THE GEN.Y AND THE VALUE SYSTEM

India is the land of youth. In no country of the world will you see such high percentile of youth to the total population. Consider the ageing west and many other nations in different continents, including the mighty China; it is India that has the largest number of youth available. A curse that we called as population explosion in the past, today turns out to be our distinct advantage!

The question is, what would we do with so much of youth? Our government and planners have to make available career to them as they come of age. Idle youth could be as good or as bad as the sparkling flame, for while the flame can give light, it could also burn-up and destroy anything around it. If there are no jobs in the country, will the nations of the world allow them to migrate to other countries? Tough question. No answers now. It is something yet to evolve.

Currently, educated youth is really enjoying the advantage. The country as the IT super power, is also gaining name as the back office of the world. ITS & ITES is going great guns and most of the youth is in it, and they are on the roll.

In the course of these developments, I am also watching the changing values displayed by the youth. Take it as the lamenting of a man belonging to the past, I cannot help but post it to seek the reaction of my readers.

I see the youth today running after the materialistic things. In matters moral, our youth is slipping very badly. As said by Mr. D R Nagaraj, Former Chairman NIPM, the “boys and girls” of today are full of selfishness, greed, disrespect to systems, carelessness, disloyalty and impatience. Aping the west in style and living, they are into cohabitation, dating, LIR and making merry. And on matters of global priorities, they show scant respect. Things as urgent and important as global warming, waste management, child labor etc do not figure in their thoughts. Actually they have no time for these. It is as if world is going to end tomorrow and they are trying to make the most of it, toady.

One does come across many students and job seekers. It is surprising that most of them are not nursing any dream. They are not planning their career. They drift from one job to other without weighing the worth of each.

In matters of spirituality they are nowhere. Good living to them is not of deriving of happiness but frolicking in materialistic comforts, the ACs, PCs, mobiles, iPods, automobiles and parties and all. There is no attempt to gain purity of body, mind and thoughts. (Neither do they understand that attaining these qualities will lead to good living, happiness and peace). All are part of the whirlwind. Life is indeed tumultuous for them. I could see the attendant stress writ large on their faces.

I took the attention of a friend of mine who had spent more than one and half decade in USA and is now back in India, to this aspect of Indian youth. His observation is as good as mine. I then asked him whether the youth in US is like this. His answer was a firm no. He says he see lots of dreaming and planning in the youth in US. Perhaps things such as recession and realization to the fact that many other countries are catching up with them is giving them some amount of apprehension, enabling them to resort to planning and activities to reach their dreams.

Sages and Gurus of India had been predicting a renaissance and growth of human qualities. Aurobindo said that man in the course of time would evolve into a Supramental being with higher level of intellect and purpose. Osho Rajneesh with his radical thinking (while chewing up religions and Godheads), said that man would evolve into Zorba the Buddha (someone who will enjoy the vivacious pleasures of this life but will eventually prepare himself to achieve enlightenment). In both, there is an understanding of a new generation of human being, active at achieving higher levels of intellect and mental well being.

Looking at the current generation, I reserve my comments. While I would desperately want the higher evolution to happen in people, I am disappointed at the loss of values and the degeneration of life.

Perhaps I am getting un-necessarily worried. Perhaps this is a passing phase. What we see now may be the indulgence in the windfall that had unexpectedly reached our doorsteps. Post this, may be things will get back for the higher evolution to happen.

Here is hoping that the Generation Y will realize its true potential and strive towards reaching higher mental growth and attain peace and happiness.

As a father, and as a well-wisher of the youth, I pray this happen.