Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
Today we are living in a materialistic world where the standard of living has risen but at the same time the standard of life is waning unabatedly. The erosion of moral values in our society has become a very disturbing phenomenon and because of degrading moral values, society today is marked by violence, greed, theft, drug addiction and crime whereas moral values inspire, motivate and engage people to discharge obligations or duties. A valuable quote from Bhagavad Gita, “It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live and imitate somebody else’s life with perfection.” Moral values are normative systems that manage and regulate conduct in a society to promote peaceful and successful inter-subjectivity among persons who acknowledge one another as right-bearers. Moral values are a set of societal measuring standards that serve as guidelines for human behavior. The moral values refer to the ideals that guide our actions. Societies will not be able to thrive for long if these principles are not followed, that is to ensure fairness and harmony among individuals; to help us become better people to have a better community. With these moral codes, every offender will avoid performing the task of crime to some extent. It can be seen that the morality of a person will stop him from committing crimes to some extent and if every person makes some sort of moral code then their morality will surely stop them from committing a crime. This is a completely private practice in which the law has no role to play. Thus moral values are ambassadors in promoting a crime free society. Where moral values exist the society is crime free.
Moral values refer to a set of principles that guide an individual on how to evaluate right versus wrong. People generally apply moral values to just decisions, intentions and actions, but it also applies to define the personal character of a person. Moral values are something that teaches us good virtues like honesty, truthfulness, kindness, integrity, helpfulness, compassion, respectful, love, respect for others, hard work, co-operation, and forgiveness etc. The one who is noble in his deeds will always be followed and sets an example for the society. All men are not of the same nature because of the preponderance of the different traits in them. The moral degradation in our society has reached such a level that calls for concern. The degradation of moral values in our society today has become a phenomenon. There are many factors due to which the decline in moral values has been seen now-a-days. Future of a nation rests on the shoulders of youths. Youths are considered the driving force and power engine to the nation. At present there is a diminishing trend of moral values among our new generations. But nowadays youth are adversely diverted towards different immoral activities, therefore, it’s everyone’s duty to find out the solution of these crucial problems which depends on the hands of the young generations. When we refer to India as the Country of Youths, we notice Youth in India is getting increasingly inclined towards violence, social evils and lack of respect towards elders and teachers which can break down social harmony as well as national integration. We can think of this changing behavior in our youth affecting this degradation could be, influence of nuclear families and materialistic way of life, breakdown of parental control of children in the families, influence of peer groups, gender bias, attraction of change or modernization, influence of mass media, lacking of learning positive atmosphere at school, lacking of co-curricular activities based on moral values, dirty politics, desire of self-exhibition, lack of academic syllabus related to human values, blind following of western culture and many more. Over influence of mass media, print media, internet, T.V, websites, cinemas, plays an important role in having and shaping the personalities of the youth. Nowadays, we can observe these days that youths have lost their morality completely and the most contributing factor towards this declining morality is youth’s inclination towards mobile phones and internet. Mobile/Internet addiction has grown among the youths of today. Many of them are not only neutralizing violence but often glorify it. There is so much violence and unwanted scenes in all these entertainment avenues and if a majority of the youth watches these, the impact of the same on the next generation cannot be positive. Influence of nuclear family and materialistic way of life is also another diminishing factor of moral values among the youths. Unhappy life, influence of entertainment means, undesirable films, obscene novels, heroism, desire to get rich soon etc. hasten moral degradation among youths. Our education system fails to impart moral and ethical values among the youths. Considering these factors and brainstorming against fighting these affecting factors is the earnest duty of every responsible citizen of the society. Here in Hinduism the Bhagavad Gita comes to our rescue as how to build character and guide us to be merciful, obedient, truthful, equitable, saintly, magnanimous, mild-mannered, clean, simple, charitable and peaceful. In Sikhism the Sikh Gurus taught Sat (truth), Daya (compassion), Santokh (contentment), Nimrata (humility), and Pyaar (love) as fundamental moral values and qualities and directed them to follow them. Likewise many virtues/good character traits/moral qualities such as kindness, charity, forgiveness, honesty, patience, justice, respecting parents and elders, keeping promises, and controlling one’s anger, are commanded or encouraged in the Islam. Moral orientation of youths needs to be strengthened to build up a moral and harmonious society. Youths can be the agents of social change by accepting to live by moral codes and conduct.
