Chapter – 6
Personal Blossoming – Student and Youth Stage
We have seen beforehand how personality blossoms in childhood under the influence of the parents and the environment. In the last chapter we have seen the influences of the student hood. The stages of youth, unemployment and employment or profession emanate out of this stage of being a student.
What happens if injuries are not healed?
The personal blossoming is very sensitive in the stage of youth. During the process of growth from the stage of being a student to the youth i.e. when age and maturity are growing small matters show a lot of effect. A student use to be very active since its childhood in his class and school. He use to get very good marks. But for reasons unknown he failed in 10th standard. This could not be comprehended by his friends and classmates; they criticized the school of secondary education assuming that there was some mistake in this process. What ever it might be his friends joined the Junior College. That student who failed in 10th standard went into deep depression unexpectedly. Many well wishers consoled him that he could take the exams next year and continue to the college education. But within six months he lost his entire memory because of depression. He paid the exam fee, but couldn’t write the exams. Some mistake somewhere entirely led to distress in his life and personality.
He won’t eat properly, doesn’t do any work. His mother used to weep. His father also suffered and used to criticize. As the friends are trying to console him many unknown feelings developed in his heart. After some time he was sent to another place. From there he was sent to a town. There he learned some petty works and settled down. After five years when he looks back his friends completed higher education. He was only a clerk in a small shop. He used to feel bad when he meets his old friends. So he started avoiding them.
Like this a small psychological pressure ruined his entire life. This is an example of the students who are failing in exams. The present day examination system is pushing many students in to developing defective personalities with its methods of examining a student’s talent.
The self confidence in the un-schooled is higher
Amongst the youth those who doesn’t go to school and earn their livelihood through the caste profession or as a labourer the self confidence is more. But at the same time those youth of the same age who go to school and fail in the exams suffer a lot. There are no plans at the educationists, government or the society for the development of self-confidence within such youth. These systems have totally abdicated that responsibility
We should make them win
Only 60 percent of the children are coming to schools. Two out of those five are becoming like this. Their problem is a special one. The children who don’t come to schools spend a mediocre life, doing some menial work. But those who come to school but fail in exams are losers in both respects. This is a huge problem in the society. But nobody is trying to find a solution to this problem.
The students who are growing into youth and are aspiring for an engineering seat but could not succeed are getting depressed. Some others are getting depressed because they couldn’t get a seat in B.Ed. Because of this depression they couldn’t succeed even in the areas where they are strong. The gigantic task before us is to instill confidence back in such students who number in crores.
If social movements and social institutions work for such people they could mobilize vast human resources. They will turn to become a gigantic force whatever be the nature of such movements. If RSS could attract them they would become Hindu Fundamentalists. If Communists or Naxalites could attract them they would become members of that movement. If Congress, TDP or TRS could attract them they would become the flag carrying members of those parties.
Everything is within your hands
Your destiny is within your hands in the stage of youth. In colleges and schools your timetable is being decided by them. The rest of the time will be in your hands. But when you are young and wherein you are still looking for employment you have to decide your timetable for yourself. If you are idle you will be lagging behind. Desperation overcomes you. It is important to have the capacity for self determination in that stage. So also it was important to study the society in that stage. If the force of this youth organizes itself it could change the world. All the movements in the world surged forward only with the youth. Youth provided leadership for many movements and developments in the world. Youth changed many societies and governments.
The Assam Student Movement which started in 1980s changed the society and Government there. Student leaders became legislatures and ministers there. Before that in 1967 a student and youth leader who contested on behalf of DMK defeated Kamraj Nadar.
The belief system that develops during the stage of youth becomes a great force while working together with others on a latter date. The depression and desolation could completely destroy this force. No counseling is undertaken to overcome this problem in the society. Movies, TV, cricket matches, chitchats and bars are being resorted to by this youth to overcome their problems. It means they are diverting the energies of youth into unproductive activity in the process of avoiding depression amongst them. The fans associations formed for cinema stars and cricket players are an example of this.
Society is creating all these problems.
