Nonel Peace prize ( Martin Luther King and The Dalai Lama) Research Paper

Nonel Peace prize ( Martin Luther King and The Dalai Lama) - Research Paper Example This international award administered by Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden has till date reached to people of distinguished honor from every part of the world. Till the year 2012, 862 Laureates has been bestowed with the award. This has included 21 unique organizations as well. In recognition of their contributions in peace building and maintaining social order, 93 Nobel prizes has been given away in the field of peace. Respect for peace builders has been a prime vision of Alfred Nobel, the visionary behind the introduction of Nobel Prize. As per his will a portion of the award is dedicated for â€Å"the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Thus, it is very clear that peace has been an area of focus for the Nobel Prizes. In 1964, this award was given away to the legendary advocate of social equity and peace, Martin Luther King Jr. His struggles in attaining racial equity were recognized here. Further in 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama received the Nobel Prize being honored for his universal responsibility of peace. Though these leaders belonged to two different cultural, social and political spaces, their contribution to humanity and the world were characterized by similar values. Though the lives and challenges were different, the values and their goals in a holistic perspective were very similar. The biographical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr. and the 14th Dalai Lama indicates large contrasts in their backgrounds. The political and sociological backgrounds that they belonged to, in their childhood differed entirely. Martin Luther King was born on 15 January 1929, in Atlanta, United States. (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). His family had a pastoral background as his father and Grandfather were pastors with Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Even Martin Luther used to serve the church as a co-pastor helping his father. He did his schooling in Georgia and later did his graduation from Morehouse College. It has to be noted here that this college had a black background and had a distinguished placement within the Diaspora of Afro Americans. Dalai Lama was born in Tibet to parents who were peasants. Till the age of two, he had a very normal as any little boy in the Tibetan neighborhood. In the age of two his holiness was identified and he was declared the next Dalai Lama (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). He had thus got into his life mission early in his childhood. Comparing this with Martin Luther King, it can be found that both of them, early in the childhood had exposure to philosophical and spiritual values. However, these philosophies differed a lot especially in terms of the religious affiliations. When Dalia Lama was brought up in the Buddhist religious system, Martin Luther King had a Protestant Christian Background. However, it is worth nothing here that both these religious are based on the philosophy of peace and both religions had peace of the world as a holistic agenda. For instance, when the philosophy of Buddhism is based on non-violence, Christ taught lessons of compassion and forgives. Thus the mission of peace was imbibed on both of them in their early childhoods. Thus one can draw two conclusions by comparing the childhood of Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr. First is that their social, cultural, re ligious and geographical backgrounds differed a lot. Second is that despite these