Karmapa controversy due to aides'' carelessness: Dalai

Panaji, Feb 7 (PTI) The Karmapa, in the eye of acontroversy over huge haul of foreign currency from histransit home, today got the backing of the Dalai Lama, whosaid the issue cropped up due to the carelessness of some ofhis aides.

"It was (because of) carelessness of some of hisattendants. Actually, the purpose of money was charity," thespiritual and temporal head of Tibetan Buddhists told agathering here dismissing the controversy as "not serious".

Addressing a lecture in the memory of Buddhist scholarD D Kosambi, the Dalai Lama likened the relations betweenIndia and Tibet to that of a teacher and disciple.

"India is like the Guru and Tibet its disciple," hesaid.

"Our relation with India is not just few decades (old)but it has existed for few thousand years," he said,describing the Indian and Tibetan civilisations as twobranches of the sacred Bodhi tree.

"Six million Tibetans are physically controlled byChina but 99 per cent of their minds look at India," he said.