Daijiworld Media Network - Karwar (SP)

Karwar, Sep 28: The Tibetan monastery at Mundagod in the district, is of late, witnessing a large number of Buddhist visitors. They are coming in reverence for and to pay obeisance to, Thesur Rinpoche Lobsong, the head monk who has been declared by the doctors as dead since September 14. The monk, aged over 80, is in the 'Samadhi' state of meditation, the Buddhist devotees believe.

The monk fell sick and was admitted into Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospial in Belgaum for treatment on September 10. The doctors say, he breathed his last due to old age related ailments besides pneumonia on September 14. Death certificate has also been issued accordingly, by the hospital authorities.

Other monks and believers say, that the monk is alive and is on a prolonged state of Samadhi. They believe, that the death, which occurs when the soul departs the body, happens only when either blood or water trickles out of the ears or nose. As these have not happened, people firmly believe that the monk is alive. "His body is fresh and warm, indicating that he is alive," they claim.

There have been instances in the past, when monks went into hibernation in Samadhi state for upto a week. The supreme Buddhist spiritual leader Dalai Lama has deputed two doctors from Dharmashala, his current headquarters in Himachal Pradesh, to conduct checks on the monk. They are doctors and are well versed with Buddhist beliefs.  The team is conducting traditional and modern tests on the monk and will submit a report to Dalai Lama. A decision will be taken thereafter, they said.

The monk, who came to Mundgod after fleeing from Tibet during the Chinese aggression, had settled down there in 1960.