Role & Responsibility of the Indian Youth in building up

India {based on ideas of Vivekananda}

Before embarking on a blueprint of India, shaped by the youth power of
the country, as conceptualized by Vivekananda, it is worthwhile to make a
stocktaking of the prevailing socio-political scenario of India. Aptly, the
expression that this is the best of time and this is the worst of time, is applicable
in the context of present day India or for that matter the world. The mind-blowing
achievements made in the sphere of science and technology has etched a
paradigm shift in the life of human beings, both in a physical and mental level.

Certain defining moments that occurred, subsequent to the premature demise of

Vivekananda need to be mentioned which might be viewed as the catastrophes,
otherwise avoidable had any body paid attention to the grand conception of “man
making” as the ultimate purpose of life, as visualized by the modern day monk.
The man made heinous crimes that has marred the recent history of mankind are
not a few to be counted on finger tips, however the prominent among them that
left their scar permanently are the curse of two world wars, the great American
depression & its world-wide economic impact (another one is on the making)
holocaust of hydrogen bomb, Nazi carnage of Jews, incidence of AIDS the
modern day variant of plague, the 9/11 etc.. The political developments like the
demise of colonialism and the collapse of communism are worth mentioning. On
the other hand, the incredible advancement of science & technology has shrunk
the earth to a global village.
The litany of malaise that has afflicted, concurrently, the world in general and
India in particular hardly need a detailed portrayal. The media gives the vivid
depiction and sometimes the running commentary of various forms of savagery
committed on a daily basis with monotonous predictability.

Now is the time for introspection and time for course correction. Salvation
constitutes in the admission of the wrongdoing in the one hand and mending the
same in the other. We the inheritors of the Waste Land, when did we go astray?

The principles of education, which was the basis of Vivekananda’s vision

of a vibrant India, free from the scourge of ignorance and poverty, would sound
like hollow platitude in the backdrop of a reality-check. If the roles and
responsibilities of the today’s youth are delineated on the path indicated by the
great seer the best response that would be generated is a tongue-in-cheek
chuckle. Without being unduly cynical it may be safely assumed that on making
attempts to imbibe the ideas of a holistic life that consummates in the total bliss
at a personal level and harmonized existence at a social level the almost
universal response would hover between an anachronistic view of an un-
pragmatic guru or that of a present day version of Rip Van Winkle. Without any
predilection towards pessimism let us face the writing in the wall that the youth
has reached the point of no return or the doubting Thomases are being pushed
by their so-called well wishers(themselves, victims of the same crash
materialism) towards a life that is diametrically opposed to that idyllic utopia
imagined by Vivekananda. The vicious circle will continue unabated till the
ideological vacuum is filled up, which is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.
What follows is an academic exercise with the least expectation of its
materialization even to an infinitesimally small extent. The silver lining is that
human civilization has taken a U turn on several occasions that would otherwise
have ended in its extinction.
Youth is the blossoming phase of human life cycle that is biologically
structured to manifest the embedded creativity inherent in the persona of the
being. The path to redemption lies in nurturing a mind that will reclaim its original
mission in life and in the course of it the nation will reap the benefits as well. The
basic tenets of a sound education are to expose the individual to the various
opportunities available to cultivate the inner craving that one is uniquely
bestowed with. This is contrary to the popular concept of careerism, being
practiced as a rule rather than the exception. Education happens to be a means
to pander to the atavistic desire for avariciousness and self-aggrandizement. The
proponents of so called advanced education have just been able to scratch the
superficial facets of nature. Newtonian pebble collection is still going on.
Indubitably, the attempts to decipher the manifold mystery of nature must
continue in true scientific temperament.
The onset of industrialization with its all out worship of mammon has
changed the scenario. The deviation occurred when from pure scientific enquiry
the mind was devoted to the applied science with the purpose of inventing new
technology as an appendage to consumerism. So far, reducing the burden of
menial labour was concerned it was all right, but the megalomaniac aspiration to
rule the fellow humans lead to creation of arms and ammunition with devastating
potentiality that can obliterate the planet earth several times in one go. In a
nutshell the creation of this evil genius has become the ugliest contribution of the
western quest for power and policy of education was an accomplice by default, to
crystallize this objective. Western way of life with its preoccupation on material
growth, and the longing for a perpetually sensually pleasurable life
overshadowed the soul that remained unexplored for ever in the deepest fathom
of the human spirit. Man became oblivious of the other being and assumed the
physical level as the only state of being. Accumulation of infinite purchasing
power became the summum bonum of life.
And the blind following of the western pattern of life style by us has
estranged us to the extent of forgetting our real purpose of living. The syndrome
of stressful existence in everyday rat race has manifested itself in happenings
like school shootout, cannibalism, papal-pedophilia, rave party, suicidal squads,
addiction to drugs and orgies of different types committed by persons with high
academic tag that underline the utter futility of the system of education.

Inculcation of right values in the process of educating the mind should be

the most coveted aim of education. The formation of a full man well developed in
heart, head and hand. A matured person, in all respect, i.e physically,
intellectually and emotionally. Some where to emphasize the importance of
physical strength Vivekananda had said “I would like the young people to play
football rather than read the Gita”. Initially the cultural values and traditional ethos
of India that is all-encompassing, professes a total wellness of being individually
and communally.
The modern youth is at a cross road, literally & figuratively. To choose the
path of existence, knowledge & bliss, that is uniquely self evolving or to opt for a
life of alienation. The estranged individual stand apart from the country,
community, family and himself and very often unintentionally and unknowingly,
almost unconsciously engulfed by the process and values of education.
The myriad problems facing the country are daunting in dimension. The
aim of the young should be to become physically and mentally strong and
committed to the goal of personal happiness and collective liberation of India
from the curse of illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, lack of medical facility,
absence of social security, communalism, fear of terrorism, to sum a few. It
would be politically and morally correct to have a healthy aversion towards the
cunning self-serving politicians, a feeling almost akin to that nurtured by the
erstwhile freedom fighters towards the foreign invaders. To spare no efforts in
revamping the existing political set-up that is rotten to the core. This may not be
misconstrued as sympathy with the outfits believing in violent means to
overthrow the political machinery. By all means the instrument of terror is to be
eschewed to achieve any end, however noble it may be. To endeavour towards
emancipation of the fellow brothers & sisters of India from the clutches of
superstition and dogmas infesting their day to day life is of paramount
importance.
A contrast of the Indian philosophy of life i.e a simple living & high thinking
with the Western way of living, which is alluring the modern youth with a magical
magnetism, need a brief sketching. The mad chase for American apple has
proved to be mirage. The dream that is being aspired by the youth en masse is
found to be an ephemeral rainbow. The fundamental premises of the American
way a synonym for western way of living was based on the unbridled
individualism unmindful of its impact on the community, society or for that matter
on the world as a whole. Their alleged free expression has resulted in
devastating consequences. American promiscuity is being accounted as one of
the singularly responsible factor in the cause & spread of the lethal disease of
AIDS, their gas guzzling habits has become one of the most important reasons
for climate change and ozone layer depletion. The economic bubble has burst.
The paranoia of the father son duo had brought the world to the verge of the
world war. The merchants of death are selling billions of dollars worth of weapon
to pervert countries of the third world including India. The scope of alternative
cost of defense can single handedly obliterate the scourge of poverty & diseases
due to malnutrition from the face of the planet.