Guru Tulku Rinpoche of Arunachal is to be honored with Padma Shri which is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan.
Arunachal’s monk to be honored with Padma Shri:
The respected monk has been selected under the category of ‘spiritualism’ along with Sadhguru Brahmeshanand Acharya Swami from Goa who is a yoga Guru and proponent of spirituality.
About Guru Tulku Rinpoche:
Guru Tulku Rinpoche used to lead the historical Gaden Namgyal Lhatse or Tawang monastery till 2016.
Guru Tulku Rinpoche, aged 54, was born to Yab Lobsang Tshering and Yum Pema Choden on October 19, 1968 at Khamkharong in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. Folks believed that he was the reincarnation of Late Thupten Kelden Rinpoche.
When he was 7-year-old, his traditional hair cutting ceremony took place which was performed by the Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet. It was during his Kalachakra teaching when he was named Tenzin Kelden.
Two years later, he was appointed as a novice monk at the age of 9 and as a monk or gelong when he reached the age of twenty. At the same time, he pursued his education where he studied at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics for 13 years.
Buddha Mahotsav:
Buddha Mahotsava was kicked off by 12th Guru Tulku Rinpoche in 2018 where traditional huts of six tribes of west kameng District like Monpa, Miji( Sajolang), Aka ( Hrusso), Shartang, Bugun and Shertukpen were visited by the Chief Guest and Patron of the festival apart from this he visited Department of Election stall, First aid centre, Galo and adi stall and Nishi stall.
Padma Shri:
It is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. It is awarded by the Government of India every year on India’s Republic Day.
Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 to be awarded to citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs. It has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were not citizens of India but did contribute in various ways to India.
However, the selection criteria have been criticised in some quarters with the claim that many highly deserving artists have been left out in order to favour certain individuals. India has now created an online nomination platform for the common citizens to recommend the nomination for the annually given civilian “Padma” awards.
Several intended recipients, including musician Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee, sitar player Vilayat Khan, academic and author Mamoni Raisom Goswami, journalist Kanak Sen Deka and noted Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan, have declined the Padma Shri for various reasons.
In 2022, renowned bengali singer “Geetashree” Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, 90 turned down her offer for the Padma Shri award on the eve of the 73rd Republic Day of India. As per media reports, the veteran singer turned the offer since she believes that her career spanning eight decades deserved a higher award than the Padma Shri.
