Dharamsala, Aug 2 - It is perhaps natural that the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader who is revered as a spiritual guru, should inspire writers from the Orient and the West. Despite there being over 100 biographies and other books on the monk, writers continue to queue for an audience with him.

Officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in this northern Indian hill station, say that more biographies have been written on their spiritual guru than on any other spiritual leader in the world.

'I feel that there are more than 100 biographies written on His Holiness (the Dalai Lama). Of course, he is an idol of writers both in the Orient and the West. His writings and ideas have had a powerful impact on millions of people worldwide,' Thubten Samphel, secretary of the department of information and international relations of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), told IANS.

'Tibetan writers have also written a lot of books on the Dalai Lama,' he said.

The Nobel Peace laureate himself has written two autobiographies -- 'My Land and My People' and 'Freedom in Exile'.

'The Dalai Lama's autobiography 'My Land and My People' and his spiritual teachings are quite popular among the Buddhist scholars, foreign travellers, historians, philosophers, teachers and social reformers,' Samphel said.

Written by the Dalai Lama as a young man in exile, 'My Land and My People' is a dignified testament that recreates the miraculous search that identified him as the reincarnated leader of his country. And it reveals the evolution of a man from a gentle monk to a world leader, one struggling to this day to free his country.

'Besides biographies, books on Buddhist inspirational teachings, religion, culture and world peace are much sought after. Every day we are selling eight to 10 such books.