Youth need the soft touch

 

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Brig (retd)

The teenage years are the most confusing years in one’s life. A teenager is no more a kid who can be pacified with toys and sweets. At the same time, he or she has not matured enough emotionally. A new world has just opened up in front ofthem, and they need a strong support system in this difficult time.

A teenager faces big highs and so many lows… There's loneliness. There are also so many hormonal changes happening in the body of a teenager. He is becoming familiar with his own body, his own mind, his emotions, urges and difficulties.

Teenagers invariably feel that nobody understands them and whatever parents say– good or bad – doesn’t appeal to them. They want immediate solutions, immediate gratification; everything should happen now, this instant! During these complicated years, we need to ensure that they have hope; develop an understanding of life and what they want to do. They need to learn to cope with their wants. And here, spirituality can play a crucial role in helping teenagers cope with these challenges of life. Through spirituality, they can get a true vision of life in manner that’s practical and not dogmatic.

Spirituality is that which kindles, sustains and enhances enthusiasm. Every youth yearns for enhanced enthusiasm. Unfortunately, spirituality is depicted as something serious and boring. We need to the change this notion. Spirituality is not just sitting and doing some practice; it is a value system, a way of life – exciting and enriching! We need to bring out the spiritual aspect while bringing up our children. This becomes even more crucial as parents these days have less and less time to spend with their children.

There is an old saying in Sanskrit for parents: “When your children turn 16, behave with them as a friend.” Don't pontificate to them. Just share their difficulties as a friend with the same mental wavelength. If you do so they will be more open towards you. This also goes for teachers, who should also be friends. Every parent wants his or her children to grow up as well educated persons with certain positive values and happily settled. But somewhere along the line, the link to happiness gets severed. Look at a baby: what a beautiful smile it has. But see the face of the same child by the time he passes out of school and college. Does it still retain that joy, innocence or beauty that once glowed in his infant face? A recent survey reveals that a baby smiles 400 times a day and an adolescent does so just 17 times a day.

I was told about a recent study on youth, which found that 70 per cent of youngsters in Europe hate their parents, and 80 per cent hate their professors. The number of youth embracing violence and crime is alarming. Substance abuse is rapidly increasing, and so is the number of those suffering mental illnesses, depression and suicidal tendencies.

We have somehow failed to nurture basic human values. The tendency to make friends has been lost somewhere in the pursuit of selfishness. We must realise that our children can be creative and productive without losing their inborn humanness. Material comforts alone do not buy happiness. What is needed is intelligence complementary with innocence.

Youth today are mature enough and they are realising the need for spirituality in their lives. They also need to realise that they have huge potential and strength to achieve whatever they want. They experience the peak of material prosperity and comfort, so much so that life has become saturated with stimulations. Everyone is yearning for a sense of serenity, calmness, inner peace and sincere love. And spirituality can provide that to our youth. Today's youth need a broadening of their vision about life, and deepening of their roots in their culture, tradition and value systems. Deepening their roots gives them a sense of responsibility and ownership, while a broader vision, gives a sense of relaxation. That’s the true essence of spirituality.