MOTIVATION : GIVE LIFE A CHANCE

Sunday, January 26, 2014



Suicide by ‘lover boy’ of Telugu cinema, Uday Krishna at the prime age of 33 came as a shock. Uday began his acting career with a bang with a hit film "Chitram" directed by Dharma Teja in June 2000. He became popular soon and also received Filmfare award as best actor for his role in film "Nuvvu Nenu". According to his father, "There was no reason for him to commit suicide. He had enough money. If it was a question of his career not progressing well, he had time on his side".

 According to WHO (World Health Organization) worldwide, up to one million people die by suicide every year and during  the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60%. It is also said that suicide is among the three leading causes of death among people aged 15 to 44.

It is truer for India. Every morning we find some reports in the newspaper on suicide deaths in different parts of the country. The reasons may vary as the gap between expectation and achievement, dreams and despair, but the fact remains that incidents of suicide in our country have been on rise, may it be farmers or youths or adults. Reports say, ''Suicide in India is slightly above world rate -20% of all suicide deaths in the world are Indians. Suicide rates in rural India are about twice as high as in urban areas. The problem is disproportionately serious in rural areas due to easy availability of pesticides – the most consumed item for attempting suicide, the other common method being hanging.”

In the last two decades, the suicide rate in India has increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 1,00,000 population. In a study published in The Lancet in June 2012, the estimated number of suicides in India in 2010 was about 187,000 (21 deaths every hour) of which 71% are by persons below the age of 44 years.

There are many reasons for this growing social menace. In fact, through rapid urbanization, India has witnessed a change in family structure, with people moving out of joint families into nuclear families. As such, financial, social and health issues are in general contribute greatly in this regard for persons of all ages. However, talking about female suicide, which has risen rapidly in recent years, it is linked to post marriage domestic violence (more for dowry related problems) and also due to forced mismatch marriage. The major reasons for men on the other hand, have been lack of gainful employment, excessive stress due to cut throat competition at work place and above all emotional barrier to communicate and share their problem openly. For youths,  the fear of failure and/ or failure itself both in studies and pre marriage relationship have found to be the major reasons. To say, families now are fractured and the social and family support systems are weak, if not non- existent which used to be in place earlier and hence the situation is becoming more serious.

 Undeniably, besides loss of a human being who is born to live and contribute to his family and society by growing well and healthy, this is a serious cause of concern as it imposes a huge social, emotional and economic burden in totality.

Notwithstanding what has been said herein above, the real and important issue is how to address this grave situation. As per famous psychiatrist Dr. Sanjay  Chug, “More than legalization of the act, what is needed is spreading knowledge and making people more mindful and sensitive toward mental health as a field, as it would automatically open doors for devising means and methods to combat it”.

Awareness and motivation undoubtedly play a great role. Changes in lifestyle and thought process have found to be very helpful for persons passing through such adverse situation.

It’s a common knowledge, life is full of ups and downs, but if we open our hearts to embrace the changes of life, believe me, even in most difficult situations, we can feel that life is full of suspense and splendid things. And after all who has all the goods and no odds in life.
But all those great personalities whom we admire knew well that we are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glory of its goodness, as our beloved former president, scientist and thinker, APJ Abdul Kalam used to say. And, by the way, happiness is not a happening; it is a state of mind. You can have everything in the world and still be miserable or you can have relatively little and feel unbounded joy. See around you and you will appreciate the truth of these words.

Life is invaluable and hope is the main driver. Do you know: man can live without food for 40 days, 3 days without water, 8 minutes without air (Oxygen) but without hope - may not be for a minute. Isn’t it? So, never say die. Give your life full chance. True, everybody doesn’t get everything at the same time despite putting up seemingly same and similar efforts. You may get something today which your friend might get some years later. Life is after all not a 20-20 cricket match. Everyone passes though different phases of life from childhood to senior citizenship, but how young or old you are, you can still be creative and influential, provided you have faith in yourself and a conviction to do what you think is right.

It is worth trying and finally practicing, in whatever manner and magnitude you like; the prescriptions of Swami Vivekananda, the great role model for Indian youth who lived in this world for only 39 years but could leave an indelible imprint on the soul and mind of millions of people world over. Swamiji says,” Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity. … Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of the pledge. … Be a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a river for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victims of oppression. …Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive…. Be eyes for the blind and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring….

Then, say a Big “YES” to life and the Biggest “NO” to negative thoughts. Have large circle of good friends to share the pain and gain, spend quality time with your family; have some time for your passion. And finally, start counting your Blessings and not the Curses. Life has many good things in store for you. 

As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, request you to post comments to share your views and experiences.

#Published in Indian Currents.org on 20.01.2014 

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