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EDITORIAL.
The basic elements of Indian Culture are penance, sacrifice, and renunciation These elements have been harmoniously and inseparably blended into the life of the people Renunciation, rather than enjoyment, lies at the root of Indian culture. Our culture is basically spiritual rather than materialistic It symbolises the victory of spiritualism over materialism It marks the victory of the soul over the body, of continence over indulgence It enshrines the blending of nobility of thought and intention with nobility of life, conduct and action
The revered saint, Shri Ratan Chand Ji Maharaj, was one of the greatest champions and protectors of this eternal Indian culture, one of the most enlightened preceptors and interpreters, a torch-bearer emanating spiritual light and glory that will, for ever, steer clear the barque of human soul through the dark ocean of eternity He symbolised in himself a harmonious blending of purity of thought and nobility of action Having conquered himself, he rose to be the conqueror of the world He was an ocean of learning, but he never prided himself over the possession of this rarest of treasures He effected unprecedented renunciation without attaching himself to renunciation He underwent rigorous penance but never propagated it He lived a life of exemplary austerity but never professed it. He was a saint the like of whom is born but once in ages
Birth, growth, death-this is the whole story of human life But the life of this renowned preceptor was much more than this He was born with a mission in view and dedicated his entire life to achieve that mission. His mission of life was service of humanity and this he accomplished to a degree rarely accomplished before. Thus he lived and thus he died, never to be born again and therefore never to die again
Childhood, youth, age-this is the history of the life of man. But this revered saint gave a new turn to this conventional pattern of life. He did not spend his childhood in mirth and gaiety but in the acquisition of knowledge He devoted his youth not to indulgences of any kind but to the practising of continence and penance His age was not a curse but a blessing This revered saint made an offer of his life at the shrine of the ultimate good and well-being of mankind
This revered saint was born on the fourteenth day of the sixth month of the Vikramı Samvat 1850, in a small village, Tatija, in lajisthan At the early adoloscent age of 12, in 1862, he renounced the world and offered himself as a disciple to the most revered saint and preceptor, Shri Har ji Mal Ji Maharaj His father Shri Ganga Ram Ji and mother Swarupa Devi ji felt gratified in dedicating their beloved son to the great preceptor The revered Ratan Chand ji possessed an in
