The Guru-cool factor

A new breed of spiritually strengthened youngsters is about to rear its head,
demanding its rightful place in the world, feels Vikram Hazra

Pilates with a personal trainer? Oh you can’t be serious —  that is so last year!” This week the swish set is into flaunting  spiritual gurus as arm candy; not  for them the role of a devout acolyte or a gushing spectator at a satsang — now it’s necessary to be perceived as being into hardcore spirituality.

So if one is into Buddhist chanting, another is into a Bhagvad Gita study circle, while yet another extols the intricacies of applying Vedanta to brand-building. And if the page 3 gang is doing it, then could the fashion-conscious youth of today be far behind?

From amulets and armbands  to Saraswati handbags and Gayatri Mantra tattoos, young Indians are unabashedly showing  off their spiritual side.

Chandan tikkas casually  accessorise tank tops and frayed jeans, and Bollywood starlets and reality show participants mutter the Hanuman Chalisa before shots. Twenty years ago, spiritualism was thought to be just another word for escapism, but now it appears to be the coolest  thing coming.

Be it in any  form — satsang or séance, scripture study or satan worship, collegians are game to give it a shot, devouring rock, metal, Sufi and  bhajans with matching gusto.

However, spirituality today has ceased to be just a fad and has  become a serious and credible  way of life. The youth have certainly taken it a few steps further, with  many opting to become yoga or  meditation teachers, alternative therapists or healers, and extending this to setting up NGOs addressing issues of familial trauma, child abuse and
domestic violence.

This shouldn’t surprise us though, because spirituality addresses two  fundamental aspects of a young  person’s life: a quest for meaning,  and a sustained sense of challenge.

Today, more than ever, under a deluge of media bombardment and a  fragmented social system, a young  person searches for his/her identity, yearning to understand his/her
place in the scheme of things. Unfortunately, our educational, political,  social and societal systems seem patently ill-equipped to provide  these answers. Perhaps one has to reach deep within to ably validate one’s existence, and only the spiritual path offers this possibility.

Nowhere else is a teenager’s loud “But WHY!?”  so credibly addressed as it is in
true spirituality, where a sense of  excellence and responsibility are but stepping stones to uncovering one’s hidden potential.

Young people love challenges, and in a world where mediocrity, mall rats and call centre flunkeys thrive, many dive into the sanctuary and reclusive anonymity of the world-wide web. Better to have an enduring relationship with a laptop and a pack of Doritos than risk rejection and struggle to live up to the expectations of one’s peers. Here again, spirituality steps in as it challenges us to emerge from our shells, to take a step forward and build our lives as we want to.

Hence it is no surprise to see sensitive young people delving deep into some or other form of sadhana,  and emerging refreshed, proactive,  and empowered to enhance the quality of their own lives, and of those  around them. A new breed of spiritually strengthened and sensitised youngsters is about to rear its head,  demanding its rightful place in  business and politics, sports and science, art and literature.

Where  once drugs and alcohol were believed to fuel the creative mind and inspire radical thought, today’s youth  seem to know better. They choose methods to calm the mind rather than excite it, and promise to make a difference to the planet, for the sake of  generations who shall follow them. Knowledge is strength, they say, and strength is cool!

Vikram Hazra is the programming head of the International Art of Living Foundation