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Man has become too preoccupied in the pursuit of material things. Money is the end in itself and not a means to an end. This excessive urge for materialistic gains has made him ignore the spiritual and moral aspect of life. He considers them obsolete and unproductive. Today, man is motivated to do something only if he is assured of reasonable profit. He has no time or inclination to pause for some time and ask himself where it is leading him. Such is the present social environment that even a child cannot remain unaffected by it. It is so easy to console a child with a promise of a gift and divert his mind from something parents have no patience to deal with.
Life has become so mechanical. A child, until he becomes an adult, is pressurized every moment to excel and become skillful so that he does not lag behind in his studies. He is not given any lesson in the art of living. The total stress is on the art of how to earn a living. Therefore, from a very tender age, young minds become warped due to the obsessive preoccupation of the adults with security. Undoubtedly, there are certain basic physical needs cannot be met without money, hence the need to prepare for a means of livelihood. However, man is not merely a creature who will be content with getting food, shelter and clothing; he was also a soul, which needs to be nurtured.
Nevertheless, today it is a pity that the spiritual aspect of the personality is totally ignored. No wonder that the youth feel so restless, demoralized and disillusioned! We have already seen how the young in the Western countries are turning towards East for solace and spiritual comfort. They experience a sense of ennui and feel impatient with the preoccupation of their parents with work and money. It is largely due to the disillusionment of such people that men like Rajneesh, Mahesh Yogi, who promise salvation and spiritual regeneration, have such a large flowing but escaping from the realities of life is not the solution.
The present education system and the attitude of the parents are largely responsible for the state of affairs. It is a fact that today education is important in inculcating spiritual and moral values and parents in urban areas are too preoccupied with their own lives to pay attention of the growing children. Consequently, children feel a lack of sense of direction and fall easy prey to drugs and other vices at an early age. Thus, there are many consequences if one does not attain the spiritualism right from childhood.
