Life values in Indian perspective

Values occupy an important place in the life of an individual.

- Dr. Ravindra Kumar

They play a vital role in the development of man's personality and society of which he is an indivisible part. Since time immemorial the level of finesse of one's life could be measured by values he possessed. Accepting the significance of values in life, Mahatma Gandhi, a man of the era, went to the extent of saying that it is values that make one's destiny. The importance of values in life has always been accepted all over the world. Values are indeed significant universally. How? A question can naturally emerge in one’s mind. In this regard, it is imperative to get familiar with the meaning of Value, which is the singular form of the word Values, to get a cogent answer.

Value, Mulya in Indian terms, is the basic force that gets one to realize the worth of constructiveness in his life; value as a tenet guides a human being to indulge in righteous acts, which accord him a lasting identity and makes his life worthy and exemplary. Further, when value becomes the guiding force of life in a community, virtuous acts become part and parcel of community in the same measure; it paves the way for large-scale welfare of humankind.

Thus, along with making one's life sublime, values tune up mankind for large scale welfare of life on the planet Earth. Undoubtedly, the basic spirit in the root of values is the good for one and all. It is due to this reality that values have played a significant role in the development of human beings, individually-collectively. They are vital for the making of a society, the nation and contribute immensely in the conduction of the systems that work up to the universal level. The worth and timeless importance of values, hence, is self-evident. The Indian perception of values can be well assessed from the Vedic-Hindu viewpoint, which has for thousands of years been the prime basis of life and practices of billions of Indians and others in the world. It has also deeply impacted all socio-religious philosophies the world over.