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Dalai Lama is one of the most recognised leaders in the world today. Everyone knows him as a man of peace, a great Buddhist teacher and an advocate for humanity. But he has another interesting dimension to his persona that is largely unknown.
He has been engaged in an ongoing series of dialogues with groups of scientists for the past 35 years. The dialogues covered a wide spectrum of subjects ranging from quantum physics and cosmology to compassion and destructive emotions.
The Dalai Lama: Scientist brings to light this largely unknown aspect of the leader. Organised in part by the Mind and Life Institute, the movie immerses the viewer into these profound dialogues, explores the correlations between science and Buddhism, and shares personal life experiences from the Dalai Lama that have had a deep impact on his development as a truly one-of-a-kind world leader.
As The Dalai Lama says: “While scientific findings offer a deeper understanding of such fields of knowledge as cosmology, it seems that Buddhist explanations can sometimes give scientists a new way to look into their own field of study.”
The movie was the inaugural film of the International Science Film Festival of India, which began in Goa December 11, 2021, as part of the seventh Indian International Science Festival.
It was organised by science and technology-related ministries and departments of the Government of India and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), a non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting science and technology.
The Dalai Lama: Scientist was followed by several interesting science films that were screened at multiple venues. In the competitive categories, six films were shown that included Sela Tunnel by India Science.
Another five films in the non-competitive category were also shown. Directors of some of the films were present for interactions with the audience during which they narrated their film journey and shared interesting anecdotes.
A master class on India Science OTT Channel was also conducted. It was initiated by the Department of Science and Technology and managed by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous institution of the department with a mandate to promote science communication in India. It was conducted by Kapil Tripathi, Scientist F.
Tripathi explained how the programming was done for the channel and how filmmakers and science communicators were invited for association. The channel presently offers programmes in English and Hindi and is working to add other regional languages.
It streams videos related to science, technology and innovation from various Indian laboratories on diverse topics which can be viewed free of cost.