Sri Ramakrishna Math : The Vedanta Kesari, September 2002

Terrorism, racism, violence, crime, lack of safety, disintegration of ties, poverty and the resultant abject squalor, etc.--are often cited as the top concerns of nations around the globe today. The problems are too over-whelming, both in number and complexity, to recapitulate them in a short write-up. The media are tireless about trumpeting the growing sense of distress of quite a large number of responsible citizens in this regard. As a result, there is an increasing sense of hopelessness about our sincerity of purpose and ability to address problems squarely--the solutions discovered by us do not effect long-term or meaningful benefits to people. At the same time, there are seminars, symposia, television talks, Internet communications, and Radio transmissions to create awareness about the problems. At this crucial moment, we are required to evolve strategies on the basis of understanding human conditions and not only human problems.

The problems are being encountered not only by independent individuals, but by the societies at large. On the other hand, they are created by individuals who have been brought up in an atmosphere little inculcating the values of civics. We are social beings. Hence our strategies to solve problems have to be placed in societal context in order to go after them in a whole-hog fashion.

And in this battle, who except the youth can be regarded as the main soldiers? In good old days, we were equipped with a youth force members of which were adhyâyakah, âshishthah, dradhishthah and balishthah, i.e., well educated in the art of conducting a holistic life in a holistic society, well trained in the ethics of equity and administration, physically hard-working, and deft and mature in handling emotions. At least, that was our ambitious and pragmatic approach to equip our youth to face life's problems properly. The approach was preventive and not curative; it highlighted not symptoms, but causes. It was in the form of harnessing all youth potentials for a desirable consummation in life, with an end in view unaffected by myopia.

Youth is a period that comes in everyone's life and goes away with years. In its individual aspect 'youth' is a part of a continuous process of development, unfolding and growth called life, from womb to tomb. From this point of view, no individual is young forever, and at the same time, a considerable section of human race is always young. So youth is a phenomenon. Yet, regardless of its fleeting nature, youth presents a very awe-inspiring picture to the human mind. It is the time when one has the maximum resource potential and power. This power is more than sufficient for the needs of life to go by in a very comfortable manner. At the same time, it is the period when one should know the importance of and possibilities in harnessing this tremendous force in a constructive way. Otherwise, the later years will present a frustrating situation to an individual--bringing more miseries than one has the power to overcome. Most thoughtfully Colton wrote: 'The excesses of youth are drafts upon old age, payable with interest, about 30 years after date.'

It is true that the youth are the most potential resource required in the present day context and also in the future. It will, therefore, be wise not only to use and extract the efficiency of youth while they are at work in fields/services, but also to look at the potential the youth hold to grow as worthy members of society.

There has been a growing awareness to use 'youth power' (in the sense of youth skills) to the maximum in all fields with less and less wisdom to understand 'the youth' as such. As a result, youth remains uncared for, being looked down upon as efficient tools. There is no awareness to help young people reach their full potential and self-sufficiency that may equip them to continue to grow even in their post-youth period. There is a greater need today to survive in this world as senior citizens. Those who are serious in taking life as a whole, without forgetting the inevitable last portion called old age, are the most successful in the live-long life, and not just in their youth only. They are ableto maintain a good standard of life all through, and evoke spontaneous respect from their juniors. In a sense, it is the responsibility of all of us, young and old alike, to change our views about the youth. Youths are not only youths, but also individuals with strength, problems, prospects and imaginations.

Swami Vivekananda's (hereafter 'Swamiji') birthday, the 12th January, is being observed as the National Youth Day in India. This itself amply speaks of the importance of his life and message in the life of the youth. Swamiji's life presents a picture as to how one can remain mentally young even if one's physical body gets old. He did not prescribe any herbs for this purpose, but advised us to tap and use the inexhaustible and eternal source within us. In this sense, his message has value for the youth as well as for the old. All have sufficient means to achieve it. Swamiji's life itself presents a role model. From his early days as a child, and also as a student, he evinced development of tremendous youthful energy in a constructive way. The few traits that shape a very tough yet sublime mind in an individual were well developed in his life. Sister Nivedita writes, 'These, then--the Shâstras, the Guru, and the Motherland--are the three notes that mingle themselves to form the music of the works of Vivekananda.'

Suppose we want to construct a dam on a river to harness the water power. What shall we do? First we shall take the guidance of the experts in this field. They are the gurus. Secondly, we have to use the records of the experiences of others who were successful in these types of projects. They are the scriptures in this field. Finally, we need to have commitment to the interest of the nation in the form of sincerity of purpose and dedication. Then the project will be successful in all sense and will produce tremendous results in order to cater to the needs of millions and millions of people.

The word guru means not only a spiritual guru but also various kinds of gurus. Guru means a mentor or guide, whom one has to follow with sincere obedience. Uddâlaka of the Chhândogya Upanishad tells his son Svetaketu: it is not in the tradition of the long line of our revered ancestors that we should be Brahmin by birth alone and not by character. He persuaded him to go to live the life of a celibate with the guru, for instructions and training through the examples of the guru's life. The gap between theory and practice accounts for the loss or gain in character. The primary education should help one form a strong foundation for the whole life, a basis that is not fiction, but real. One's parents are the first gurus who put their everything at stake to raise the child. The Upanishads extol them as gods (mâtr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava). They will never allow the child to grow in a haphazard manner. Almost all the great men of history recall and acknowledge their indebtedness to their parents' contribution in their lives.

