Gautama Buddha was a spiritual leader on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived in eastern India/ Nepal between the 6th and 4th century B.C. Born as a prince, he spent his childhood in the lap of luxury. He lost his mother at an early age and his doting father tried his best to keep his young son away from the miseries of the world. When he was a little boy, some wise scholars predicted that he would either become a great king or a renowned spiritual leader. His father hoped that his son would one day become a great king. The prince was kept away from all forms of religious knowledge and had no idea about the concepts of old age, sickness, and death. On a trip through the city on a chariot, he witnessed an old man, a sick person, and a corpse. This new knowledge of the sufferings in the world gave rise to several questions within his mind, and the prince soon renounced all his worldly affairs in order to embark on a journey of self-discovery. After years of rigorous contemplation and meditation, he attained enlightenment, and became the ‘Buddha,’ which means ‘the awakened one’ or ‘the enlightened one.’