The Teenager Today has been more than just a publication over the last 61 years. It has been, like the flamingo in the story, a beacon of inspiration and knowledge for countless teenagers and young adults all over the world fostering personal growth and helping in personality development. But, the magazine has faced lately insurmountable challenges, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite our best efforts to increase the subscriptions, the financial losses incurred have been unredeemable.

Therefore, it is with profound sorrow that we have to take this hard and painful decision of the closure of The Teenager Today with the current September issue. This decision was taken after various discussions, negotiations and long deliberations. We are aware of the impact that The Teenager Today has had on its readers at large over these long years across generations. We deeply regret for any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause you, our dedicated team, and our loyal patrons.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who have been contributing to The Teenager Today over the years. The unwavering dedication and loyalty from our talented writers and editors to our passionate readers and supporters have been the driving force behind the magazine’s success these past 61 years.

While the print edition of The Teenager Today may come to an end, we remain committed to our mission of empowering and inspiring young minds especially through its sister publication Inspirational Quote. We are exploring alternative ways to continue delivering value based content and resources to teenagers and young adults, albeit through different platforms or formats.

Once again, please accept our heartfelt apologies for any pain or disappointment caused by this hard decision. We are immensely grateful for your understanding and support during these challenging times. Thank you for being part of The Teenager Today family over the years.

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A young man on his way to the city met an old man and asked him, “How far is it to the city? Can I get there before sunset?” The old man replied, “If you walk slowly, you will reach by evening.” The young man was surprised at the answer and thought to himself, Usually everyone would say, ‘hurry up’. Thinking that the old man was making fun of him, he hurried on his way to the city. After a while, he slipped and fell. Forgetting the pain of his bruises, he started limping and saw another traveller struggling to walk. They spoke to each other. The new traveller said, “This was my situation yesterday. Neither of us understood what the old man had said. The road is humpy-bumpy and slippery. Maybe he meant that one should walk slowly, carefully, but with determination.”

On your journey towards your goals, the path with its ups and downs, twists and turns, may not be smooth and clear to you. But what is important is to take every step with care and determination. Martin Luther King Jr said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Every step you take on your journey provides an opportunity to learn and grow. Embrace the lessons you learn with each success and failure, and be willing to adapt your strategies accordingly as you progress. Albert Einstein has wisely said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

India’s recent T-20 World Cup victory against South Africa, featured as the cover story in this issue of TTT, conveys a strong message to us: success is not an accident or a stroke of luck; it is the result of taking the right steps with determination, strict discipline, hard work, perseverance, and teamwork. Each one of the players had begun with small steps from their humble backgrounds and reached the peak of success by recognizing, nurturing, and persevering with their unique talents. It teaches us that those who stand in the limelight today have often endured hard times to get there.

Success may not be visible in the beginning, but it is the courage that will help you to continue that matters. Take one step after another that will launch you on the path to success. It is about pushing forward, no matter how many times you fall. When the going gets tough, the tough ones keep going. Bruce Lee has wisely noted, “I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.” This illustrates the power of discipline and focus in mastering any skill.

Besides the T-20 World Cup success, we have also featured the daring stories of people like Akansha Jagga (a 16-year-old student from Delhi), IPS officer N. Ambika, and Ritesh Agarwal (Founder of OYO) to inspire and motivate you!

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A beggar was living on a city footpath for many years. As a stranger passed by, the beggar asked him, “Sir, will you spare some coins for me?” The stranger replied, “I don’t have any change with me. But what is that box on which you are sitting?” “I don’t know. It has been there for so many years.” But the stranger encouraged him to open it, and with some difficulty, they together opened it and were quite taken aback. It was full of gold!

As you have begun the new academic year, it is worth considering the above story taken from the famous book The Power of Now by the British author Eckhart Tolle. In the book, Eckhart exhorts us to be aware, awake, and fully present in the moment we live. The present moment is all we will ever have, so live in the here and now. Yet, people spend a lot of time thinking and planning their future. If you take a break and listen to your mind for 10 minutes, you will notice that your mind repeatedly speaks about the same things.

Your present moment is putting foundation to your future. Unlike animals, human beings are gifted with a higher level of consciousness which is fashioning your life. What you repeatedly think today will be unfolded in your life in the coming days. A rich man’s son thinks in the present moment that he will be rich like his father. A poor man’s son thinks that he will not be able to become like that rich man.

The greatest treasure that everyone owns is one’s consciousness of NOW, by which one can alter one’s destiny. You and your mind are not one but distinct and independent. Your identity is separate from your mind, thoughts, and perceptions. If you watch your mind silently, with eyes closed, you will observe how it loves to escape either to the past regrets or future worries. So, it is challenging to become conscious of the present moment and to observe our thoughts without judgement.

