A week after Baba returned from his three-week tour, on 7 August 1942, Allied forces, composed mostly of American marines, landed on Guadalcanal in the Pacific, initiating the Allies' first major offensive against the Japanese Empire.
Baba dictated (on 3 August 1942) the following message, which was published in the September issue of an Indian magazine for youth, Comrade :
“”It is the privilege of youths to be full of energy and hope. Not being caught up in any grooves, their dreams about the future have the advantage of being inspired by an unfettered imagination. In the glow of a newborn love, or in the warmth of newly caught enthusiasm, they are quick to respond to the call for action and self-sacrifice. Life would be poorer without these qualities, which are predominantly present in youths. But if the youths are to derive the full benefit of the qualities with which they are abundantly endowed, they must also try to acquire some other qualities which are rare in young people.
Hope should be fortified by a courage that can accept failure with equanimity; enthusiasm should be harnessed by the wisdom that knows how to wait for the fruit of action with patience. Idealistic dreams about the future should be counterbalanced by a sense of the realities of the present. The glow of love should allow itself to be illumined by a free and unhampered play of reason.
It is easy for youths to be so [intent on] realizing the ideal, that they become bitter against the present and past; but it is as well to cultivate the spirit of idealizing the real and being appreciative of the heritage of the past. The world, as it is, may not seem to follow the pattern youths adore, but they must never forget that it is always good enough to merit their most loving attention. In their desire to improve the world, let them not surrender their right to be happy by becoming bitter.
Youths love freedom and, as such, they have a natural impulse to rebel against all authority and bondage. All this is well and good. But let them make a real effort to keep free from the many illusions to which young people are particularly susceptible. True self-expression does not necessarily imply irreverence for others; true criticism does not necessarily imply hostility or separateness. Freedom without responsibility is a doubtful boon. Freedom is worth having only where there is self-restraint and willingness to cooperate with others.
