Speaking at the ceremony, His Eminence described jashn-e taklif as the celebration of entering into divine kindness and attention and the capability to receive the divine mission, to achieve happiness and bliss. He added: “Humans experience various events at different stages of their life. The requirement for facing these events in a courageous way and for achieving worldly honor and divine dignity is strengthening spirituality.”
Pointing to the significance of “the moment of taklif”, His Eminence stated that individuals should appreciate the value of reaching the age of spiritual maturity. He reiterated: “The secret to individual and social progress is preserving one’s relationship with God. Today, the fatal flaw of the deteriorating and declining western civilization is that it has cut off its relationship with God.”
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the best way to establish a relationship with God is saying daily prayers and reading the Holy Quran: “Attention to the fact that we are addressing Allah the Omnipotent and the Exalted during daily prayers will increase our reliance on Him, our courage and our self-confidence. Therefore, you should say daily prayers on time and by paying careful attention and you should establish a close relationship with the Holy Quran and its enlightening and instructive messages.”
Referring to the effort of the enemy to infiltrate the country in economic, political and cultural areas, His Eminence mentioned that one of the goals of the enemy is to infiltrate teenagers and youth, adding: “Our dear teenagers - who are the children of the people of Iran in the present time and who will be the men and managers of the country in the future – they should play an efficient role in immunizing the country against this plot of the enemy with their active and enthusiastic presence in various gatherings.”
Being equipped with knowledge and studying, and achieving physical, mental and spiritual health were other words of advice that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution offered to teenagers.
Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that physical health should be achieved through sports and a good diet and that spiritual health should be achieved by paying attention to God and to daily prayers, by praying, by relying on God and by remembering martyrs. He added: “And mental health should be provided by reading books – particularly those instructive books that are written by good thinkers and writers.”
His Eminence stressed the necessity of acquiring knowledge and edifying oneself as requirements for building a better future, saying: “My dear ones, the future of our country belongs to you and you will be the managers of this country and its history. Therefore, you should prepare yourselves for that day by benefiting from opportunities.”
Advising teenagers to choose martyrs as their role models, he reiterated: “During their youth and teenage years, our dear martyrs sacrificed their most valuable asset – which is their life – in the way of God, on the path of defending national independence and the interests of the country and with the purpose of eliminating the enemies’ malevolence. Studying the sweet and attractive books about the Sacred Defense Era will familiarize your minds with those sacrifices and courageous acts.”
At the end of his statements, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution advised teenagers to appreciate the value of their parents, to respect them and to reciprocate their kindness.
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