Akram Youth English Edition - August 2017

Knowingly or unknowingly, every living being is always in search of happiness.All
our efforts throughout our life are towards achieving this single goal: to
be happy. There is nothing wrong in that. But how many of us are really
happy? Are we moving in the right direction in our pursuit of finding happiness?
These days, we see many young boys indulging in smoking or chewing tobacco or
drinking, some just for fun and many to relieve so-called stress, unmindful of the
consequences he or she will have to face in future. These youngsters initially do not
realise that it will be very difficult to return from the path they are taking. The irony is
no one realises or listens to anyone before he becomes an addict. By the time they
realise this truth, it is too late. The most important consequences of addiction are
social, emotional and even financial losses. The very things which he thought will
give him happiness become the sole reason for his misery and slavery. Freedom, we
all know the meaning of this word. Rather, we all want it in our life. We consider
freedom to be one of the most essential attributes of happiness. But we feel pity
when some of our friends try to find happiness by trading their freedom. How one
can be happy being a slave? It is slavery of a different kind.
Friends, we should have sympathy towards them. This month's Akram Youth is
dedicated to those of our friends who are fooled by the myth that smoking,
consuming tobacco and alcohol, playing mobile games or any such means give
happiness. It rather ruins our and our loved one's lives. In the following pages, we
will not only discuss the social evil of addiction in detail but will also get Dadashree's
right understanding to break free from the shackles of slavery called addiction and
once again enjoy freedom and happiness. - Dimple Mehta