Youth and the Upanishads (Contd)

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In no other period of life does a man have more choices to make than in youth. Youth, as a stage of life, demands it. For many youths the issue is not whether to choose to live in accordance with the eternal truth expressed in the Upanishads but when will he or she live according to them.

Here is a small story from the Reader's Digest to illustrate what we mean. One foggy night at sea, the captain of a ship saw what looked like the lights of another ship heading toward him. He had his signalman contact the other ship by light. The message was: 'Change your course ten degrees to the south.' The reply came back: 'Change your course ten degrees to the north.' Then the captain answered: 'I am the captain, so you change your course ten degrees to the south.' The reply came: 'I am a seaman first class—change your course ten degrees to the north.'

This last exchange annoyed the captain. So he signalled back: 'We are a battleship—change your course ten degrees to the south.' The reply: 'And I am a lighthouse. Change your course ten degrees to the north!'

The moral of the story is clear: follow the Upanishads or perish. The lighthouse represents the eternal principles and universal values of the Upanishads. The Upanishads are a mine of knowledge universal, timeless and always relevant. They are not the property of any particular sect or creed. Nor is there any gender or status bar in knowing and following them. A good number of the seers (Rishis) of the Upanishads were women. These Rishis were both householders and monks. Some of the Rishis were actually kings or statesmen of great power and responsibilities.

About the author

The author is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, T. Nagar, Chennai. He has been actively engaged in conducting workshops, lectures and seminars on Personality Development for the youth

To Be Continued