Therefore, silently watch your thoughts. This way, you can have mastery over your thoughts, retaining those that help your happiness, and rejecting what is harmful. You are helpless regarding your past or future, but you can handle the present moment now when you can deliberately insert a great idea or delete negative ones. So, fill your present moment with those thoughts which you wish your mind to dwell in. All the things that you see around were built, discovered or invented by creating the mental images at their present moment and pursuing them moment after moment.

In this issue, we happily present the great story of Kaavya Karthikeyan, who conquered Mt Everest in her mind years before she actually reached there on 20th May 2024. The story of Elon Musk too is the same. So remember, you are sitting on the treasure box of NOW! The same is possible for you in every aspect of your life. Give it a try!

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A man owned a large comb production business. As he approached old age, he wanted the smartest of his three sons to take over the business. So one day, he summoned his three sons and gave each one a thousand combs, instructing them to sell them at the Buddhist ashrams which he suggested. Upon arriving at their respective ashrams, they were surprised to find that all the inmates of the Ashrams had shaved heads.

Despite the unexpected challenge, they endeavoured to sell the combs, and returned on a specified day to report their progress to their father. The eldest son stated, “I managed to sell ten combs.” When asked how, he replied, “I appealed to the monks’ kindness, asking for assistance in winning the competition.” The second son said, “I sold twenty combs by highlighting their usefulness for scratching their back.” Finally, the third son said he sold all one thousand combs. When questioned about his success, he explained, “I carved the profound sayings of Lord Buddha onto the combs and offered them to visitors, encouraging them to contemplate these words while combing.”

Often, people limit the utility of an object to its original intent. However, with one’s imagination and creativity, one can transcend such constraints and discover the optimal use for everything life offers. The challenge lies in recognizing opportunities and taking advantage of them instead of focusing on limitations. Today the world is frantically looking for smart people. Steve Jobs while recruiting people for his company had said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so that they can tell us what to do.”

As you embark on this new academic year, one must not forget that like those combs, each student is blessed with numerous gifts — time, talents, teachers, text-books, opportunities and friendships — and is called to optimize one’s potential. In their educational journey, students are not mere recipients of knowledge but are the architects of their future. While parents and teachers offer support, each student is expected to craft their path, utilizing all one’s available resources for a bright future. Schools serve as fertile grounds where students can seize opportunities to discover and sow seeds of their potential, and nurture talents. Every student needs to understand the significance of maximizing time, talents, guidance from teachers, and friendships.

Entering this new school year, The Teenager Today has articles this month to guide you in choosing friends wisely, navigating social media, maintaining a healthy diet, and inspiring you with stories of individuals like Gukesh Dommaraju and Kailash Satyarthi.

The Teenager Today wishes you all a successful academic year!

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A man was suffering terribly and was in the agony of death. The physicians could not find a cure. A spiritual Guru who passed that way, after studying the case, said, “If you apply the “soil from heaven” on his forehead, he will be cured.” Everyone was confused as to how to get the soil from heaven. But one boy came forward and told them that he could bring the soil from heaven, and he ran. After a while he came back and handed over the soil to the Guru. The Guru kneaded it with water and applied it to the sick man’s forehead, and he was cured. The surprised crowd asked the boy, “From where did you get that soil of heaven?” He said: “I have learned that one’s father and mother are heaven on earth for him/her. So I brought the soil on which my parents’ feet rested.”

The feet of our parents and those who nourish us with food, knowledge and wisdom are great blessings of our life. In our culture, we consider them as our gods in visible form. There is great benefit and value in following the guidance our elders give us. In our culture, we have the beautiful custom of touching the feet of our parents, teachers and elders, seeking their blessing. The feet of our parents will have many stories to speak as they have trodden many steps of joys and sorrows, successes and failures, and sacrifices for our sake. Therefore, their feet are truly hallowed, and the soil where they stand is holy ground. As parents are synonymous with care and nourishment, the place they live in is heaven for their children. In some tribal traditions, they worship their parents as their gods after their death.

The month of May is considered in some traditions as month dedicated to mothers. As they have suffered and sacrificed so much to make for us a little heaven, it is our duty to give back to mothers a little heaven by making them feel cared for and contented in their life. There is the story of a paralyzed mother getting up and running to save her child who was about to be run over by a truck. Our parents forget their personal pains and limitations in order to save us, take care of us and keep us safe. So it is only fair that we overlook their shortcomings as they have overlooked ours while we were growing up.

