Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is a non-vegetarian. The disclosure came from Member of Parliament Dr Karan Singh, while arguing that non-vegetarian food does not violate the religious beliefs.
He pointed out that Dalai Lama is one of the most revered religious leaders in the world and yet he was a non-vegetarian. He also argued that longevity is not necessarily associated with the vegetarian food habits.
Pointing out that the food habits depended on geographical location, Dr Karan Singh said those living in high altitudes need much more protein than those living in plains and hence people in hills and cold climates are generally non-vegetarian.
He was speaking at the release of a book on health on the Hindi Day by an eminent cardiac surgeon Dr Phani Bhushan Das who had founded the cardiac department of the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi way back in 1976.
Introducing the book
Jeevan Shaili: Swasth Jiwan Ka Aadhar (Lifestyle: The Foundation of healthy life)
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Dr Das said he deliberately chose to write it in Hindi to demolish the mindset that specialised medical books could only be penned in English and prove that academic books on medicine can be written in Hindi also.
Director General Health Service Dr R K Srivastava was in agreement when he said the reluctance to study and research the scientific and technological advancement through the medium of Hindi is rooted in the mental slavery. Hindi has a very rich vocabulary and most of the scientific advancements and thoughts could be expressed through it, he added.