Then comes the contribution of the teachers. They would be happy if the students perform well, nay, the best. They have their own children at home. They come to the schools whole, not leaving a part of their being at home. The students are like their own children. That is why lady teachers have an edge in this respect over their male counterparts. The Taittiriya Upanishad speaks about the eagerness of the teacher in inviting the students: âmâyantu brahmachârinah svâhâh, may the brahmacharins (students) come to me from all sides. It is to the credit of Prof. Hastie who first asked his students to visit Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar, Kolkata, to see with their own eyes what a real ecstasy was, that Swamiji came to know about Sri Ramakrishna. If we fail to listen to their wise words, we cannot grow properly.

Then comes the contribution of the elders. It is they who provide the environment. They also wish that young people should grow in a healthy manner, be successful in life and take part in the 'Echoing Green'. Often we forget this point and do not behave properly with other elders. When we are respectful to our own older relations, we do not mind wounding the sentiments of other elders. This shows that we do not honestly respect our own elders. This trend has come into vogue very recently. Good manners are universal, not being specific to time, space and conditions. Even someone's licentiousness should not prevent us from being disciplined.

Next in the line is the help we get from books, good books. To maintain our growth as human beings we need the help of good books. But we have to read the books with the sole aim of improving our life, not just to gather information. In this respect the scriptures are the most benevolent friends. They will never mislead us, rather they will help us to achieve all the values in life--dharma (virtues), artha (wealth), kâma (enjoyment) and moksha (liberation from limitedness). They are the best guides as real guides are rare in today's world. They are the records of the successes of successful lives. The Kathopanishad is a brilliant record of success of a teenager, Nachiketâ, over Yama, the most dreadful of gods. It is from the scriptures that Nachiketâ learnt the message of immortality and dared to face Yama in the latter's citadel. It is again the scriptures that teach us the manners and customs to lead a social life of discipline. Otherwise, we would not have been different from animals. Dharmena hinâh pashubhih samânâh, those who do not practise righteousness are no better than animals.

We want artha or money, as we want kâma or enjoyment in life. The scriptures will tell us with many practical examples on ways to enjoy life without causing harm to ourselves and to others who also have the same right to enjoy their life. This is called dharma or righteousness. Live for others. Swamiji says, 'They alone live who live for others. The rest are more dead than alive.' Even if we do not have the time, scope and inclination to help others and to do good to others, we can at least learn to live without causing harm to others and by doing so, perform dharma. Just be aware of, value, and respect the existence of others; this by itself is a great virtue. There is a saying: 'Your freedom ends where my nose begins.' The moment we are aware of the presence of others, spirituality sets in. In this way dharma holds the key to success in life in all fields. In business, if you are not aware of others' existence, you will simply lose sight of your scope and the threats.

Swamiji teaches a deeper morality in the matter of our relation with others. Emulating our scriptures, he says that there is no difference between us and others. This is the nature of our own self. Remove the virus called 'y' from the word 'your', then it becomes 'our'--we become one with all. In fact, all are the obscured manifestation of the same elan vital or God or Self. Swamiji once wrote to Mr. E. T. Sturdy, one of his British followers, 'We are the servants of that God who by the ignorant is called man.' An immortal sentence, indeed! Therefore, he says, 'He is an atheist who does not believe in himself.' When dharma or discipline guides us as a basic force, money and enjoyments will not create or be a problem to us, rather they will help us achieve our goal, which is called moksha. From this point of view, the works of Swamiji have become the scriptures for us. Sister Nivedita summarizes the significance of Swamiji's teachings thus: 'If the many and One be indeed the same Reality, then it is not all modes of worship alone, but equally all modes of work, all modes of struggle, all modes of creation, which are paths of realization. No distinction henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid.' Let us learn to listen to the wise and benevolent words of such scriptures.

Then comes the contribution of the Motherland. It is not a geographical entity that is called the Motherland here. It is the way of Indian life that has been forever presenting to the world the most peaceful way of co-existence. That is why to him 'the very dust of India' was holy. 'Shall India die? Then from the world all spirituality will be extinct, all moral perfection will be extinct, all sweet-souled sympathy for religion will be extinct, all ideality will be extinct; and in its place will reign the duality of lust and luxury as the male and female deities, with money as its priest, fraud, force, and competition its ceremonies, and the human soul its sacrifice.' This is his assessment; and how true! If we read Swamiji's Lectures from Colombo to Almora we will find why he had so much admiration for India even though he refused to be a property of any particular nation. He belonged to the whole world. Globalization has many shortcomings. But if we take globalization in this sense then none can have objection to belong to such a globe.

Swamiji established an organization for harnessing youth potential for their own liberation and for the good of many. This is an attempt to prove the practicability of the ideal presented by him before the youth. He glorified India as a holy land because it is here that through sincere efforts people attained the greatest spiritual truth about the whole humanity. There has been a misunderstood trend of spiritual superiority of the East. Swamiji would hate such a complex. The truth discovered by the sages are about all, without any distinction of their nationality, sex, colour or religion. Youth is the time when one should develop this potential for the good of humanity. To be continued