Dharamsala, Aug 27 : In a long awaited meeting, Tibetan religious head and 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje called on the Dalai Lama in Zurich, Switzerland, the first meeting between the two spiritual leaders in seven years.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the representative of Tibetan people both in and outside Tibet headquartered in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, shared photos of the meeting on Monday.

The meeting held on August 25, the first since January 2017, has revived hopes among his followers that the Karmapa, considered the third most important Buddhist figure after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, may return to India soon.

He has a significant following in the country, particularly in Sikkim.

The Dalai Lama and the Karmapa last met during 34th Kalachakra teachings in Bodhgaya in 2017.

In 1959, the Dalai Lama along with thousands of others fled Tibet, crossing the Himalayas and taking refuge in Dharamsala.

Likewise, the Karmapa, whose literal meaning is 'one who carries out Buddha activity', fled Tibet and sought refuge in India in January 2000. He has mostly lived at the monastery in Sidhbari near Dharamsala with the Indian government treating him as an 'honoured guest'.

The Karmapa left for the US in 2017 for medical treatment and later took up citizenship of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

According to believers, the escapes of the Dalai Lama (89) and the Karmapa (38) from Tibet at different times show they are more than religious figures, and their presence exemplifies Tibet's ongoing struggle.

'The meeting is a reaffirmation of the Karmapa's love and loyalty to the Dalai Lama and to the Tibetan struggle,' remarked an observer of Tibetan affairs.

After the meeting, the Dalai Lama departed from Switzerland for Delhi.

In June, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang had reached out to Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, in Delhi and held discussions regarding the prospect of bringing the 17th Karmapa to Sikkim.

Tamang also hoped at one of his media briefings that the Karmapa, who heads a 900-year-old lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, may return 'very soon'.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia's (RFA) Tibetan Service in 2018, the Karmapa said that talks (with the Government of India) were going on.

'Once these talks are over and the outcomes are fruitful, I am all set to go to India... I cannot confirm the exact dates. There is a conference of Tibetan religious heads being planned in November in Dharamsala. I consider it important to participate in it. That's when I am hoping I can go back,' the Karmapa was quoted as saying then.

An important institution in the Tibetan religious set up, the Karmapa, the only major monk reincarnate recognised by both the Dalai Lama and China, is the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu sect, one of the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the richest.

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama is expected to return to Dharamsala on August 28.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)

/IANS