Failing to become enlightened is a spiritual failure.
Do we know what the Dalai Lama's spiritual state is now, or was then?
While he was the traditional head of Tibet, it does not seem there was
much he could do in face of the Chinese forces bearing down on Tibet.
According the the Dalai Lama, "The first thought in the mind of every
official within the Palaceâ¦.was that my life must be saved and I
must leave the Palace and the city at onceâ¦â¦Everything was
uncertain, except the compelling anxiety of all my people to get me away
before the orgy of Chinese destruction and massacre began".
I think the situation was much more complicated than characterising this
as some massive spiritual failure. In what way do Vaj's put downs of MMY
distract from this other train of events? The Dalai Lama recommends
everyone to meditate every day, just like MMY. And he seems to be better
known than MMY. If he did not succeed at stopping the China, and that
was his goal, then that is a failure, but that is not necessarily a
spiritual failure for a person to not play superhero. Maybe he thinks of
himself as a failure, I would not know, but others consider the move a
wise one in the circumstances.
Here are some other things that did not work out. Maharishi inaugurates
the World Plan (1972) to solve the age-old problems of mankind in this
generation. The seven Goals of the World Plan are:
1. To develop the full potential of the individual.
2. To improve governmental achievements.
3. To realise the highest ideal of education.
4. To solve the problems of crime, drug abuse, and all behaviour that
brings unhappiness to the family of man.
5. To maximize the intelligent use of the environment.
6. To bring fulfilment to the economic aspirations of individuals and
society.
7. To achieve the spiritual goals of mankind in this generation.
These goals did not get Tibet in any better a situation either, and the
world seems pretty much as it was then, if not worse off. Everyone,
whether they know it or not, is spiritual, but some are dimmer than
others. Perhaps the most visible spiritual failure among the world's
traditions is probably the former Cardinal Ratzinger, who seems
considerably more spiritually occluded than his predecessors.
