By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
A three-day international conference on the Ramayana began at the prestigious IIT Roorkee in Uttarakhand on Thursday with an aim to highlight its relevance in education.
Around 150 research papers are being presented in the conference with scholars, seers and researchers from India and abroad participating in the deliberations on Indian Knowledge Systems.
Speakers in the conference emphasized that modern education needs to understand and inculcate the values of the Ramayana. The purpose of education is not just to provide a livelihood, but to serve humanity, they said.
Addressing the conference, Prof K K Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee, mentioned that the Kulgeet of IIT Roorkee has also drawn inspiration from the Chaupai of Ramcharitmanas of Hindu poet Tulsidas. “Parhit Saras Dharma nahi Bhai (परहित सरिस धर्म नहिं भाई)” of Ramcharitmanas and “Sarjan hit Jeevan nit arpit” of IIT Roorkee’s Kulgeet highlights the importance of serving the society.
Prof Pant said the principles of the Indian knowledge system are invaluable. He praised the organizers for linking Ramayan with the modern perspective. He linked Ramayana’s values—duty towards parents, social responsibility, integrity in public life and the ideal of Ramrajya with contemporary themes of sustainability, wellness, ethics and nation building, urging the youth to see knowledge not merely as a means to high salaries but as a way to serve society and create a “Viksit Bharat 2047”.
Mahamandeleswar Swami Hari Chetnanand spoke about the timeless relevance of Ramayana, Mahabharata and other scriptures for character building and inner happiness in an age dominated by mobile phones and material pursuits. He praised the initiative of IIT Roorkee for bringing together seers and scholars on the banks of the Ganga and called Ramayana a complete manual of life that teaches sacrifice, devotion, guru-bhakti and social harmony.
The inaugural session also witnessed the release of the “Gita Shabda Anukramanika” (Gita word index) and the e-proceedings of the conference.
The “Ramayana Ratna” award was posthumously conferred on eminent Sanskrit scholar Prof. Mahavir Agrawal, for his five decades of teaching, research and service to Sanskrit literature and Indian knowledge traditions.
The three-day conference is being jointly organized by IIT Roorkee and Shri Ramcharit Bhavan, USA, bringing together scholars, seers and Ramayana enthusiasts from India and abroad.