All World
Gayatri Pariwar

‘Yug Srujeta’ Convention:
The Conclusion of ‘Yuva Kranti Varsh’

It is well known that youth are the spine and strength of any nation. If they are strong, healthy, addictionfree, have a positive outlook towards life and believe in self-reliance, then we can be certain that the nation will have a glorious future. With this perspective, we took a step in 2016 which marked the beginning of a unique revolution. Years 2016 and 2017 were observed as‘Yuva Kranti Varsh’ (Youth Revolution Years) by our Mission. During these years, the youth responded enthusiastically to our call of participating in youth camps, conventions and workshops, our green earth program, cleanliness drives, de-addiction program, women’s awakening campaign, etc. These activities were not just confined to our country, but crossed the boundaries and reached several countries. At the conclusion of
‘Yuva Kranti Varsh’, we are organizing a convention of youth titled ‘Yug Srujeta’ (literally meaning – creators of the new era) at Nagpur (Maharashtra) from January 26 to 28, 2018. The main objectives of this convention are as follows:

1. Inspiring and training youth towards leading a Sadhana-centered life style - The objective is to build a strong and effective personality. By sadhana, we are not referring to a certain kind of rituals of worship. It is the sadhana of self-management that is essential for everyone. Youth is a stage of life in which necessary training should be provided so that a person can be molded as described in the Upanishad:

‘Yuvasyat sadhuyuva adhyayakaha aashishtho drudishtho balishthah’
-Taittireeya Upanishad, 2nd Valli, 8th Anuvak

Meaning: Yuva or youth is one who performs noble actions, who is always involved in the pursuit of knowledge, who is an expert in management, one who possesses strong body and mind and is strong in all aspects.

When such youths are trained for specific tasks, their skills and abilities can work wonders for the nation.

2. Guiding the youth to inculcate the habit of swadhyaya (study of noble literature) in their regular daily routine - The purpose is to uplift their moral and intellectual base. Regular practice of swadhyaya will ensure that they always think positively. It is an undebatable fact that personality is shaped according to one’s thoughts. The youth of today is living in despair and very soon it gets transformed into depression. A depressed state of mind is a hurdle in both success and personality development. In such situations, they tend to gravitate towards drugs and other vices. This marks the beginning of their downfall. Swadhyaya is the remedy for this. It is very important that the right books are chosen for swadhyaya. The books written by Param Pujya Gurudev are extremely inspiring and provide appropriate guidance to the reader.

3. The third objective is to inspire youth to conserve energy for noble activities by exercising sanyam (control over senses) - Sanyam is important not only for maintaining good health but also for enhancing energy and directing it upwards. Sanyam provides the necessary power to promote one’s self-confidence. In fact, the word ‘Sanyam’ has a wider meaning. The 4th sutra in Vibhuti Pada of Patanjali Yoga Sutra says – trayamekatra sanyamaha (which means - when there is a union of dharana, dhyana and samadhi for a particular goal, it is known as sanyam). Sanyam enhances one’s intellect, strengthens sanskaras and develops concentration. This is what is needed by our youth today. Sanyam is interpreted only with respect to body by many people, whereas it needs to be applied at all the three levels – physical, mental and spiritual. Formation of spiritual aura and many other supernormal attainments can also be achieved by the practice of sanyam.

A person who practices sanyam can awaken his self-respect and tap his inner potential which leads to a life of self-reliance. Self-reliance is essential in all walks of life. One needs to be self-reliant not just in financial aspect but more so with respect to the mind. One who possesses a strong mind and is self-reliant mentally will derive strength for all other aspects of life. Therefore, in order to make our nation progressive and prosperous, we need to train our youth to observe strict control over the senses.

4. Developing an aptitude for service by enhancing empathy for humanity - Only those who possess empathy can understand the pain and misery of others and work towards alleviating them. This is how we can develop a culture for service, which is the need of the hour. Society comprises of a variety of people. There are innumerable people who are backward just because they belong to lower castes. Then, there are people who are economically weak, those who are barely educated because of the imperfections in our education system, those who think they are educated but are not, those who are literate but are not skilled in their jobs, those who complain about not having got any opportunities to prove themselves, those who have been oppressed by those wielding powerful positions etc. There are many such categories of people who are barely able to make their ends meet. Some even lack resources for having a decent meal per day. On the other side are women who have been labeled as weak and get confined to the four walls. They are mostly uneducated, misinformed, and dependent on others; and are bound in meaningless traditions. Such women are living a so-called life but there is an undercurrent of grief and anguish, the sound of which is not being heard. They are living in a male-dominated society and suffering from their atrocities. There are many children who are being harassed by their own families; and there are others who are living a life of slavery owing to their circumstances.

Will youth come forward to help these downtrodden people? Service and empathy are two creative emotions that inspire an individual and propel him to take action so that those denied of justice can get their due and those in need of resources get support. In reality, service is the greatest virtue.
A heart that can resonate with the pain of others cannot remain idle, it will leap into action. Theyindividuals. Our country possesses an extremely large number of such service-oriented persons, but there is need to bring them under one banner. If our youth focus their efforts in this direction, they can form a group of empathetic people; and can begin to contribute in various social activities.

The pivotal objective of “Yug Srujeta” initiative is to activate the youth in all the above four aspects and motivate them to work towards the development of the country. If our youth are inspired by the four principles of Sadhana, Swadhyaya, Sanyam and Seva and progress on these four steps, then they will surely transform the country with a spiritual outlook. Four activities have been identified for the youth who will emerge out of this ‘Yug Srujeta’ program:
1. Search – Search for enthusiastic and patriotic youth with impeccable character
2. Develop – Refine and mold the youth who have been identified with the necessary training programs so that they are effective in their activities.
3. Organize – The youth thus trained will be made into small DIYA (Divine India Youth Association) groups at the village, town and zonal levels. The pearls thus obtained will be made into a beautiful garland so that all of them will speak with the same voice and echo the same ideals.
4. Assign them noble tasks - Make these groups to work unitedly towards a noble objective of ‘Yug Nirman’ (ushering in of a golden era of truth, peace and harmony).

With prayer-filled wishes to our readers,
(Pranav Pandya)

P.S. - A ‘Youth Vision Document’ is being prepared that will outline an 11-point program for the development of our youth. This will be presented in the ‘Yug Srujeta’ convention.