Vivekanda to Youths

Swami Vivekananda to Youth

Supreme value of youth period is
incalculable and indescribable.
Youth life is the most precious
life. Youth is the best time. The
way in which you utilize this
period will decide the nature of
coming years that lie ahead of
you. Your happiness, your
success, your honor and your
good name all depend upon the
way in which you live now, in
this present period. Remember
this. This wonderful period of
the first state of your life is
related to you as the soft wet
clay in the hands of the potter.
Skillfully the potter gives it the
right and correct shapes and
forms, which he intends to give.
Even so, you can wisely mould
your life, your character, your
physical health and strength, in
short your entire nature in any
way in which you make up your
mind to do. And you must do
this now.
O fortunate youth, recognize this
great duty. Feel this wonderful
privilege.   Take up this
adventure. God watches you
graciously, ever ready to help
and guide. I wish you to be
great. The world has put its faith
in you. Your elders keep their
hopes in you.  Now youth means
to place your firm confidence in
yourself and exercise your
hopeful determination and
resolution and willing good
intentions in this beautiful task
of self-culture. This will truly
bring supreme satisfaction and
fulfillment not only to you, but
also to all concerned.  The
shaping of your life is indeed in
your own hands.
Practise virtue, persevere in
virtue.  Become established in
virtue.  Shine as an embodiment
of noblest virtue and heroic
adherence to goodness. Youth is
meant for this grand process.
Youth life is the active
development and fulfillment of
these processes. This period of
your time provides the suitable
and favourable fields for the
working out of this extremely
important and most
indispensable process in life.
This is the special significance,
the great importance and
supreme value of youth life. It
signifies the creation of noble
personality. It is atma-Viakasa .
It is Atma –Nirmana . Please try
to understand the correct
implication of the term
successful life. When you talk of
success with reference to life, it
does not merely mean succeeding
in everything that you undertake
or do; it does not merely mean
succeeding in fulfilling all wants
or getting whatever you desire; it
does not just mean acquiring a
name or attaining a position or
imitating fashionable ways
appearing modern or up-to-date.
The essence of true success is
what you make of yourself. It is
the conduct of life that you
develop, it is the character that
you cultivate and it is the type of
person you become.  This is the
central meaning of successful
living. Therefore, you will see
this important matter is not so
much a question of success in
life. ( Jivan – Me- Safalta) but
rather it is success of life. Such
successful life is one that
succeeds in producing an ideal
individual, a noble man. Your
success is not measured in terms
of what all you obtained but in
term of what you become, how
you live and what actions you
do. Upon this point reflect well
and attain great happiness.
In our grand culture they
conceived of life in four stage-
preliminary stage, development
stage, flowering or blossoming
stage and the culminating
fruitful stage. These can be
described as he preparatory
period, the practising period for
the satisfactory growth of the
latter stage.  Yours is the stage of
preliminary preparations for
right and successful living.
Herein is its supreme value and
great importance. This is like the
ploughing and sowing of seeds in
the field by a farmer. Now, you
can easily understand, what is
the significance and importance
of this in connection with the
harvest, which any one would
wish to reap later on. And also,
it is like the laying of the
foundation for an important
building you wish to construct.
If this building is something very
important to you, then you just
think how much more important
its proper foundation becomes in
your view. The strong and
continued existence of the
building depends certainly upon
the foundation. This is the stage
you are now in. Let your
preparations be wise, correct and
of such kind that will lead to
your true welfare, supreme good
and lasting satisfaction and
happiness. This must engage
your active, enthusiastic
attention throughout the period
of your youth life. Our culture
refers to this stage as the
Brahmacharya Ashram or
Vidyarthi Jivan .  Here, you
acquire knowledge of not only
subjects like History, Geography,
Mathematics, etc., but also about
human nature, correct
Vyavahara , science of Self-
control, art of developing pure
mind, Dharma, the duties of man
and the proper relationship
between you, your family, your
society and the world.