Man is not born to be liberated || On Advait Vedanta (2019)
Questioner: Swami Vivekananda has said that the minds of our modern youth are becoming storehouses of multiple complexes, such as sex complex, fear complex, ego complex, inferiority complex. Our young adults seem to be full of confidence in the way they speak, dress, look and act. But when I look into their eyes, I see a lot of fear, insecurity and indifference hidden there. Obviously, the outer façade is just a cover-up. I am saddened to see this.
I am a mother of two young adults, ages nineteen and twenty-two, and sometimes I sense this underlying tension in them also. I feel overwhelmed when I imagine what their future would be like. These days I see my kids and their peers, mostly older, in their rooms, staring at the computer screen for hours on end. They seem to be uninterested in everything that is happening outside. They are lost in their own inner worlds, perhaps because we as parents have failed to provide them with something meaningful.
I sense a lot of pent-up frustration and anger amongst our young adults. I feel a sense of helplessness because I too am frustrated at the current state of affairs. I can only imagine what they must be going through. Can you please talk a bit about our youth and how best to guide them?
Acharya Prashant: Are you surprised when you look at a six-month-old, or a three-year-old, or a six-year-old, and find him eager for his food, comfort, security, entertainment, oblivious of all other worldly or otherworldly concerns? Do you cry out, “Why is this three-year-old lost in his little self and little world? Why is he not eager for liberation?”
How many three-year-olds have you found longing for liberation? Have you found that? Not only do you not accuse the kid or the boy of not being enough of a seeker, you in fact find his ignorance towards everything but his own comfort as cute, don’t you? It is a norm, and it is a very acceptable norm with us, is it not? Three-year-olds will be three-year-olds.
