The National Youth Day is celebrated every year in India on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda which falls on January 12. The day was established in 1984 by the Indian Government and the celebration commenced from 1985. The government decided to celebrate the day to pay homage to the ideologies and philosophies of the great man. The Indian government felt that his beliefs and ideals are perfect for inspiring the young generation of India. Hence, the day was established and since then various events have been organized to enthusiastically celebrate this day.
Swami Vivekananda is considered as the Maker of a Modern India. The day is observed to give an insight into his teachings and achievements, so that the Indian Youth can take inspiration and work for a better future. He believed that the key to development is by utilizing the energy of the youth who are thirsty for knowledge and truth. His birthday falls on different days in the English Calendar and it calculated as per the Pausha Krishna Saptami Tithi on which he was born.
Celebration across India
The birthday of Swamiji is celebrated at the main centre of Ramakrishna Math as well as Ramakrishna Mission and several other branches across India. Traditional Hindu rituals like homa, meditation, aarti, sandhyabaati and special worship is done to celebrate his birthday. His teacher Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansha and Devi Sharada are also worshipped by the devotees on this day. All the teachings of Swami Vivekananda are found in the 9 volumes of the book ‘The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda’.
The National Youth Day celebrations take place in all the schools, colleges and youth organizations across the nation. The youth enthusiastically organize cultural programmes, recitation contents, seminars, speeches, yogasanas, writing contests, presentations and many more events. The main focus of the events is to bring the teachings to the great monk in front of the youth and inspire them to follow his path in life.
The various branches of Ramakrishna Mission also organize a plethora of activities for the youth to showcase their talents in the field of education, art, culture and spiritual knowledge. The events aim to provide enlightenment and enrich the souls of the youth with purity and ideals. In Uttar Pradesh, the occasion is marked by the Mission Bhartiyam which is a grand celebration of two days. Youths belonging to every age and part of India take part in the festival to make the National Youth Day more special. The two days festival is also known as the Basti Yuvo Mahotsav and it has gained the support of corporate houses, government and nongovernment organizations too.
All the young people who are linked to the National Youth Day also conduct the National Youth Festival which occurs annually. It is gathering of the youth who participate in various cultural as well as spiritual activities to commemorate the birthday of great Swami Vivekananda. The young people also perform on various lectures, writings and teachings to Swamiji to ensure that it is always present in the hearts of the youth. Many schools and colleges organize special trip to Belur Math to raise the enthusiasm of the young kids and celebrate the day.