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Swamiji's closing speach at the Youth Conference 2006

An evening address to young participants following a day of conference discussions.

"We can learn much from them. Yes, indeed, they are the culture of tomorrow."

"Peace begins in your own heart, so it is time to act. Not just to sit and observe what's happening—that is the message of this conference."

A speaker addresses the junior members of the gathering, reflecting on the day's presentations. He shares a parable by Tagore about a flame offering light as the sun sets, using it as a metaphor for the passing of wisdom from seniors to the younger generation. The talk covers themes of responsibility, non-violence (ahiṃsā), caring for the elderly and refugees, and the need for compassionate action to address global suffering and conflict.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Zlin, Youth Conference

Oṃ sukhadam kem jñānatim dvandatitam aggan sadraśam tasmasyadi lakṣyam ekam nityam vimalāchalam sarvaddhisākṣibhūtam. Good evening, dear brothers and sisters, dear juniors. It was a beautiful day. It was a great joy and a relation for us to hear the requirements, the thoughts, and the knowledge of the juniors, and to realize that we also can learn a lot from them. We can learn much from them. Yes, indeed, they are the culture of tomorrow. Truly, they are the culture of tomorrow. Tomorrow will be as they are. There is a short story or poem written by the poet Ravindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize winner in poetry. One evening at sunset, he was walking through a garden and saw a beautiful horizon with a beautiful orange color. Being a poet, Tagore created from that view a story. He thought about what the sun might be thinking while going down. The setting sun was sad that its time was gone and that this part of the world would be swallowed by darkness. The sun looked left and right, wondering: is there anyone who can take my place? What will become of this world when I am not there? In that minute, Ravindranath Tagore heard a beautiful sound—the sound of bells from a temple where evening prayers were being prepared. A beautiful oil lamp was lit. Tagore turned towards the temple and saw a little, tiny flame. He writes that when this flame saw the sun going down and feeling sad, the flame spoke to the sun: "Don't worry. I will try. I can't be the sun, but I will give light to the world." And so it is with the seniors and juniors. The time of the seniors is more or less passing away. We know that the wisdom we have, we do not want to take with us; we would like to leave it here. And now it is the duty of the juniors to take over the future of the world in their hands. In this way, we had a beautiful day. We heard beautiful thoughts. Some things were very pleasant, some were unpleasant. The truth is sometimes not easy to digest. The story about the refugees in different countries, the young refugees, and how hard a time they have, how they are abused by the native people—it was touching to the heart. So too was the plight of the elderly people. In India, we used to say everyone prays to the rising sun. Everyone loves the children. But what about the setting sun? The elderly people. The body is old, but their requirements and their feelings are never old. Sooner or later, we will be there too. Who is going to take care of us? We have to bring this to the consciousness of our children. One of the aims or principles of having children, of having a happy family, means that both the young and the elderly people will be taken care of. The modern education system is bringing humans apart from humans. Family life is being destroyed. Many couples are unhappy. Millions of children are without complete parents. And millions of young mothers are crying because their children and their husbands have become the victims of wars. This picture that we see in the world is unbearable. And not only the humans, but just now you saw the video of how the animals are suffering. Is this the difference between humans and animals? That humans have the power of their intellect and their acting? Unfortunately, the innocent animals do not have this. Ahiṃsā paramodharma—the highest principle is non-violence. Thou shalt not kill. Killing animals is also like killing a human. If you cannot give life to someone, you have no right to take the lives of others. Think of your future days. They are not far from your horizon. You will need your children. Therefore, educate them to love the parents, the family, the neighbors, and humans, and to protect the animals. Yes, this morning there were two young men reading a newspaper. They were thinking and reading about the wars. One man, our junior, said, "Peter, you know, there are so many thousands and millions of soldiers killed in the war." Others said this should be stopped; the answer was, "But how to stop? We can do nothing." Others said, "Yes, we can." Yes, you can. Charity begins at home. Peace begins in your own heart, so it is time to act. Not just to sit and observe what's happening—that is the message of this conference. I learned a lot from the children today. How attentive they are, how concentrated they are. Already now they are thinking about the future world. These are the children from Yoga in Daily Life, and they are aware of everything. I am very happy about them, and I wish them a very happy future, a very happy family life. I wish they will not be only a tiny flame, but they will be a very big light. All the great personalities, like Mahātmā Gandhi and others, they all were small, like we were little babies. So one day you will be the greatest one also. Do not give up your work. Get up and walk. I thank the organizers; they did immense work, and indeed it was beautiful. So many participants are here; the whole day you were sitting on these hard chairs, so I must also congratulate you on how good you are, that you were sitting for more than how many hours—nearly twelve hours here. That is great. Śānti, Śānti, Śānti. Dīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī jay. Recording location: Czech Republic, Zlin, Youth Conference

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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