Arguably one of the greatest Indians who ever lived, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later to be known as the Buddha, was the founder of Buddhism, one of the world's major religions.

Born in 563 B.C to King Suddhodana and Queen Mahamaya, in Lumbini, the young Hindu prince had an extremely sheltered luxurious upbringing. One day, on an outing in the royal parks, he saw 4 sights that would change him for ever: an old man; a diseased man; a corpse being followed by weeping mourners; and a saint, calm and peaceful. Shaken, he renounced his kingdom soon after the birth of his son Rahula, and dedicated himself to seeking a release from the human miseries of old age, sickness and death. Initially, he took to extreme austerities, but the knowledge the he was seeking - the path to ending earthly misery - remained elusive. Then after long meditation, he made a realization - that only by conquering desire could one attain liberation.

Rejecting Brahmanical Hindu orthodoxy (most notably the caste system and ritual sacrifices), Prince Siddhartha, now known as Buddha - the enlightened one - preached the virtues of tolerance and moderation and propagated the three basic components of the Dharma , The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path and The Middle Way . Buddhism soon spread through every strata of society (monks included Yasa, the son of a rich merchant; the Emperor Asoka; Bimbisara, the ruler of Magadha; Amrapali, a renowned courtesan; Angulimala, a hardened criminal) throughout India (at one time it was more widespread than Hinduism) and Asia, to Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Japan, Korea and even China.

As we observe the 2550 th anniversary of Buddha's mahaparinirvana , we pay homage to this great soul and the faith he founded.