विश्व के सन्त महापुरुष: Great Saint and Sages of World (An Old and Rare Book)

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I have great pleasure in commending this book to the University students studying religion and to the general public. Religion is one of the pivotal factors in human life, being the foundation of man's moral and spiritual values; and there can be no better guide to these values than the lives and teachings of the saints and prophets presented in this book.

Some years ago the Government of India appointed a Committee on Religious and Moral Instruction, with Shri Sri Prakash, the illustrious son of late Dr. Bhagavan Das and ex-Governor of Bombay, as Chair- man. The results of the deliberations of the Committee together with its recommendations were published in the form of a Report in 1960. The terms of reference of the Committee were laid down as follows:

(i) To examine the desirability and feasibility of making specific provision for the teaching of moral and spiritual values in educational institutionas.

(ii) If it is found desirable and feasible to make such provision, (a) to define broadly the content of instruction at various stages of education, and (b) to consider its place in the normal curriculum.

The Committee took note of the "feeling of frustration" among Indian youth, of "the loosening of social relationships and increasing emphasis on careerism," of "corruption and dishonesty in our official and business life", of the "general decline in educational standards" attended with student indiscipline, and of "the disruptive forces" at work in our society outside the school. It strongly recommended the introduction of "instruction in moral and spiritual values" in a non-sectarian spirit in the educational institutions.

The Committee indicated a broad framework of such instruction, suggesting among other things that the students in the colleges and universities be required, in the first year of the degree course, to familiarize themselves with the lives of the great religious- and spiritual leaders of the world.

Following these suggestions, I constituted a Board or Committee of some teachers from the Departments of Philosophy and Indian Philosophy and Religion, Banaras Hindu University, with Dr. N. K. Devaraja, Head of the Department of Indian philosophy and Religion, as Convener to undertake the preparation of a Volume on the "Lives of Religious Leaders and Saints" for the benefit and use particularly of the students of the first year degree course.

At a later stage, the Committee was able to secure active association and advice of Shri Sri Prakash and Principal Ram Chandra Sastri of the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Banaras Hindu University, in regard to the selection of names to be included in the "Lives" and some other matters. I take this opportunity to express my grateful thanks to them for their cooperation. I am particularly grateful to Dr. N. K. Devaraja, the editor of the Volume, and to the teachers and Research Scholars who have cooperated with him in preparing the lives collected here.