IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand, December 18, 2025 – Modern education needs to understand and inculcate the values of RamCharit Manas that the purpose of education is not just to provide a livelihood, but to serve humanity. Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the 8th International Ramayan Conference, Prof K K Pant, Director of IIT Roorkee, mentioned that the Kulgeet of IIT Roorkee has also drawn inspiration from the Chaupai of Ramcharit Manas. “Parhit Saras Dharma nahi Bhai (परहित सरिस धर्म नहिं भाई)” of RamCharit Manas and “Sarjan hit Jeevan nit arpit” of IIT Roorkee’s Kulgeet highlights the importance of serving the society. He 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 रामराज्य—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”.The Inauguration session was graced by Ashirvachan by Mahamandeleswar Swami Hari Chetnanand Ji. Swami ji 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 and Shri Ramcharit Bhavan for bringing together saints 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 dignitaries emphasized that such reference works will greatly benefit seekers, researchers and devotees engaged in serious study of the Gita and Ramayana.In a special moment, the “Ramayana Ratna” award was posthumously conferred on eminent Sanskrit scholar Prof. Mahavir Agrawal, former VC Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, for his five decades of teaching, research and service to Sanskrit literature and Indian knowledge traditions. The citation highlighted his contributions as Vice-Chancellor and academic leader in several Sanskrit universities as well as his wide-ranging national and international impact. The award was received by his wife, Smt. Veena Agrawal.In the conference inauguration, the First lecture of the Prof. Mahavir Memorial Lecture series was delivered by Prof. Dinesh Shastri, VC, Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar. He highlighted the rich Sanskrit and philosophical traditions underlying Ramayana and emphasized the importance of introducing such texts through structured courses from school to higher education under the Indian Knowledge Systems framework. He noted that when values like परहित, सत्य and करुणा are internalized, social ills such as corruption and disharmony can naturally diminish.Dr Rajrani Sharma, Prof Vinay Sharma, Smt Asha Srivastava, Smt Vineeta Mishra was honoured with Shri Ram Charit Bhawan Ratna Award, Dr C Kameshwari, Prof Rajat Agerawal, Shri Ram Gireesh Dwivedi and Smt Alka Pramod was presented Shri RamCharit Bhawan Vibhushan award, and Dr Manvi Goel, Sh Chavinath Lal, Sh Rakesh Chaube, and Smt Smita N Ladhawala were presented with Shri RamCharit Bhushan awards.The three-day conference is being jointly organized by IIT Roorkee and Shri Ramcharit Bhavan, USA, bringing together scholars, saints and Ramayana enthusiasts from India and abroad.Welcoming the delegates, Prof. Rajat Agrawal, Head,Department of Management Studies and DPIIT IPR Chair Professor, expressed gratitude to Shri Ramcharit Bhavan for choosing IIT Roorkee as the host campus and highlighted the uniqueness of hosting the Ramayana Conference at the institute. He underlined how the historic campus, where the “Ganga of knowledge has been flowing for nearly 180 years”, offers a befitting setting for a confluence of ज्ञान and भक्ति.Prof. Om Prakash Gupta, founder of Shri Ramcharit Bhavan and faculty member at the University of Houston–Downtown, briefly traced the journey of the International Ramayana Conference since its inception in 2016, from its early editions in the United States, Bhopal, Jaipur and Ahmedabad to this 8th edition at IIT Roorkee. He informed that around 150 research papers on Ramayana and related spiritual literature will be presented in blended mode, with parallel technical sessions, and the proceedings will be released as an e-book after peer review.The speakers collectively emphasized that the conference theme, which links the Ramayana with sustainability, ethics, and contemporary challenges, will help reinterpret ancient wisdom for modern times. The conference concluded with a valedictory session on 13 December 2025, where Best Paper Awards were presented to Ms Sakshi Goyal, Dr Aparna Sigh, Sh Rakesh Choubey and Dr Rajesh Kumar Mishra to recognize exceptional research contributions.
