Method makes a difference. This is undoubtedly true.

Many play cricket from the street to the cricket ground, but only those who play in a disciplined way seem to acquire real competence.

During an examination many fill up their answer books, but only those who write in a disciplined way have gold medals adorning their necks.

Many run businesses, but only those who conduct them in a disciplined way mint money.

Naturally, the garland of success is attained because of discipline. Defeat results from undisciplined work habits. To carve a stone into an attractive work of sculpture, to carve out an attractive form from a piece of wood, to make a pot from sand or make a rough diamond into a precious one requires appropriate method.

The world seems to be with the young, and many are interested in shaping their lives and making them admirable. However, the stumbling block is always the method they use. Even when thousands of persons have made innumerable attempts to shape the lives of the young, often the result has been dismal failure. Why?

One can try to polish a rough diamond, but it does not shine. Why?

One can tap on a pile of sand, but that doesn’t make it a pot. Why?

The reason is: The number of those who break stones has gone up, but the number of those who can sculpt has gone down. Woodcutters have become a huge majority, but those who can carve wood have become a minority. Diamond-polishers are increasing in number, but diamond-carvers are becoming fewer.

In our ancient India, we had Taxashila Vidyapith. Shila means ‘stone’, taxan means ‘to shape into form, to carve’. Wherever the young are shaped, wherever they develop, that place is Taxashila. Pramukh Swami Maharaj was a mobile Taxashila, shaping the lives of generations of young men and women. Understanding this method is bound to transform anyone worried about the young today – a sculptor from a mere stonebreaker.

Childhood in itself is naturally a helpless state of being; it is a stage without experience or thought. One can control it by bribe or threat. We can make a child walk around us just by showing the child a chocolate. But for the young in the liminal stage this trick is not useful.

The young have logic and intelligence. They are strong and competent. They know enough about the calculus of profit and loss. They also have become self-dependent.

Under such circumstances bribe, threat, advice are bound to seem dull weapons. In that context, order or threat does not by itself improve anyone; but if there is the warmth of a loving heart, that is bound to succeed.

This is the only art that can lead to success.

Questions are bound to arise here:

“Have the elders withheld their affection from the young so that they do not obey them?”

“Have the teachers not given their love to the students so that they refuse to respect them?”

“Is there a lack of care in the attitude of social workers and leaders so that the young show their utter disrespect for them?”

“Have the sadhus not given much love to the young so that they simply turn their noses up at them?”

Rather than saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in response to such questions, it is best to hold a mirror up to them, because one cannot argue against what the mirror shows. It shows things as they are.

The parents of a young man in New Jersey did a grand expensive ceremony for their son’s marriage in India. But then the son refused to invite his wife to the USA from India. The relatives endeavoured to persuade him, but to no avail. The parents were hardly in any shape to say anything.

At that time, Pramukh Swami Maharaj happened to plan in New Jersey the Cultural Festival of India. During this festival, the young man met Swamishri. His exposure to Swamishri’s boundless love began to impress the young man.

One evening when Swamishri asked him about his marriage, the young man responded without hesitation: “I am willing to do whatever you tell me. If I have your blessings, I will call her.”

A troubling problem was resolved within moments. We naturally ask this question: How did the love of the parents and elders fail to match with Swamishri’s love?

In 1988, SSC (tenth grade) examinations were taking place in India. On a particular day, students were taking their examination in mathematics. At one exam centre, students were simply copying answers from their books right in the presence of their supervisor. At that time a young man, Himanshu Poonambhai Patel, was trying to remember some details for an answer. The supervisor simply started advising the young man: ‘It is a matter for your future…Everybody is using their books…Why don’t you do that?’ But the young man refused to budge.

The young man simply said: “Pramukh Swami is my guru. His guru, Yogiji Maharaj, used to say that copying in an examination tantamounts to cheating God. I will not copy answers.”

Pramukh Swami Maharaj nourished moral values that neither laws nor specific provisions for punishments can provide. How did the love of teachers or social workers fall behind that of Pramukh Swami Maharaj?

No doubt, we have love for the young, but it is important to state again: “Method makes the difference.”

The method of Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s love is something special. In the following discussion we will drink, so to speak, the nectar of his other-worldly love.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

The essential point is that one can reach someone’s heart only on the bridge of caring.

Saying that “Caring is the barometer of love,” Erich Fromm says, “To love a person productively implies to care and feel responsible for his or her life not only for his physical existence but for the development of all his human powers.” Love means caring for a person in every possible way.

Martin Buber also held the same view. He says: “Love means being fully responsible for the person one loves.”

In Pramukh Swami Maharaj such love was natural, spontaneous, and ceaseless.

On 14 July 2007, a camp for the young was organized in Gainesville, Florida. More than 2,000 young men and women participated in it. During a programme at the camp, it was announced, “From the young men sitting here those whose names Swamishri himself had given in their infancy are requested to stand up or those young men whose children’s names Swamishri had given are requested to stand up.” Many got up.

After that another announcement was made, “Those whom Swamishri had given guidance through letters are requested to stand up.” Many got up.

Again, another announcement was made, ‘Those whom Swamishri had guided by phone are requested to stand up.’ Many got up.

This was followed by yet another announcement, “Those whom Swamishri had guided in matters of education are requested to stand up.” In response to this too, many got up.

As it happened, virtually every young man in the assembly hall had got up in response to one or another announcement.

This was Swamishri’s abiding love for the young. He always heard the young. It is because of such loving attentiveness the young today are stalwartly resisting temptations and overcoming obstacles.