Age and youth

If youth knew, if age could!’ has been an old cry. The tragedy of human race has been the youth does not know the consequences of action and age does not have the physical power to do things. Age has foresight and wisdom born out of experience. It can show the way and warn about the results. But it cannot move. It has no energy. Youth takes a jump into the unknown without caring for the results. It has no energy. Youth takes a jump into the unknown without caring for the results. It first plunges into action and then looks at things. Youth represents action, dynamism, enquiry and adventure. Age stands for mellowed wisdom, interia and a static nature. If youth had the qualities of age and vice-versa, the world would have been a much nicer place to live in.

Old or middle aged men develop a habit of appearing self-satisfied. They become proud of their increasing years. They do not realize that every day that passes is taking them nearer to their graves.

What they take for increase is in reality, decrease. The young men and women, on the other hand, and are never satisfied. They are always up and active. They want to change things, know more about them and understand why and how things happened as they do.

They spirit of the youth is to adventure against the unknown. Youth wishes to strike dashing against  the walls of circumstances with a dominating will. “Impossible is a word found only in the dictionaryof fools,” declared Napoleon. Life yields its secrets only to those who seek them in the open seas of danger and refused to stagnate in the shallow waters of safety.

 History is replete with instances of achievements of the youthful spirit. The youthful adventures and sea-farers like Columbus, Drake, Vasco-da-Gama, and Napoleon become great conquerors at a very early age. Young Shankaracharya toured the whole lengthy and breadth of the country to spread the message of Vedanta at an early age. Vivekanand, while still in his youth, stormed the world with his message of a new world order. Guru Gobind Singh took up cudgels against the tyranny of the Moghul Empire when he was a child.

It was only the spirit of youth which stirred the revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Azad, Rajguru and many others to stand against the mighty British Empire and to kiss the gallows with a smile on their lips.

Age clings to calculation, caution and reason. Youth clings to emotion. All the great ideals on which the future civilization of the world is going to be based, appeal to our emotions first. It is only when the emotions of an ideal grip of youth of a nation that the ideal begins to take concrete shape. It is only the youth that can forget their selfish interests and live for the future rather than the present. The goddess of progress and prosperity requires great sacrifices. These sacrifices can be made by the young only.The young men and women of India are coming into their won. They have started realizing their responsibilities. They are now active in every field- be it sports, research or administration. They are the hope of the country. If they get stirred into dynamic activity, they can certainly lift the nation to the pinnacles of glory.