Human Values in Indian Literature and Culture

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Let your words be positive for they will become your actions.

Let your actions be positive for they will become your values.

Let your values be positive for they will become your destiny.

Values are a set of principles or beliefs that influence and frame our words and behaviour. Princeton Word net defines values as "beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment." Values reflect human perception, desires, interests and preferences. It may differ from person to person, and may be conservative, orthodox, radical or liberal.

Literature is the reflection of the life in all its varied forms and shapes. Literature is the mirror of life and society. It communicates to the readers through its narratives, prose and poems etc. Literature is related to incidents in the lives of successful people with whom we are able to associate; it nurtures the ethical bent of mind. The literature is written by people in a society is actually a reflection of the lives of people. Literature broadens the mind's outlook while bonding people and culture collectively. So, there is a great relation between literature and society. From time to time writers have been exploring the various dimensions of the relationship between man and society. Every age has its own compulsions, tensions, fears aspirations and logic which characterize the works of that time. In Indian literature too, human values and ethics are portrayed vividly. The question is- what is meant by Indian literature? Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages. Culture is the characteristic and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts.

The present volume, entitled as "Human Values in Indian Literature and Culture", presents research articles by distinguished Professors of different prestigious Universities and Colleges, research scholars and other wise persons through the English, Bengali and Sanskrit literature or languages. In every literature human values have been reflected through contents directly or indirectly. There are many noble creations in ancient Indian literature. In this era we find Vedas, Upanishads, Vedangas, Brahman literature, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, dramas, prose, epics etc. There we see the descriptions of I hydrias', Upakhyanas and discussions of theories on deities, praise for Gods, Yajna (sacrifice), spirituality, moral science, environmental studies etc in the Vedic and classical literature. We find the discussions of human values in Vedic Literature, Smritigastras, Indian philosophy, Sanskrit grammar, Nitigastras and Arthagastra, tales and fables, epics, prose, poetries, novels etc. In this connection we can mention the `Nitigatakam' of Bhartrihari, `Chariakya shlokas', Visnusarma's `Panchatantra', Narayanasarma's `Hitopadesah' etc, which were basically written to generate human values and ethical development. In the present age we see the discrimination of values. With the development of materialistic thinking and complexity of human mind men are busy to gather their needs in any way. In this respect the discussion of human values is very relevant to modern society: Every age and society has separate cultural behaviour and this culture is basically reflected through literature.

The present edited volume is a humble attempt to understand human values through Indian literature and culture. In completing this volume, I have been benefited from many sources. The present volume would not have been completed without the assistance received from many honourable persons. I would like to thank Dr. Jitesh Chandra Chaki, the honourable Principal of Buniadpur Mahavidyalaya. Without his kind cooperation the volume would not have been completed in time. I like to thank Dr. Chandan Bhattacharya, the honourable Professor and HOD of the Department of Sanskrit, University of Gour Banga. His valuable and cordial advices inspired me to edit such volume. In this respect I wish to thank Dr. Subhrajit Sen, the honourable Professor of Sanskrit, University of Gour Banga. His guidance, moral support and friendly advices helped me to complete this volume. I also thank Professor Sitanath Acharjya for his kind support and help by writing the 'Introduction' to this volume. I am thankful for the active assistance of my colleagues Professor Ramatosh Sarkar and Professor Tanima Dutta. I am also grateful to Sri Biplab Mitra, Professor Bhabaranjan Roy, Sri Akhil Chandra Barman, Professor Sauren Bandyopadhyay, Professor Sunima Ghosh, and Sri Subrata Shil etc. for their kind cooperation. I am heartily indebted to the contributors for their support and inspiration. I want to thank my wife and daughter for their unconditional support in my work.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages