It goes without saying that our youth form the pillars of our nation. If these pillars are strong, then the most turbulent storms will fail to shake us. With the instant end in mind, our hon’ble Prime Minister Modiji will be inaugurating the 25th annual Youth Festival tomorrow, i. e 12th January, 2022.
The National Youth Day is celebrated every year on 12th January, to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, who remains to this day, the guiding star of our nation’s youth. Swamiji’s teachings, if followed and practiced in true spirit, are enough to help a nation sail through to an ever rising path of growth and development. His words, ‘ Uttiṣṭhata Jāgrata Prāpya Varānnibodhata’ meaning ‘Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached’, inspired by the ‘Katha Upanishad’, act as an elixir for the youth to perform and excel in whichever field they choose.
Our PM Modiji’s advice to our youth on the day may be oriented towards nation building by encouraging them to pursue the following :
Focus – Concentrate on their respective field of work and not given to any diversions in the form of bad habits, which have become quite prevalent these days, thanks to the liberal influence trying to destroy our social fabric.
Seek – Give vent to their quest for knowledge so that they can enhance their performance standards. They should be encouraged to read more and do research with respect to their respective fields of work. They should also be educated of India’s glorious past, of it’s advancement in the field of science, technology and creative skills, which would provide them with a key to future success.
Perform – Our youth should divert all their energies into enhancing their performance so that they can build something constructive, which would not only help in improving their lot but also that of the society at large.
Aim towards a definite goal – The performance of our youth should br to achieve a definite goal or a target. Else their work would become meaningless and would ultimately cause them to lose interest. The goal should be clearly defined for them to strive for it.
Priority should be nation first – Each of our youth should be made to understand that their mainstay should be nation building. The interest of the nation should be their priority. If the nation prospers, then onlu the individual can prosper. Hence, it is imperative that good values are imbibed into our youth force, with positive thoughts and positive inputs about our nation’s history, rather than that of maliciously glorifying the invaders. They should be encouraged to spend their youth in developing their skills and acquiring knowledge rather than indulge in destructive activities like mindless protests against our government’s welfare measures a la ‘tukde tukde gang’. If our potent and vibrant youthful resources can be entirely diverted towards the sole purpose of nation building, then a major hurdle towards the path of our progress can be removed.
It is needless to say that Swamiji’s ‘Karmayog‘ should be the guidebook of the Indian youth force, which will mentor them towards the right path of self and national development and will keep them away from detrimental forces. Their horizon needs to be broad because narrow-mindedness and focus on petty matters will convert them into frogs in a well – the species that Swamiji spoke about during his speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago, 1893, who would only pull each other down thus holding back the nation’s progress.
