NEW DELHI: The sacred relics of the Buddha preserved in Delhi’s National Museum will be taken to Russia’s Kalmykia Republic for the first-ever exposition beginning Wednesday, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
The 5-day event is being organised by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. The exposition of the sacred Buddha relic will be held during the 3rd International Buddhist Forum in Elista, the capital of Russia’s Kalmykia Republic.
“The highlight of the forum, themed ‘Buddhism in the New Millennium,’ will be Shakyamuni’s Sacred Relics from India, four exhibitions organised by IBC and the National Museum, and three special academic lectures. The relics will be enshrined in the main Buddhist monastery in Elista, the Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery, also called the ‘Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha,’” ministry officials said.
The monastery, a significant Tibetan Buddhist centre, was opened to the public in 1996 and is surrounded by the Kalmyk steppe. Earlier, a high-level delegation of monks from Kalmykia had visited India and requested Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to allow the sacred relics of the Buddha to be taken to their hometown for veneration and blessings.
The holy relic will be transported from the National Museum with great reverence, escorted by senior monks. Full religious sanctity and protocol will be observed as the relics are flown to Kalmykia by a special Indian Air Force aircraft.
“A high-level delegation will be led by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and other officials will accompany the holy relics. The IBC delegation, led by its Director General, will include the 43rd Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, Head of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism, the 13th Kundeling Taktsak Rinpoche of Drepung Gomang Monastery, the 7th Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, and 17 other senior monks. The three senior-most Venerables from India will offer a blessing session for the local devotees,” the officials added.