dated May 2, 1950: Value of Buddha's teachings

Baisakhi Poornima was celebrated in Calcutta on May 1. In a message for the occasion, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, declared the prime need to develop ``moral intelligence'' to enable man to rise above the condition of the brute. The Poornima feast, commemorating the birth and enlightenment of Lord Buddha, saw an image of the enlightened one presented by the Buddhist Association of Thailand to fellow Buddhists in India. It was duly installed at an impressive ceremony performed at the Buddha Dharmankur Sabha.

Dr. Prasad said in his message: ``India needs much more to-day than a message of peace and love. We have to realise that the problems of life are solved not by anger and passion, but through marching firmly under the guidance of what may be termed `moral intelligence'. In the conditions of today, man has peace neither now, nor does he see promise of something better tomorrow. It is not that he suffers from scarcity. On the other hand, he possesses great knowledge, unbounded wealth, and considerable power. But even then life appears to many to be an endless void...

``The Buddha told man that the highest consummation of life consists not in self-indulgence but in renunciation, not in empire but in love, not in exploitation but in service. The essence of his message is that man can escape the misery of his life only by devoting himself to serving his neighbour. If man could fill his being with this truth, and make it ever to light his foot-steps, the cloud of sorrow and anxiety that hangs over his life so heavily today would simply melt away life an unpleasant dream.''

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