Honouring our parents and teachers is a sacred duty and great virtue as well as an example you present to a society where such values are disappearing. They would scale any mountain, swim across any river, and walk through any desert to help us reach peaks of success and happiness. Today, we stand on the ground they have prepared, which is therefore sacred and the soil under their feet is heaven!

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On seeing an apple fall from a tree, Sir Isaac Newton asked himself, “Why does the apple fall down and not go up?” This doubt led him to further inquiry ultimately resulting in the discovery of the Law of Gravitation. Throughout history, people have asked and continue to ask, “How was this earth made? How can we travel more quickly? How can we communicate with and see a person far away? How can we alleviate or eliminate pain and diseases?” etc. These and millions of other questions have paved the way for countless discoveries and inventions in the biological, technical, and mental realms for the welfare of humanity.

As children, we have naturally raised questions about the world around us. However, as we age, this habit of asking questions often diminishes. Rediscovering the art of asking the right questions is crucial to unlocking the doors to wisdom, fulfilment, health, love, and spiritual enlightenment. Questions serve as keys that open vistas of possibilities and encourage deeper investigations. This process of inquiry stimulates the mind, encouraging individuals to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information.

Open-ended inquiries about the origin of the universe or the future of humankind, etc., invite further explorations. Reflective questions turn our focus inwards, prompting consideration of our experiences, beliefs, and feelings. Probing questions lead us onto paths of discoveries and insights, commonly used in educational and personal growth contexts. Potent questions heighten awareness, opening doors to new dimensions of thought and feeling. This transformative process contributes to personal growth and emotional healing. Framing pertinent questions effectively becomes a mental tool for dynamic pathways to transformation and insight.

Visualization can enhance the impact of questions and answers. Spending a few minutes visualizing the answers to your queries engages your imagination and unlocks your mind’s insights. Questions regarding academic success, health improvement, love, self-connection, social relationships or skill enhancement can help guide your personal journey.

Some of the questions that may be of great help to you are: Why am I failing in my exams? How can I study better and be more successful? How can I enjoy better health and well-being? In the area of relationships, how can I connect with my deeper self? How can I improve my social relationships? How can I be an effective speaker? There could be many more questions in the technical, biological, medical, and astronomical fields depending on your interests and inner voice.

Maintaining a diary or journal to record your questions and their answers and revisiting them regularly will help you cultivate a habit of introspection leading you to the right track for personal growth and fulfilment. Thus we see that the habit of asking questions opens the gateway to an abundant and fulfilled life and that questions play a pivotal role in shaping our present and the future. Therefore embrace the power of questions, and you’ll find yourself on a journey of continuous discovery and fulfilment.

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In a certain forest, two trees were very much upset because the lions deposited the remains of the animal carcass among the trees spreading foul odour in the whole forest. Frustrated by the situation, the trees resolved to get rid of the lions somehow. Though an elderly tree cautioned them of the possible risks, the two trees were adamant in their decision to chase away the lions from the forest.

On the following day, swaying in unison with the wind, the trees made terrific noise and created a frightening atmosphere. The lions, thinking that something terrible was about to happen, ran away from that forest. Soon the news spread in the villages around that there were no more lions in that forest, and so people came armed with sows and axes, entered the forest, and started chopping down the trees starting with those two disturbed trees. Then they realized their folly and the wisdom of the elderly tree.

As we commemorate in this month of March, World Wildlife Day (3), World Forest Day (21), and World Water Day (22), we need to recognize the harmonious balance between trees, animals, water and humans as the essence of a healthy ecosystem. Trees, often referred to as the lungs of the Earth, provide oxygen and mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Animals too, both on land and in water, contribute to biodiversity, helping to maintain ecological balance. Water, the source of life, is indispensable for all living organisms. However, thoughtless human activities such as deforestation, pollution, and over-extraction of water resources jeopardize this delicate equilibrium.

Preserving biodiversity is vital for the survival of various species of flora and fauna and the overall health of the planet. Conservation efforts, reforestation initiatives and sustainable water management practices are of paramount importance to restore and maintain harmony among trees, animals, and water. Wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas play a pivotal role in safeguarding the endangered species and preserving their habitats.

We celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, globally acknowledging and appreciating women’s achievements and advocating gender equality in every field. Recognizing the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues, it is imperative to address the man-woman ratio in the context of preserving nature. Women, often disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, can play a crucial role in sustainable development and conservation.

As stewards of our planet, we must recognize and support the interconnectedness of plants, animals, the Earth, and human relationships. Supporting and maintaining the balance in nature is not just our responsibility; but it is our collective obligation that transcends boundaries.

Most of you are busy this month with your annual examinations. The Teenager Today wishes all of you a stress-free preparation, successful and cool execution and glorious results!

