CHENNAI: India is called a young nation because every third person in an Indian city is a youth who is eager to learn. As per the laws of nature, we live our lives through various stages such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Of these stages,the most adventurous and interesting stage is adolescence which represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future.
In this phase, there is intense growth not only physically but also morally, cognitively, emotionally and intellectually. Hence, it is quite essential that parents, elders or peers provide teenagers proper guidance, support and create an environment to facilitate holistic development.It has been observed that contrary to the common perception about adolescents, they are often energetic, thoughtful, idealistic and have a deep interest in values of life. They are full of optimism. But, the only disadvantage that they have is lack of experience and hence, they are deceived easily by way of getting diverted to wrong ways.
The primary goal of every adolescent is to achieve complete independence, for which they often seek space. They start to think more rationally and abstractly as they form their moral code. In the process, they may often become assertive, rebellious, non-conformist, be opinionated and aloof. Therefore, they need to be guided and supported with great sensitivity and maturity.
In order to attain maturity, a series of factors need to be addressed for adolescents — they need to acquire self certainty, be ready to try out new roles, strive for achievement, acquire a self-identity, balance their rights with responsibilities and identify personal goals and ideals. While dealing with adolescents, we should try and step into their world and treat them with respect rather than suspicion. It always helps when we share their joys and sorrows, and genuinely address their questions.
Parents should deal with their adolescent children in a way that promotes their general well-being and development, which is inclusive of the spiritual dimension. This is mainly because spirituality integrates the emotional, cognitive and intuitive self, and helps in forming a personal spiritual belief and principles, attitudes and emotions as per one’s value system.
It is unfortunate that in the formative stage when children need a strong sense of direction and guidance, there is no source for them to get it. This is because religion today has been reduced to a superficially practised set of rituals. The family is no longer the strong institution it used to be and parents hardly have time to spend with their children. The educational institutions are primarily concerned with teaching professional skills without imparting values to strengthen their character. Hence, adolescents try to find support from other means.
What’s presented on television and movies makes an impression on these young minds and it becomes a fertile ground for spawning vicious tendencies and irrational ideas. There is a constant conflict among adolescents to measure up to their peer group’s values and to cope with the ideals and realities of life. Unfortunately, in the absence of proper guidance, it is but natural that many adolescents resort to crime, abuse and drug addiction.
While family, educational institutions and social groups do have a major role to play in guiding and supporting adolescents, spirituality lends a deeper and stronger basis for forming a clear identity and value system. Spirituality empowers a person to lead a value-based lifestyle and helps him/her to understand the purpose of life and guides them towards fulfilling it through well-developed intellectual, moral and emotional qualities. It provides the highest benchmark for formulating codes of conduct, facilitates holistic development of a person, and integrates moral, mental and emotional faculties into a well-balanced personality. Spirituality touches the core goodness of every human being, it is the most potent tool for guiding all sections of society.
In a spiritual perspective, all individuals have the potential to perform their best and every person has some speciality that needs to be shared with others. The process of empowering adolescents begins with this practice of treating them with respect and helping them realise their hidden potential. So, instead of looking at them as helpless or ignorant beings who need to be chastised and controlled, spiritual treatment calls for accepting them as potential carriers of higher wisdom, pure values, fresh ideas and skills that need to be channelised in the proper direction. Such a growth process is driven from their inner self, gently guided by wisdom and love rather than a forced development compelled by insecurity, fear and false expectations.