Arya Samaj

Mitra · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:42 pm Post subject: The Rave Party Of Pune

Hundreds held in India party raid
by
BBC News

Indian police have arrested 281 people for alleged drugs offences in a raid on a party in Pune, 220km (140 miles) east of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra.

Most of those arrested were students but there were also a number of professional people and eight foreign nationals, police said.

Officials said those arrested would face charges of selling or using banned drugs and would appear in court soon.

Correspondents say such rave parties are not unusual in Indian cities.

Senior police official Nangre Patil said the raid came after a tip-off from local informants.

Correspondents in Mumbai say for such parties invitees are informed of the venue and the time via phone text message or the internet.

(Source)

Mitra · Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 5:58 pm Post subject:

Namaste,

The pace of the young people in India has been breakneck in the last few years .
Ambitious, materialistic, self-centered and not apologetic about it. We put in 100% and some more of ourselves into work and then -party. We know how to party and have fun, no middle class values or rustic notions of prudence are relevant to us. We are a class apart.
But when news such as the one above come up - it still managed to shock parents at the scale of events and the realization that those revellers are the same as their kids.
I would like to know how acceptable it has become in India to do drugs among young professionals and students? Is it a sign of having arrived that you can burn money on exotic drugs ? Does a young person feel its the in-thing? Do young people feel comfortable thinking about health, values and morals or its something that is totally irrelevant to them?
_________________
Namaste
Manurbhava

Shishya · Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:39 pm Post subject:

Namaste Mitra Ji,

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a difficult one. The main task of the individual at this time is to discover who he or she 'is' and 'wants to be', as well as to establish a sense of 'automony' and 'independence'. This is completely natural and healthy, as society needs independent and autonomous adults if it is to function properly. Therefore, the problem does not necessarily reside in the impulse of the youth. It is much more in how the older generation (i.e. the parents and grandparents) deal with this impulse.

Every young person is full of energy and vitality. They want to prove to themselves and to the world that they are capable of thinking for and taking care of themselves. Due to a lack of proper guidance, however, 'thinking for yourself' becomes 'thinking the opposite of the established order'. As they are denied the chance of becoming proactive, youths and young adults typically become reactive, rejecting everything that has been 'drilled into them' since childhood. The values of the established order become the sins of the youth and vice versa. Add to this the burning desire for independence and the still underdeveloped critical thinking skills due to a lack of experience, and you have a budding social degenerate on your hands in short order.

One way to correct this is to do less 'social/moral/religious indoctrination' and more true education. Indoctrination might work with young children, but it is never going to work on a young adult. Despite this, we often see parents, overwhelmed and unsure how to deal with the development of their children, return to the 'tried and true' methods of restriction and punishment which worked so well in the early years. They think they are doing the right thing. 'It worked in the past. It will work now.' However, they have failed to recognize the new situation for what it is and to deal with it accordingly. As a result, their children rebel even more.

Western society, rather than meeting the challenge head-on, has opted for a different route. Instead of educating its youth, it panders to their desires to get them to do what society would like them to do. For example, despite putting labels like 'Smoking causes cancer, lung disease and emphysema' on cigarettes, the number of youths who turned to smoking did not drop. In fact, some studies show that it increased even more. (That's the rebellion factor for you.) However, when they started campaigns showing that smoking ages you prematurely, giving you wrinkles, grey skin, yellow teeth, etc., the message came through. Now there is a positive movement among youth in the west to avoid smoking and to view it as something not worth doing. But was this the right approach?

I don't think so. Although the immediate goal was achieved, the end result is the same or worse. All the campaign did was tie into the obsession of youth with 'image' and 'attractivity', playing on their fear of being found 'ugly' or 'rejected' by their piers. This is not solving the problem, this is simply shifting it to a new field.

True (spiritual) education means transmitting core values, not commanding specific actions. If we command actions, young people will only rebel, usually doing the exact opposite. If we teach true values, however, and let them find their own way to realizing those values in their lives, then they can put all that energy into constructively pursuing a higher purpose instead of destroying everything around them in the seach for it.
_________________
Namaste,

Shishya
ॐ

ॐ सह नावतु । सह तौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥
"Together may we be protected. Together may we be profited. Together may we do a hero's work. May we learn intelligently. May we never hate one another."
-Brihadaranyaka & Taittiriya Upanishads