Timely mending saves much spending
Thousands of children work as laborers, domestic servants, workers and in various areas. They are the breadwinners of their families. Even though they may yearn to study, can they? The answer is no. This is one side of the coin.
Now let us take the other side of the coin. Parents work hard to earn and send their children to school and college. What do these people do? Do they concentrate on their studies? They indulge in unnecessary strikes and riots, thereby causing inconvenience to both the public and themselves.
I would like to recall a true incident which happened a few years ago. A college student and some of his friends called for a strike and they started throwing stones at vehicles. At the same time his father suffered a massive heart attack. There was no one in the house except his mother. She went to call for transport to take her husband to the hospital. But all the drivers refused to work, saying a strike had been called by students. When the boy returned to his house he found his father dead. His mother told him that if his father had been taken to the hospital immediately he could have been saved, but transport could not be found because of some strike. In a way he was responsible for his father's death.
Involve yourself with your studies rather than participating in riots, which cause discomfort both to you and to others. Know for sure that without devotion to your studies and your teachers, without unflinching patience and perseverance, nothing can be achieved. Having been educated and nursed in luxury by your parents, is it not your duty to be faithful to them? If you never give them a thought, then you're a traitor. Help the poor and needy not by force but by kindness.
Cherish positive thoughts. Learn from the past, savor the present, and with confidence and hope build for the future. Time is the only coin of your life. It is the only coin you have. Only you can determine how well it can be used. Be careful, lest others spend it for you!
UMA RAMAKRISHNA
Jakarta