Dear Jeyamohan,
You have been talking repeatedly about the depression among our younger generation. I find this phenomenon difficult to understand, and I often wonder what has brought about this situation.
In our times, we had neither money nor employment nor much hope for the future. We struggled with uncertainty and had very little comfort in our lives. Yet we somehow managed to move forward, finding meaning in our struggles and building our lives out of whatever little we had.
Today, young people seem to have so many opportunities, comforts and forms of entertainment available to them. Yet depression appears to be increasingly common among them. I find this paradox puzzling.
My own feeling is that one of the reasons may be the lack of meaningful activity in their lives, combined with an excess of entertainment. When life becomes centred on consumption, amusement and the passive reception of experiences, people may gradually lose their sense of purpose. Entertainment can occupy our time, but it cannot necessarily give direction to our lives. Comfort may make life easier, but it does not automatically make it meaningful.
Perhaps our younger generation has fewer opportunities to experience the satisfaction that comes from sustained effort, responsibility and the achievement of something worthwhile. A life without meaningful challenges may become as difficult to endure as a life filled with hardships.
This is only my personal understanding, and I may not be entirely right. But I feel that we need to think seriously about how to help young people discover purpose, engage in meaningful work and develop a deeper relationship with life. We should not merely try to make them happy; we should help them discover something worth living for.
I would be interested to know your thoughts on this.
With regards,
A. R. Madhavan
