Every year we celebrate Independence Day of our beloved country, India. On this day of joy, we remember with gratitude the hard labour and struggle of our people who fought to liberate us from foreign domination and oppression.
Indeed, this is a great achievement of political freedom. And the citizens of India should feel proud of it.
Now when we look at our post Independence country, in the beginning we did not really achieve much. But during the last few years we could see India developing fast in the field of science, space technology, modern communication, industrialization, computer education, agriculture and so on. But only a few are enjoying the fruits. The vast majority, 1/3 of India’s population does not have sufficient food, decent clothing and proper shelter to live as ordinary human beings or drinking water to quench their thirsts. This may be partly one of the reasons of unhappiness for many. On the other hand, the fulfillment of basic needs does not necessarily lead people to happiness. Human wants are unlimited. The more we have, the more we want to have. We become slaves of greed and selfishness. We might have more food and drink than we need, and yet far from satisfaction.
The human hearts long for happiness and no amount of material things can quench our thirst for it. Family and possession, power and position; and human love may satisfy our hearts longing for happiness but only to a point. Today, in search of happiness we go even to the extent of violence, rape, molestation, harmful drugs and pleasure and everything goes in vain. Infact, this is a clear sign that we are great need of peace and happiness in our minds and hearts.
Ultimately, the only one who can satisfy our minds and hearts is God. St. Augustine was a man who tried everything that could bring him happiness in life: a higher education, a good job, money, pleasure, etc; but nothing satisfied him for long. After his conversion in his book, “The Confession of Saint Augustine, he writes; you have made us for you, O Lord and our hearts cannot be satisfied till it finds rest in you.”
We are in a secular state with millions of devotees and every religion teaches to practice brotherly love. But it is a matter of regret that in the name of religion communal riots take place every now and then in one corner or another. We are developing and yet we do not know to live as human beings. Therefore, Dr. Radhakrishna has rightly pointed out: “People learned to fly like a bird in the sky, people learned to swim like a fish in the ocean but did not learn to live as human beings”. Again some one has remarked, “Deliberate refusal to acquire religious knowledge or practice religion: is perhaps the root cause of most of the unhappiness in the world today; as witness; the many broken homes, divorces, unfaithful husbands or wives, abortion, juvenile delinquency, wars etc”.
Despite such unwanted elements, we the YCS/YSMers once again wish and resolve to work hand in hand so that peace and equity, freedom and love may reign in our land. All the same, peace or happiness is a God’s gift. And it will come to the people of good will and to the peace makers.
- Fr. Hobertus Minj,
NTA, Orissa Region.