The philosophy of life as endowed in the Indian culture inherits all elements to help culmination of human self up to divine heights. This culture, which orients the direction of life - from ignorance to wisdom, from the narrow path of selfish attachments and endless worries to the wide horizons of altruist attitude and limitless happiness, is often referred as the divine culture. It lays the foundation of absolute progress of all beings, of the entire world.

Annals of history glorify the Indian culture as the eternal source of generating great personalities. The seeds of divine cultural values reflected in - sacrifice for high ideals of humanity, sentiments of welfare and compassion and purity and integrity of character, were sown by the Indian Rishis of yore. This had helped expansion of the ideal values and eventually inspired the rise in number of great men and women in the other parts of the world too.

History has witnessed ample examples of great personalities born in the modern era who also had sincerely followed the path shown by the Rishis and devoted themselves for the altruist service of the society and revival of the lost values of the divine culture. The lives and works of some of these glorious monuments of humanity are thoroughly reviewed here.

Some of these persons were born in India and had worked within or outside the country while some others were born abroad but they had adopted the principles of the divine culture inspired by the Rishis. The precious contributions of these people to the modern world may be classified in three broad categories: (i) Saintly sacrifices for the enlightenment of mankind and spiritual elevation and welfare of the masses through the religious platform; (ii) Courageous endeavors of social reforms to eliminate ignorance, orthodox practices and suppression of the weaker ones and to provide a healthy environment of social justice and liberal thinking; (iii) Dedication for national freedom movements and progressive development of self-reliant, sovereign society based on democratic principles.

This volume presents before us a grand bouquet of varieties of flowers of the immortal beauty and ecstatic fragrance of the invaluable contributions of the great saints, scholars, social reformers and leaders. The next volume of this Vangmaya series focuses on the lives of several great men and women whose valor, scholarly wisdom, creative talents and other virtuous potentials were absolutely dedicated to the altruist service of humanity.

Swami Ramkrishna Paramhansa was among the most inspiring saintly spiritual masters of the modern times whose devotion had set the basis for the resurrection of the glory of Indian culture. He was born in a period of cultural darkness when orthodox traditions, superstitions and exploitation in the name of religion were also at the peak. The people of India were largely illiterate, unaware and economically suppressed under the British rule and 'mentally enslaved' by blind faith, castism and communalism. It was in such moments of decline and despair, when spiritual philosophy and cultural developments were considered to be the topics of high intellectual discussions and had virtually become 'privileged properties' of some orthodox 'religious masters' and a few 'forward looking' elite groups of 'rational thinkers', that Ramkrishna's simplicity, absolute devotion and pure spiritual charge bestowed an unprecedented spring of divine love and true knowledge for every man and woman. His miraculous inspirations and internal power generated a treasure of great devotees including the jewels like Vivekananda.

Vivekananda's eminent contributions to bringing the great values of ancient Indian culture in true light stand as monuments of enlightened humanity. His works continue elevating the lives of people from all parts of the globe through the branches of the Ramkrishna mission established by him. He has remained a symbol of pure intellect and spiritual illumination and a noble hero of the youths since more than a century...