Mangaluru: On his visit to the city, Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara celebrated the 154th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mission in Mangaladevi. On the same occasion, he also inaugurated “Arpana” initiative which will provide quality clothes to the underprivileged children.
President of Ramakrishna Matt, Swami Jitakamanandaji introduced the Matt to Home Minister and said, “The modern generation youth are more brilliant compared to the previous generations but what the youth of now lack is the mental strength to push forward. A certain amount of mental strength should be instilled in themselves to differentiate between good and bad.”
Dedicating his talk to around 500 youth gathered at the Mission hall on Youth Day, Parameshwara mentioned that the youth of the generation should take inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s words to achieve success and take the country forward. “Swami Vivekananda put India on the world map when it came to empowering the youth. His contribution to the development of poor people of the country is also laudable”, he said.
“Swami Vivekananda started a revolution in a way that people became open to the various issues in life. During 39 years of his journey, he had instigated thoughts of many youth with regard to ideologies and spiritual awakening. He was very confident that the youth of India could reach great heights on an international platform”, Parameshwara added.
Speaking about the impediments in the lives of present day youth, Dr. Parameshwara quoted Swami Vivekananda and said, “Everything that makes a person weak physically, mentally and spiritually must be rejected as poison. Drug abuse must be dealt with seriously as it can harm the overall personality of an individual. Youngsters should live by the word of Swami Vivekananda and reject drugs and other impediments to growth and go on for a healthy life”, he advised.
Coming back to the thought of India’s development, he said, “The potential of our country lies in the hands of the youth who are determined. India has the highest number of young population which has the potential to make it to the top. India is known as the world’s biggest technical manpower-capable country as Indians are the ones who command great power in almost all aspects of life.”
Concluding his address to the gathering, he said that all should instill the values and teachings of Swami Vivekananda so that they could give their best in everything they take up.
MLA of Mangaluru North, J R Lobo said, “The youth of the nation should have adequate purity of mind, patience and perseverance just like Swami Vivekananda had. He had the zeal of a youngster throughout his life which is a lesson for the older people of our country.”
Ramakrishna Matt will be distributing branded clothes worth Rs 1.25 Crore to various beneficiaries from 30 villages in Puttur and Sullia. This initiative was inaugurated to give self-confidence to the students.
