Many young Indians, especially from the IT field, immigrate to the US and other countries in search of jobs and to build a bright future. But a few young Indians leave their high-profile jobs in multinational companies abroad and return to India to take up something creative and fulfilling.
One among them is Robin Keshaw, a Computer Science and Economics graduate. He was working with a California-based virtualization giant as a software engineer. After spending two years, he quit his job to join Teach For India movement.
Now Robin teaches in a government-run primary school in Azadpur Sabzi Mandi, Delhi, one of Asia's largest open markets, for a meagre income. His students are migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, neighboring states, who come from families of vegetable vendors.
Reasons for the Change
The many reasons for quitting a lucrative job in California were, in his own words, "The complacency of a corporate job, restricting oneself to the comfort zone, the urge to change himself and contribute to the change in the society, the mess of Indian education system, all of them were responsible for this decision." He further says, "Whenever he saw a poor, destitute kid on the road, it bothered him greatly. What if this kid was a math prodigy and could become Einstein, Ramanujan, or someone greater?” Or he says it could have been himself there if it was not for his family or for the education he received. The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced and became an educator, even though his family and friends discouraged him from leaving the lucrative job.
A Strong Desire to Go Beyond
Today's gospel is the story of a good young man who wanted to be better. He had kept all the commandments of the Jewish Law faithfully, but he had a sense that this was not enough. He felt called to something more, so he asked Jesus, "What more do I need to do?"
We might find ourselves being able to identify with this man. There are times in our lives when we, too, might experience in ourselves a strong desire to go beyond where we are, grow in our relationship with the Lord, and be more generous in His work. In one shape or form, we ask ourselves this man's question, "What more do I need to do?"
One of the saddest verses in the gospels comes at the end of our reading, "when the young man heard these words, he went away sad." A sad ending to a promising story of discipleship.
Yield to the Lord's Purpose
Would we dare ask the Lord the young man's question? The Lord has a purpose for our lives which will always take us beyond where we are in some sense. We find happiness in yielding to the Lord's purpose for our lives. If we do so, we can be assured that He will give us all the grace and strength we need for the journey. We pray with Saint Pope Pius X to restore all things in Christ.
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