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In the Sunday supplement of the New Indian Express on 5th August 2012, a very painful and a true article on the new killer called “Urban suicide” was published. It is mentioned in the article that 135,000 youngsters committed suicide due to reasons like exam failure, employment failure, family problems etc in 2011 alone Does this appear as ‘Just’ any other piece of information that happens in our country and we look the other way and move on? Is this the training and mental strength that our youth/students have got in their school and college days? Is this a healthy and lively situation that we can digest? Many such questions are rushing in my mind and I have discussed this issue with hundreds of students and teachers all over the city in various educational institutions. All were in dismay and shocked but unable to find a solution! Can the nation afford to lose youngsters through the new killer due to small and unwarranted issues?
The whole nation is celebrating Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary till 2014 and the faith he had in the youth of the country is amazing. He said “my faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation. Out of them will come my workers and they will solve the problem like lions.” But the earth under the feet is slipping and the focus is shifting at a rapid pace! Enough has been said about the problems. Now let us concentrate and think about the long lasting solutions. Many people have given cosmetic solutions but time has come for seeking and demanding power packed solutions which have been offered by Swami Vivekananda and other great leaders the world over!
A very interesting story helps us think over the solution called The Black Dot. A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost. During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot in the centre of it with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.” “Okay, what else do you see?” Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.” “Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” she asked. A resounding “No” came from the audience. “What about the whitish part of the sheet of paper?” asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it,” she said, pointing out, “but you have chosen to overlook it.”
“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many things we have and focus our attention and energy on failures and disappointments. The problems are usually like the black dot on the paper. They are small and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at the whole picture.”
Students need to be trained to recognize their ability and to commit themselves to a game plan to achieve excellence. The secret lies in persistent efforts and discipline that a student has to follow in order to climb great heights. Youngsters should learn from the positive attitude and mental toughness of Mr Oscar “blade runner” Pistorius who is just 25 years and was granted permission to race in the Olympics 2012 in London and had participated in the 400meters race. Though he did not qualify for the finals, it was a mind blowing effort before thousands of spectators.
Swami Bodhamayananda is the Director of Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, Ramakrishna Math
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