Travel to Namchi the amazing statue of Guru Padmashamva.

INTRODUCTION

Sikkim, the twenty-second State of India, is a tiny spot on the vast map of the Indian Union, covering an area of just 7096 sq. kms. with a population of barely 5.40 lakhs. Notwithstanding its size Sikkim, horse-shoed in the Eastern Himalayas, bordered by Tibet on the north, Bhutan on the East, Nepal on the West and West Bengal on the South, is a holy land dotted with monasteries, temples and other religious centers besides several sacred lakes, mountain and caves. Crisscrossed by rippling rivers, verdant valleys and crowned by high snowy peaks coloured with rare flowers, Sikkim is, without any doubt, a paradise on earth for nature lovers. Multi-racial and multi- religious, there is complete religious freedom in Sikkim and it can easily be called a model State of communal harmony. Living in a land so soaked in spiritualism, the people of Sikkim are making all-round progress as god-fearing, peace-Ioving and law-abiding citizens. To get an idea of how faith is all pervading in Sikkim, sample these figures: In an area smaller than a district in neighbouring West Bengal, Sikkim has 107 Buddhist Monasteries, 175 Manilhakhangs, 32 Lhakhangs, 11 Tsamkhangs or meditation centers, 35 Chortens or Stupas, 1 Bon Gonpa, 9 Hot springs with curative powers, 320 Hindu Mandirs including 7 Manghims and 4 Mankhims, 74 Christian Churches, 6 Muslim Mosques, 5 Sai Baba Mandirs, 15 Satsang  Mandirs, 2 oikh durudwaras and 30 Sacred Caves and 29 Sacred lakes. It is this ubiquitous presence of religion that make Sikkim the only State in the country with an exclusive Ecclesiastical Department that caters to the spiritual needs of the people besides looking after the construction, maintenance and management of these religious centres.

The common strain of devotion that binds the Sikkimese people was cemented, almost as if God had willed it so, with the elevation of a person like Pawan Chamling at the helm of affairs as the Chief Minister in 1994. Steeped in religion and possessing a genuinely caring nature and generous heart, Pawan Chamling is an acknowledged messiah of poor and savior of the Dharma and environment. How he has essayed his role as the champion of the Dharma is best culled from what His Eminence Kyabji Dodrupchen Rinpoche said while describing him. "The Chief Minister (Pawan Chamling) even though he is not Buddhist by faith in this life time, but must belong to the lineage of bodhisattvas from the previous lives. That is how he is able to think of such a proiect and also be in a position to make it happen. I strongly believe that this statue will not only help this nation but it will also bring peace and harmony to the whole universe. It is an occasion of ioy to know that one man came up with such a courage and vision. Now it is through our cooperation and true intention that we have to make the vision of our Chief Minist~r come true and materialize this proiect."

{His Eminence, whose Chorten Trust has execurted the prestigious project of installation of the mammoth statue of Guru Rinpoche at Samduptse near Namchi in South sikkim in col'aboration with the State Tourism Department, was speaking ata meeting held at Samdruptse on December 16, 2001.)

It was therefore destined that Guru Rinpoche's statue of this magnitude should be constructed and installed in Sikkim, the hidden land of the Blessed One, during Or. Chamling's tenure as the Chief Minister. It was also destined that the responsibility of constructing and installing the statue of Guru Rinpoche at Samdruptse should fall on the divine shoulders of His Eminence Kyabje Oodrupchen Rinpoche, whose forty-six years of stay in Sikkim were marked by his exceptional contribution to the people and the society through the propagation of Oharma. It was predicted by one of the ancient Tertons lRevealer of hidden spiritual scriptures) that Venerable Oodrupchen Rinpoche, though born and ordained in Tibet, was to live one day in this hidden land of Guru Rinpoche. May be His Eminence was destined to execute this noble task as it was destined for Sikkim to have a leader like Pawan Chamling who dreamed of a project like this for the benefit of the people of Sikkim and all sentient beings.

Similar sentiments have been expressed by numerous religious leaders of different faiths who have all acknowledged the sincere services being rendered by the Chief Minister for the welfare of the people and contributions being made by him towards the promotion of dharma, irrespective of caste, creed  and faith.