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You may extend this celebration by connecting with people who have no friends or those who are less fortunate and unable to celebrate such events. You have many possibilities to make this day special for them as well as for yourself. Creating personalized gifts for them will make them feel special. You can plan events like indoor games, outings or a movie, allowing your limitless minds to generate greater ideas to make this day unforgettable for them. You can do this because you are endowed with limitless possibilities to do things that will bring greater fulfillment and happiness into one’s lives. What hinders us from taking such courageous steps is the fear of venturing into the unknown.

Consider the story of an eaglet raised among ordinary chickens. As it grew, it observed the vast, limitless sky and marvelled at birds, particularly eagles, flying freely. Despite being made to believe its life was confined to the chicken farm, limited to eating worms and grains, one day it could not resist the temptation. It stretched out its large wings, attempting to fly with the conviction, “I can do it.” Soon, it found itself soaring and floating in the vast, boundless blue sky. The American author Napoleon Hill has often emphasized, “What your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.”

As February advances, you will start thinking of your final exams in school academics. Perhaps due to your past experiences, you are led to believe certain false notions like, you are unable to score high marks, cannot remember well, speak confidently in public or write an article for a magazine. These limiting thoughts and convictions may have restricted your possibilities. As the exams draw near, you need to embrace the belief in your limitless power. Maybe you can do it by repeating to yourself, “Yes, I can do it; yes, I can achieve my goals and score high marks.” With these beliefs and convictions, put forth your best efforts to attain success.

In this issue of The Teenager Today, we have featured stories of people like the Tree Girl, the Ocean Saviour, the Red Light Girl Saviour, and the Chandrayaan Man, to inspire you to adopt a mindset of limitless possibilities.

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In the fast-paced world we inhabit, it is easy to forget the power of a simple act of wishing good things to happen in the lives of others. Imagine a world where we pause and imagine happiness and well-being for everyone in our thoughts and express these in words and actions. This good habit would uplift and transform us and those around us. We will experience immense happiness and boundless freedom flowing into our own life. So the art of blessing is reciprocal — a cycle of positive energy that returns to enrich our own existence.

Make it a habit in your life in the days to come. Start with a simple practice: consciously wish all the people you encounter in your daily life to have a happy and successful day. Be grateful to those who have shown you kindness and love. Similarly, wish good things for those who may not have treated you well in the past. Understand that everyone is on their journey, and your good feelings and wishes would serve as source of power and positive energy in them. You, too, will experience abundant inner peace and joy.

Expand this habit to those who accompany you in your daily life — wish maximum good for the driver, the commuters, and the conductors. Extend this towards those who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth functioning of our society — the policeman, the postman, the watchman, washerman, milkman, and the cleaners. Bless your school, college, hospital, your town, your governing bodies, and the business centres. Recognize the interconnectedness of all lives, and let your blessings create ripples of positive energy and goodness around you in this New Year!

As you step into the New Year, carry the awareness that you are a source of divine blessings. Let your thoughts, words, and feelings be imbued with the spirit of goodwill towards all creation. We have dedicated this issue of the TTT with articles to help you on this positive path that you can choose. Wish you all a year filled with abundant blessings and the transformative power of goodwill.

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The surprised reporter was curious, and he queried, “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours who are also in competition with you?” “Why, sir?” The farmer replied, “Don’t you know one of the important facts of life? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior varieties of corn, the cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my own corn as well. If I am to grow good corn, I must help also my neighbours grow good corn. This is the truth of life that I have learnt — in order to get the best out of life, I need to give my best to others.”

We live in a world of tough competition and at a time of endless grabbing and hoarding of material wealth, even of wars to protect one’s own goods and people. It is at this juncture that once again Christmas comes with its great message of caring, sharing, and gifting. At Christmas, we celebrate God’s greatest giving of His Son Jesus to the world — to save humans from their sins and to change them into persons of love, forgiveness, and selfless giving.

As we share with others, we do not become impoverished, but, instead, we become more enriched in our inner happiness through the happiness of others. In his famous prayer Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us, “It is in giving that we receive!” When we share the good things with others, the happiness and joyfulness of others become ours as well.

Nature around us is filled with amazing specimens of this caring and selfless giving. The sun, sky, trees, plants, rivers, oceans, and mountains endlessly give us good things, expecting only one thing — not to destroy them. Take for example, a tree — it provides us shade, flowers with honey for the bees, fruits for us and birds. Its roots hold the ground together protecting it from soil erosion. It purifies the air, and its branches are home to birds. Yet it expects nothing from its beneficiaries.

As we end the year 2023 giving thanks to God, nature, and everyone around us, we can all try to be not only beneficiaries but benefactors as well in the New Year!

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