I D Soni
Self-knowledge and self-discipline is the greatest need of nation’s youth. Matthew Arnold said, “The prime direct aim of education was to enable a man to know himself and the world”. I would modify a little and say that, the aim of education is to enable a man to know himself as a member of Humanity. Youth belongs to Humanity. He serves best his community, his society, his province, his nation when he serves in the sacred name of Humanity. The Cosmism-Humanism, is the inspiring ideal of all true education.
To me, History is a sastra, a sacred scripture. I ask every youth to study the history of India. I ask the youth, also, to study the history of European nations and America. I ask the youth to study the lives of the great heroes of history; in them he would see focussed the forces of mighty movements; to study them is to understand how the nations have struggled for liberty and how sacrifices have ennobled and enriched historic life. I bow in respect to heroes of all nations and races.
Such men are the monopoly of no one nation; they belong to all nations; the great heroes are the heroes of Humanity. I ask the youth to pay homage to them, no matter what their religion or race.
The true spirit of education is something better than to seek ‘jobs’ or make money. I plead for the pilgrim-spirit in education. The pilgrim, in ancient time, trod the dusty road, took pains, and went on his pilgrimage in a spirit of humility and reverence. A true student, I submit, must have these three characteristics of the ancient pilgrim, (i) tapasya, (ii) humility, (iii) reverence for Truth. A college or a school is a Temple of culture; and professors/teachers and students are fellow-pilgrims.
Modern India’s danger is that cleverness is out-stripping spirituality. And the spiritual, as distinguished from the communal and sectarian, is that which unifies and harmonises. Greed separates and divides. The spirit unites and reconciles. Unity of nature is the supreme faith of modern science. Unity of Humanity – aye, the Unity of life – is the supreme intuition. Humanism was the spirit of ancient culture. It was the vision, too, of the two great kings of India; Ashoka and Akbar. Ashoka’s empire is gone, but his Rocks and Pillars stand to proclaim the supreme faith of this Indian king, one of the greatest figures in world-history, “Every one must behave gently towards all living creatures!” And did not Akbar, too, bear witness to this vision of the One God in all creatures, the One Faith in all religions, the One spirit in all Prophets.
It is for the youth who are young to build a Greater India. Such an India may not be built except on the basis of Unity and Fellowship. Look! The sun is up! Calling the youth to a new vision, to new adventures, to new victories of the spirit, calling them to a Destiny and Deed that would make India a nation of the Free.
The nation’s youth! How our heart goes to them! Our sun and stars are they! And we long for the day when They, the Master-Builders of India’s Destiny, will bring together many of them in the service of truth and love. How our heart rejoices to read of the work of a few among the poor. Blessed are these young men! For they have learnt to worship the spirit in the soiled ones. The need of the hour is that in schools and colleges the students be trained for service and self-unfoldment so that they should become centres of culture and sadhana. Young men should learn self-discipline; they must, also, be imbued with the spirit of true Indian culture. Current education suffers from worship of the West. Current education is of an imitative character. Knowledge is more than imitation or analogy.
Youth of India should have, therefore, hunger in their hearts. There should be a longing within them – a new stir, a new unrest. Nothing small will be able to satisfy them. No comfort cult will make them whole. India’s Rishis and heroes have worshipped the light of sacrifice. They are, therefore, expected to worship the Light.
What do we think is the greatest need of nation’s youths?
* The greatest need of Nation’s youth is self-knowledge and self-discipline. We hear of youth-revolt. This revolt is, largely, and imitation of the West. Self-knowledge and self-discipline will achieve emancipation from imitation. In this period of impact of the West on the East, India’s youths are expected to know carefully and critically the great ideals which have inspired India through the ages and to control their impulses and appetites. In knowledge and tapasya (self-discipline) is the secret of that spiritual courage which will make young India creative. Such an India alone may face the challenge of modern civilisation.
