Youth

Some 3-4 days back, we were informed about a student of our college who needs a kidney transplant. The operation costs a whopping amount, hence financial support was necessary. A few students took up the initiative to arrange for the same; even the management and faculty members extended their support. A notice was put up at various places in the college campus, requesting students to support and rise for the cause. Some read it casually, some paid attention and some were even ignorant about it. A support box was placed in the campus. A bunch of students, however, made a mockery out of it and started putting ₹1, ₹2 coins in the support box as if they are giving alms. I don’t know what they thought and why they thought of doing such a travesty. Some students from his (the boy who needs the transplant) class informed us about the act of mockery when they came to our class to inform us about a meeting that they were organizing for the support cause. 

This is really concerning. The youth has become so unemotional and unresponsive. However, nothing can be generalized. There are some people who are really taking the initiative for some social cause and if not taking the initiative, they are at least not backing off or making a farce out of it. But the other side of the coin, the unethical and unconcerned attitude is really concerning. The end up spending money on meaningless things, especially on those things that are considered to be not good and may be harmful. If they save their one day’s expenses and donate it for some noble cause, then it will really be great. At least, it would do something needful.

Today’s world suffers from many problems. Leave the world, in our country there are several causes to fight for. The youth has to rise and take the control for the betterment. And, by rising I don’t mean setting up of some social service groups or something of that sort. I don’t think just doing that  would really work. I don’t say that all of them are good for nothing; some are seriously working for the good. But, what I mean to say is that one need not establish some kind of groups or be a part of such groups to actually help in any cause. You could do your own part. Like it’s better to individually teach a single child on your own level and do something productive to educate the child than to build up a social organization and take up hundreds of students and doing no good to them. I myself have come across such group where some 15- 20 students come daily to study for an hour or so but almost each one of them hardly learn anything at all. They are motivated to come and study there but those students never go to a school; even when there is a provision for a free primary education in our country. So, it’s better if you rise yourself and take up pace for the cause. But still everything depends on the way you think. The youth has to rise and involve themselves for the good of mankind and society. Each individual has to do something for the greater good that would give an eternal satisfaction to their beings. After all, its One Life To Live!

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A QUESTION

All Indians must have heard the childhood story of Mahatma Gandhi: when a school inspector came to his school and took a test of the students by dictating five words and Mahatma Gandhi had wrongly spelled a word. Even after the teacher’s instruction to rectify his mistake by peeping into his neighbor’s copy, he didn't do it.

What followed this story is very much known to everybody. The fact is, this incident has become just a ‘story’ for everybody. Such honesty is considered to be seen only in stories. Almost everybody seem to consider that, such incidents can happen in a story and real incidents present a complete different scenario. Or may be even, occurrence of such incidents is limited only to the lives of great people is another way of thinking. But, a thing to ponder over, when such incidents happened in the lives of great people, they were as ordinary as we are now, but, what they did then, and how they did it, made them great. They never did certain things with an intention to be great and good. They did those because they felt it as the right way of doing things. They responded to certain situations in a special way, not intending to make it special. They responded that way because, it was their spontaneous self. They never "planned" to behave good. They behaved well because they were actually good. That is what distinguished them from others. That is what made the difference.

But…..

This was just a one sided view. All great men were great but, there were and there are some honest people who never made it large. For some, conditions were unfavorable, for some resources (not exactly material resources)were the major hindrance and for some, just being honest did not turn out.

Yeah, it’s true; at least if seen from the perspective of today’s “realistic world”. Yeah, values like honesty, truthfulness, sincerity are outdated in today’s times. Those who speak loudly of such values are considered to be dumb and psychotic. If ever, anybody wants to be honest or do something good, the generation kicks the person hard, they are discouraged to a great extent and sometimes even jeered upon.

Well, everybody knows what happens. Most people would have seen this happen. After all it’s a regular scenario everybody is acquainted, well acquainted, with. But is it really mad to clutch to our values??? If you yourself can’t adhere to the values, why do you disgrace those who respect and have faith on them?! What I want to tell is: I agree that today’s world has become unethical to a certain extent and values are outdated, but what about people who still adhere to such things.

What say?

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