Recently, there has been a lot of emphasis on continuing economic growth throughout the world. The government is keen to project India as a global technological and manufacturing hub as well as a knowledge economy. This status brings with it infinite possibilities in recruitment and training for people of all age groups. New frontiers in employment are now open to teenagers, and they can get a head start in their careers at an early age with the help of proper self-management. By following an ethical code of conduct right from childhood, they can achieve success and attain happiness.

What is Ethics?

Ethics is defined as morality or discipline in daily life. It is concerned with goodness of character, behaviour and virtuous conducts and knowledge of the difference between the right and wrong.

Good character and conduct can be achieved by following ethical codes like loving everyone and performing actions with devotions and dedications without focusing on the fruits of actions.

This can be achieved by learning to do the following:

• Learn to think
• Learn to analyse
• Learn to give
• Learn to do
• Learn to love
• Learn to share
• Learn to care
• Learn to listen
• Learn to motivate
• Learn to encourage
• Learn to understand
• Learn to flexible
• Learn to integrate and develop relationship
• Learn to be

Swami Vivekananda said, “Ethical values such as purity, patience and perseverance, consistency, concentration and cooperation give rise to success, but above all is Love” .He also said that God’s Love and compassion is unbounded. We must say that we are weak, we must stand up, be bold and strong and take the responsibility of our own destiny with ethical values.

Teenagers are excellent human resources. They can enhance and fully develop their potential by proper self-management, following ethical codes, and enlivening of their prana {energy}, ojas {intelligence} and tejas {thinking}. This will create a generation of perfect teenagers with dynamism and good health.

Building Individual Character:

Building National Character, a summation of individual characters (which has been deteriorating in the past few years) and which is the key to all permanent improvements on the mental, material and spiritual planes, and which is to stimulate the development of the characters of all citizens of India, in particular children, who are responsible and not corruptible, to become the pillars of strength for a great nation. Citizens, who will each carryout with efficiency and reliability the job or task that each one undertakes.

In context of children specific actions, following will be stimulated

1) At home: Guidance of parents for bringing up the children properly and adequately and assisting in building their character from the beginning.

Their task is to show how important it is to have a strong character, to be honest, to do one’s share of work, to be truthful, to do one’s civic duties, even to do voluntary work for national welfare and development.

2) In school: In studies, in games, and otherwise, the emphasis should be placed on strength to stand up to injustice, nepotism, unfairness, corruption etc. Movies, trips, camps, establishment and running of school garden plots and school forests, which are useful for practical work to gain an understanding of the importance of various relevant factors in character building should all be included wherever possible in school activities.

Talking of corruption, what are the theory, practice and economics of corruption?
Generally speaking, corruption can be defined as the inappropriate use of power or influence which somebody has because of his position. This misuse can be and is usually for:

(1) Immediate private gains;
(2) Political part, and
(3) Pressure of one kind or another.

Some of its characteristics are:

(1) Those involved in corruption usually keep it secret,
(2) There are laws in most countries against corruption. The lawmaker has decided that corruption is punishable, but often the borderline between proper and inappropriate action is not well defined, and
(3) The borderline is often decided by custom. Custom varies from time to time and at place to place. When the social machinery and existing value concepts of a society are destroyed, or when a whole nation has to suffer hardship and some even starvation while individual profiteers can live in abundance and luxury, it is difficult to suppress corruption. “It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright”.

We can fight corruption by building individual character, promoting human values and simultaneously working on the economic prerequisites.

A Plea for Quality:

We know that number or quantity is important, but we should not forget Quality. Let us produce quality children, give them good quality education, so that each one will be worth much more. In terms of food production, let us not only talk of producing rice and wheat but let us produce more grapes, apples, fruit trees, vegetables, pulses, beans, milk and milk products and nutritious food. This is quality food.

We talk of 105 Universities plus 10 Institutes deemed to be universities, several thousands of colleges and several hundred thousand of schools. It is good to spread education, learning and knowledge. But knowledge is power only when it helps some production and furthers right action. To know how to grow melons is of no values unless you grow them, or teach others by growing them. Let us have practical schools for agriculture technology, for trades and professions. Often agricultural schools and colleges have not enough or even any land where students can grow crops. Imagine, the diploma or degree which is supposed to indicate that you know how to do a particular work which becomes an end in itself and not the knowledge or experience that you get from this education.

The quality of men and material is important. We should build houses which last, rods which will not be easily washed away or dams which will not be silted up and become useless. We build dams, large canals and irrigation network without fully ensuring that every bit of the water stored or canalized is fully utilized. This is like buying a lot of bread when you are hungry, consuming what you need immediately and wasting the rest. This is happening with the irrigation canals in many places.

By concentrating on the quality, the implication is that each operation has to be given adequate emphasis. It is a matter of details that one goes into that makes for quality. A nation or people are respected much more if there is quality. We have resources and brains. Let us muster the will to produce more of good quality things. At this stage of national development we need more and more quality and past achievements show that we can do it.

Author: Dr.M.L.Dewan