The Generation Gap

THE GENERATION GAP!

C.V.G. Krishnamurthy

An eminent essayist observed, “the persons of the previous generation call the present generation as the degenerate descendents”. Nay, it is not a correct statement as viewed by some. The present generation are intellectually better than the previous ones. The fund of knowledge-­scientific, political and otherwise sometimes makes the older generation ‘awe-stricken’.

The Television, the Computer and other latest scientific equipment completely revolutionized the life of the Modem Generation. But this development is lop-sided and it does contain neither the moral nor the spiritual aspects of it.

An aged person living in these modem times finds himself a misfit to find the decadent moral standards around him. The youth have their own ways of behaviour, as they cannot find good models to emulate. They find a void while searching for ideals either in the parents or in the teachers. Of course, mention needs to be made about the corrupt influence of the society.

There is an adage that “East is East and West is West and the Twain can never meet”. This may not be true due to the annihilation of Space and Time consequent to the scientific development, which results in the concept of ‘One World’.

The aping of the Western Culture has become a fashion in the East. The mannerism of shrugging the shoulders while talking is nicely imitated by an Indian who returns from the West. Nobody denies that good aspects of habits and culture can best be exchanged both by the East and the West.

‘Materialism from the West’ has crept into the East while the West is getting the benefit of the ‘Spiritualism of the East’. The joint-family is slowly dwindling into small self-centered units. The four important tenets of the Upanishads- “Maathru Devo Bhava, Pithru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava and Athidhi Devo Bhava” remain in the breach but not in the observance in these days. ‘Speak the truth’ and ‘Practise Dharma’ get a distorted connotation- ‘Sacrifice the Truth’ and ‘Violate  Dharma’. The recent mushroom growth of ‘Old Age Homes’ in India indicates how stealthily the Western Culture is creeping in.

Respect for the Elders and their sentiments has become ananachronism. Violence has become the order of the day. Atrocities against women find place in the ‘News’ almost everyday. ‘Where women are respected, there the gods would reside’ is a saying–(‘Yethra Naari Poojyanthe thathra Devatah Vasanthi’). The cinema and the television present women in all indecent costumes and postures detrimental to the norms of decency. It is the primary responsibility of the Women’s Welfare Organizations to raise a hue and cry for immediate ban of such things in the audio-visual media. The cinema and the television sometimes present the ideals of upright living and moral standards but the spectators find it difficult to receive the good aspects and leave the bad and vulgar ones to the winds.

To borrow money beyond the repaying capacity has become another modem trait. The financial institutions are luring the public by offering competitive low rates of interest.

The inability to repay causes mental tension and unhappiness. The past generation never had such type of unhappiness because their wants were few.

The sound advice of the elders is snubbed as ‘the generation gap’ by some people. Arranged marriages by elders have become obsolete. By virtue of their vast experience the elders used to fix up the matrimonial alliances so that perfect harmony prevailed in their marital life. But, in the modern days, ‘Love-making’ is as spontaneous as ‘Love-breaking’.

The limited family concept, though a welfare measure has burdened the parents with too much of care and anxiety about their children. For instance, the disappointment of not getting a rank or a seat for the child in the desired faculty is causing tension to the parents and unwarranted frustration in the young minds.

Whatever good concepts and ethics were upheld by the previous generation are called  ‘generation gap’ by the present generation. It is not a ‘generation gap’ but only a misunderstanding of the right ethics and the salient good features of the ‘culture of the East’. The outward fringes of manners and customs of the West may safely be adopted without infringing on the ‘core of the culture of the East’.

One wonders, where this country is drifting. Perhaps one can get consolation as per Tennyson’s poetic lines­-

“The old order changeth yielding place to New
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world”.

In spite of the decaying moral standards in the present times, sometimes we find a bright ray of hope for betterment of the society at large. The appearance of some religious men through their invaluable occasional discourses try to better the lives of the present generation. Sri Ramakrishna Mission is one such renowned organization to revitalize the present generation and to impress upon them the great potential of the ‘Culture of the East’.

Swami Vivekananda expressed, “our national ideals are service and renunciation. The good live for others alone. The wise man should sacrifice himself for others. No amount of intellectual activity can reach God. The only God to worship is the human being”.
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‘Weak, corrupt, incompetent, unacceptable leadership, irresponsible governing mechanism, a powerless judiciary, confused and outdated policies of national governance are themselves a threat to national and human security.’
- Chanukya

‘Democracy is certainly the best form of governance that has yet been devised but it should be served by brave men, true men and first class men. It stands likely ever to the greater abuse at the hands of the untried men who think that abuse is the staple of politics and hatred is the hallmark of patriotism.’
- Rt. Hon.  Srinivasa Sastry