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PEOPLE OF GREATNESS: MEN OF OUR TIME By Maximillien de Lafayette In other words, they are the most powerful, influential, brilliant, well-known, charitable and unforgettable figures of our time, and nobody would dream or dare to say no to them. This is what approximately 300,000 persons from around the globe think about our 13 living men and women of power and excellence of our century . The London Monthly Herald and New York Monthly Herald conducted an international survey/poll on the most admired and brilliant personalities of our time in 85 countries in the eastern and western hemispheres. The survey/poll was addressed to our readers, as well as to highly educated and accomplished individuals who have been selected from several Who's Who (s) and prestigious world directories. A considerable number of leaders, prominent personalities and inductees in halls of fame took part in this survey. The results are self-explanatory. And as expected, world's leaders, Noble prize winners, individuals with remarkable accomplishments, eminent universities chancellors and presidents, world-class artists, symphony orchestra conductors, CEOs with impressive authorship were the first choice of those who responded to our survey/poll. No Rap-Crap music and heavy-metal stars, celebrities-skin-flashers, big-mouth, arrogant media figures and pretentious radio-television shows hosts, scandalous models, outrageous motion pictures stars or gossips headliners made the list. Almost, 99,99% of all those who responded to our survey/poll are college graduates (some with one or two Ph.Ds), at least bi-lingual (some spoke fluently 7 languages) and assumed a high position of responsibility in their fields. So, here is the list of the 25 people of greatness of our time. Publishers' note: Information, data and bibliographies came from reliable sources. In many instances, biographies were provided directly by authoritative organizations, governments and official entities and groups, as well as from our archives and official spokespersons of the honorees. However, occasional personal statements and remarks were made and added by the author of the article and are fully endorsed by the Monthly Herald. 1-His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (Tibet) His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born Lhamo Dhondrub on 6 July 1935, in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva (Buddha) of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Lhamo Dhondrub was, as Dalai Lama, renamed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom. |
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Tibetans
normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshe Norbu, the Wishfulfilling Gem or
simply Kundun - The Presence. .The enthronement ceremony took place on
February 22, 1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. He began his education
at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of
Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25 in 1959. At 24, he took the
preliminary examinations at each of the three monastic universities:
Drepung, Sera and Ganden. The final examination was conducted in the
Jokhang, Lhasa during the annual Monlam Festival of Prayer, held in the
first month of every year Tibetan calendar. On November 17, 1950, His
Holiness was called upon to assume full political power (head of the State
and Government) after some 80,000 Peoples Liberation Army soldiers invaded
Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing to talk peace with Mao Tse-tung and
other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1956,
while visiting India to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti Anniversary, he
had a series of meetings with Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Chou about
deteriorating conditions in Tibet. His efforts to bring about a peaceful
solution to Sino-Tibetan conflict were thwarted by Bejing's ruthless
policy in Eastern Tibet, which ignited a popular uprising and resistance.
This resistance movement spread to other parts of the country. On 10 March
1959 the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with the largest demonstration
in Tibetan history, calling on China to leave Tibet and reaffirming
Tibet's independence. The Tibetan National Uprising was brutally crushed
by the Chinese army. His Holiness escaped to India where he was given
political asylum. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed His Holiness into
exile. Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in exile. Since 1960, he
has resided in Dharamsala, India, known as "Little Lhasa," the seat of the
Tibetan Government-in-exile. In the early years of exile, His Holiness
appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet, resulting in
three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961, and 1965,
calling on China to respect the human rights of Tibetans and their desire
for self-determination. With the newly constituted Tibetan
Government-in-exile, His Holiness saw that his immediate and urgent task
was to save the both the Tibetan exiles and their culture alike. T