Wisdom Across Generations

If you walk through life without facing any obstacles, Swami Vivekananda said, it means you are walking on the wrong path.

Even when we walk the path of righteousness with love as our companion, even when our actions arise from compassion and humanity, unexpected resistance will come from every direction.

But does that mean we should abandon the path of love?  

Should we forget the basic duty of being human?

Jesus, who preached love, received a cross.  

The Prophet, who taught wisdom, received stones.  

Gandhi, who stood for non‑violence, received a bullet.

But do these sufferings make the path they taught meaningless?

No.  

In fact, opposition and criticism only strengthen a person’s bond with the path they have chosen.

Yet that path must be a straight and noble one not a path that harms others for selfish gain, but one rooted in humanity.

Here I want to share a truth I learned in my own life.

When people hurt us, what they throw at us are not stones  they are the confusions and fears hidden within themselves.

We do not have to carry those confusions.  

Instead, we can take the stones they throw and build a fortress of strength within our own minds.

That is the power of experience.

In my 69‑year journey, many have wounded my heart. But I have always believed that their actions were the result of not truly knowing themselves. 

So I forgave them then and there.

But the scars they left the lessons they taught  those I never forget.

They were the teachers who revealed to me the true meaning of life.

At the same time, those experiences taught me another lesson:

Hating those who hurt us only wounds our own heart.  

Trying to understand them expands our inner world.  

Understanding is the first step to forgiveness, and forgiveness is the first step to peace.

When I first heard the saying, “One may live a hundred years without living even a single minute,” I was confused.

But later, through experience, the meaning settled naturally within me.

What is “life”?  

It is to live with awareness, to feel deeply, to experience fully.

But because we have no time to feel anything, we end up living a hundred years without truly living even a single minute. 

That is what the saying meant  a truth I understood only after many years.

Similarly, we spend years without truly seeing the people around us.  

Only when we learn to understand the pain behind someone’s smile does life gain depth.

To feel emotions deeply  that is the real wealth of life.

This truth is beautifully expressed in a song 

“The question is not how long a man lived, but how he lived. If you know that, there is no failure in life.”

In English, the present moment is called the “present,” and the same word also means “a gift.”

So isn’t it clear that the greatest gift given to each of us is our present moment?

What is the use of speaking about past glories or future dreams if we do not savour the present?

Life is like a painting.  

Each day is a new colour.  

If we fail to use that colour, the canvas remains empty.  

But if we begin to blend the colours with our own hands, the painting of our life comes alive before our eyes.

The present moment is that colour.

To the growing generation:

If you learn to use your present moment wisely, to live with awareness, to live truthfully, to give every second a heartbeat, your life will always be a successful one.

My dear young generation:

Temporary obstacles are not barriers to your progress.  

When a thorn pricks your foot, you remove it and continue walking, don’t you?

This is no different.  

But remember  do not place your foot again on the same thorn.  

Walk with the support of experience, and success will follow you.

And when obstacles appear, do not stop.  

If one door closes, another will open.  

But only those with patience can see the open door.

Patience is the key that unlocks the door to success.

You can do it.

With love,  

Sakthi Sakthithasan