‘Youth Day’ Celebrated at RKM to Mark154th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
“Who is Loving you, Don’t Hate them. Who is Believing you, Don’t Cheat them. Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject as poison. Relationships are more important than life, but it is important for those relationships to have life in them. You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. By the study of different religions, we find that in essence, they are one. Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being. Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals place them day and night before you and out of that will come great work. You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself. The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong. All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. So, Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached “- Swami Vivekananda
Mangaluru: The 154th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, one of India’s most revered spiritual leaders, which is celebrated today as ‘National Youth Day’ .was held on Thursday, 12 January 2017 at Ramakrishna Math (RKM)-Mangaluru. The Govt.of India in 1984 decided to observe the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, the Maker of Modern India. on this day (12 Jan) every year from 1985 onwards. In its communication, the Govt. of India stated, ” It was felt that the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth”.
The programme began with vedic Chanting by Brahmacharins of Ramakrishna Math, followed by welcome address by MLC Capt. Ganesh Karnik, where he praised the work done by Ramakrishna Math for the betterment of the community. The chief guest of the occasion was MLA JR Lobo, and the programme was inaugurated by State Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar. Other dignitaries on the dais were Resource Persons namely Swami Tyagishwaranandaji-Bengaluru, Prof. Raghothama Rao-Bengaluru and Srikrishna Upadhyaya-Puttur; Swami Jitakamananda-Adhyaksha of RKM and capt. Ganesh Karnik.
In his keynote address, Swami Jitakamananda said, ” India has the World’s largest youth population and every third person in India is a youth. This makes our nation the land of opportunities and immense possibilities, for youth are the future of our nation. National Youth Day is an occasion wherein the youths renew their pledge towards building a strong and resurgent nation. At present our nation needs men of good character, so its time that our youth improve their character, improve their mental strength, Our youth are intelligent, educative and smart, but they lack Mental strength, so they need to start to build a strong mental strength. Youth should also lead on a good path, develop good characters and respect others”.
Inaugurating the “Youth Day” Dr G Parameshwar said, ” Swami Vivekananda on his return to India, in his very first lecture reminded India that it was the message of Oneness that she had to give to the world. For that, she would have to prepare herself. But how the Oneness is manifested in life? Not by just chanting of Vedas but by feeling for all those who are suffering and are in need of help. Swami Vivekananda said to serve the poor to create a better society. He also had faith and confident in the youth, because they are the ones who will build the nation. Dharma is nothing but righteousness is, so we should not blame any religion just because of a few bad elements. ‘Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject as poison’ had said Swami Vivekananda- so the youth should stay away from drugs and bad habits by rejecting them as poison”.
“The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong. All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. So, Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached” said Swami Vivekananda. We should be proud that our youth are making history all over the world as Doctors, Engineers, scientists, Inventors etc. At present, the world respects Indians for their intelligence and creativity. It is also our duty to respect our National Flag and National Anthem. We also need to protect and respect our culture, tradition and heritage. We should know that we are the oldest civilization in the world. Our youth should have scientific temper-let the truth be the refuge of scientific temper” added Dr Parameshwar.
Dr Parameshwar further said, ” Let us all dedicate our lives to the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. We need to follow in his footsteps, we need to bring a change in ourselves, we need to take a strong oath that we will try to do the best, we need to also encourage women, who like men are also capable of achievements in their lives. When I took over as Home Minister post, my first priority was to protect women and children, and with the help of law enforcement officials we have been successful in curbing harassment, violence, etc on women. Finally, once again I ask our youth to respect and protect our tradition, culture and heritage. Follow the teachings and footpath of Swami Vivekananda, you surely can build a strong nation”.
Also during the occasion, the inauguration of a project called “Arpana” by minister Dr G Parameshwar took place, where branded clothes worth Rs 1.25 crore will be distributed to 30 beneficiaries from villages. MLA JR Lobo also spoke and complimented Ramakrishna Math for their yeomen service to the community, especially the Swachh Mangaluru Campaign. The formal function was followed by various sessions were the three resource persons spoke on important topics.