But still dissatisfaction is growing in the society. The life that youth is dreaming about is not available to them. Some of their neighbors are spending a happy life. As another dimension of this process pick-pocketers, criminals and cruel people are being produced. These are nothing but the by-products of an industry called the society. These by-products are the human beings. They are being labeled as extremists, terrorists, and criminals and wicked and suppressed. Like this the society is punishing them in two ways – not providing opportunities to them, thus developing them properly and hiding its mistake and punishing the by-product of it. Anti-social activities won’t come down through punishment.
Criminals, Prostitutes and Poor are the creations of the Society
Nobody wants to become a criminal or a terrorist on his own. Nobody wants to eat the leftovers at a wastebasket because of hunger. Nobody wants to spend his life on a platform or a road. Nobody wants to become a prostitute. Everybody wants to lead a respectable life. But why that dream is being denied to all the people. Who give them a lending hand to restore confidence in them regarding life? In
Youth have no employment. They couldn’t get the job they wish for. Some people question that why they can’t do some other work and earn a livelihood, even if they couldn’t get a good job they wish for. This is a question that could affect the self-respect of a person. If you ask a lecturer that we will pay the same salary but you have to clean the toilets in an RTC bus stand, would it look good? That is why Gandhi undertook those activities in order to bring respect to those professions. The problem of underemployment is eating into the root of the Indian Society. The countries like
The roots are the same – Forms are different
The Kashimiri Terrorism, Naxalit Extremism and the Hindu Fundamentalism of Viswa Hindu Parishad coming forward with the model of Narendra Modi have the same roots. These roots are hunger, self respect, unemployment, lack of development and right to self-determination. Those who are backward in of terms development are resorting to whatever ideologies or else movements that are handy. The manifestations of these movements are varied. The root is the same. It is the gap between those who could garner power and those who could not.
The duties of the students and the youth
40 percent of the population is living in poverty, hunger and ignorance. Is there nothing you should do to such a society as students, youth, employees, intellectuals, writers and artists? How can we be happy and contended when so many people are suffering from hunger. How can we assume that they will go on bearing the burden for ever? The fires of discontent of those people would smash your glass houses and comforts within hours, which you took decades to build.
Some small incidents that happened in
Why should we care about the society?
You might have a dream that you should grow from one crore rupees to ten crores, from ten crores to hundred crores and so on and so forth… You Might also have a dream to have four cars instead of the one you now have… But what about those people who are not having a share in the prosperity? Is it possible to have your personal development without the work and toil of those millions? You are not there without them. They are not by-products. Raw-material being discarded as by-products by the society. These by-products are nothing but the youth who are living, conscious and thus could radically change the society and government through their vote.
Youth of today which received the fruits of prosperity is ignoring this problem of the downtrodden lot. The new prosperous youth are running behind
Those of us who are prosperous and those who are downtrodden should decide their timetable by themselves. One amongst the higher goals of life is helping others and changing our society fundamentally.
If you overcome selfishness the entire world is yours
Allocate the time you have to study and change the society as students and youth. The experiences that accrue in working together with many people make our life glorious. The petty old of selfishness and narrow family goals should be replaced by the broader goal of serving a bigger world. In that case your duties increase as a universal human being. You could understand how your welfare is deeply intertwined with the welfare of all, only when you go forward with the determination.
We could only understand the joy, self-confidence and contentment that fill our hearts only when we really work for the society. Only when we love we could understand the greatness of love. Those who marry in a traditional arranged can’t understand the power of love.
Love the society. Change the society. If you are looking for only the things that interest you in the society, who would care about the entire society? Only those who care about the entire society could acquire social leadership and command social respect. Is a life that is lived for its own narrow sake is a true life? What is the meaning of the life that doesn’t think for the welfare of the others? If this question does not arise in you as students and youth – it means there is something wrong with you. Such a life is a life that lived only as a frog in a well. There won’t be any special benefit to the society by such people.
Youth and students who thought on broader lines about the society changed many societies through out the world over many centuries. They became leaders. Take them as an example, work together as a collective and grow as a force in life. Enhance your social objectives and world outlook and go forward. The stage of student or youth is a stage most well suited for such a task. That is why this stage is called as the “golden age” in the life of an individual. As youth and students between the ages of 15 – 40 you have to re-mould the society of today and lay foundations for the future society. In this process you have to work as cadres and leaders as well as cooperate as admirers. Prove yourself as really befitting the word of – youth.