* Young India needs more science and more religion, more reflection and more spirituality. Religion itself is Science of the Atman: and spirituality in its rich contents includes reflection and the ideals of right, beauty and service.
* Youths of India need blessings of elders and their Gurus. History shows that blessings determine progress. In their hands is the key of India’s future. The country will advance or retreat according as they live nobly or ignobly.
* Youths of India must study science. It is true civilisation is being strangled, today, by satanic agencies. But science is not satanic. It is true scientists have invented atomic and hydrogen bombs. But the spirit of science is ameliorative. And if youths will but purity their hearts, science can be used as a great constructive force. They need the help of science to organise and adjust economic forces to the pressing problems of the new age. In India, science is needed, also, to re-organise agriculture.
* It should be an urge of every youth to have necessity of work, action. They, therefore, need spiritual activism. Religion is vitality. The new age calls for spiritual men of action. They must not confound action with fuss, nor work with noise, nor national service with shouts and shows. True action is an expression, not contradiction, of the inner life, the life spiritual.
* Youths aspiration should be new creation, not imitation: for imitation is emasculation. They should have a longing to be creative. India of the future must not be made in the mould of any other nation but must be her own-self, must be true to her own genius and must make her own contribution to the common stock of the race. India must be creative and, therefore, she must enrich the life of humanity.
* India’s youths need a spiritual ideal. Let not the youths, in hate or pride or ignoble imitation, extinguish the light of the ideal which India’s seers and sages have lived by through the dark centuries of her suffering and subjection. Barriers of cruel customs, irrational creeds, devitalising environment must go.
* Youths are expected to serve India in a best way. No elaborate programme is necessary. Even not a big organisation is necessary. So live and work each day as to win some of those they work with and come in contact with, in work or travel, to the vision of a new India. Win their own little group to the vision and they will help in building a new, a free nation.
Some simple, yet interesting practical
suggestions for youths
Youth constitute about 40 percent of the total population of India. The youth of every country is its valuable human resource. The responsibility for change, progress and innovation lies on their shoulders. Youth can make or mar society. The youth of our country also played a significant role in the freedom struggle. However, since the attainment of independence, the youth in the country have remained more or less dormant. The youth dissociated themselves from contemporary national problems and, hence, did not get assimilated into mainstream of the nation. The youth today, are bogged down by several problems. Nepotism, favouritism and reservations have further aggravated their problem in securing good jobs. Schools and colleges do not groom them for a bright future and they are merely added to the already saturated market of job seekers. As a result, the youth in India is a frustrated lot due to lack of proper direction. Consequently, their energies and zeal are getting misdirected into negative and destructive thinking.
It is, therefore, the need of hour to inform the youth that true education is not only that of the brain, but of awakened hearts. They are the soldiers of Bharat Mata. There is a need to give clarion call to the youngsters which may fill them with zeal and fire to strive for the betterment of their nation.
The following few simple practical suggestions are given to guide them to follow the right path so that they may become ideal citizens of the nation:-
* Be an Indian. Forget differences of caste and creed.
* Be a builder filled with simplicity and truth.
* Always speak the truth.
* Never yield to anger.
* Always give respect to elderly men and women.
* Focus on reconstruction of villages.
* Learn to share.
* There is no need that they should have spiritual teaching. They already have abundance of it in their country. They must start spiritual living. They are expected to become inspirers and educators.
* They should try to learn to serve their motherland selflessly. They have to be ‘facilitators’ and not ‘grabbers’. They have to be servants of society. They have to be workers and labourers, soldiers, sipahis ready to give their all to the welfare of the country and its people.
* The present reality is before them. They must prepare themselves to give a good fight to restore this country to its true state of freedom, its proud and glorious heritage. We need a swaraj that will serve the people and save the people. Only when India is rejuvenated, recharged with the spirit of educated, principled, committed youth, can the nation be truly free from poverty and backwardness, corruption and nepotism, hunger and violence.
(The author is President Home for the Aged & Infirm, Ambphalla, Jammu)
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