The Attitude II

Continuing from where I left last time, the other important attitude is the sense of belongingness- belonging to a society, nation and humanity as a whole. This feeling is very important because we need to understand that life is a journey from "I to We". We may have a grand vision, have humility but if we fail to take out team with us then failure is guaranteed. Form the stand point of our Constitution, India is a democratic nation where the views of each individuals is respected. Now the point to note is that as a Civil Servant one would be working in teams ( an IAS collector would have his team with him ) and what determines the success of this IAS officer is whether he has been able to communicate his vision to his team make them realize as to how important it is for the society. Unless a person is inspired he cannot make any contribution. This field of service is not a one man show- but a team game. To have a team to back you, in the short run you may use discipline by force which only backfires. On the other hand you should be able to instill confidence in your people so that they become disciplined from the source. This is not spoken about generally but a lasting truth.

The other important aspect is actually mentioned above: communication. As an IAS officer either in the District or in the Secretariat or in the Head Quarters, communication is inevitable. And unless communication becomes effective, no matter what lofty vision you have, you would not be successful. The truth is that you cannot teach people anything: you can only put forth your view and make the other person see for himself as to how your view is right. Be it with the rural citizens of the nation or with businesses, or with elected representatives, you need to develop the art of communication so as to make your point effectively.

So what is your action plan to develop this attitude? firstly ponder deeply over the fact that the individual in you is sustained and brought up by the society in various forms and means. So it is but natural to look at the society as your source and strength. If such is the case then you need to know that for the success of all the welfare of society is of paramount importance which should be in harmony with creation and the creator. From your preparation, ask yourself this question: does my understanding of this enable me to equip myself with knowledge based on which i can contribute to the society?

With regards to communication, you need to be a good listener and an objective observer first. listening is not the opposite of speaking but the foundation on which speaking occurs. Likewise observation is not the opposite of doing but the bedrock on which action takes place. Develop the habit of listening to the other person, observing situations and events in life objectively and you would grow in wisdom and develop a sense of balance in your view which is critical to determine your success in the exam and in life. As a matter of practice, develop the habit of writing down any event that happened in your day to day life, and also write doen how you interpreted them- you can do the same for any event of national or international importance and do the same with which you could develop the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.

The reason why i put these as a part of attitude is because this should be your normal course of action and perception when you look at things relevant for the exam and for your life as an IAS officer.

The Attitude -1

Abraham Lincoln said, " If I had eight hours to chop a tree I would spend six hours sharpening my axe". Well this saying is so pregnant with insights so profound. The career in civil Services is really challenging and unless you adopt the right attitude, you as a civil servant would be of no use to the nation. This is a fact beyond any doubt. And this blog shall deal solely on what attitude is required by an civil service aspirant so that he is not merely successful in clearing the examination but successful in his career and of worthy use to the hallowed nation- Bharath.

When we were young we often used to hear this quote, "child is the father of man." This quote was really puzzling and utterly confusing and i vividly remember being scoffed by my teachers for asking question like,     " Ma am, if a child is the father of man, then my papa should call me papa, however he calls me beta. Why ma am? Very recently in one of my contemplative evenings i understood what this statement meant. It is a very powerful statement and in fact the whole of Psychology deals only with this concept. The thoughts, feelings and attitudes that we develop as a child later forms our personality as we grow up. Biologically an adult gives birth to a young one while psychologically a child leads to a development of an adult. If this is true with life in general in various context, it should be true in the preparation of Civil Services Examination and in the career as a civil servant thereafter.

This article would keep both these quotes as an edifice and shall elaborate on what is the right attitude that every civil service aspirant should possess not merely to clear the examination but to serve the nation with selflessness and a sense of sacrifice.

The candidates who successfully clear the civil services examination enter into the Indian Administrative SERVICE, Indian Police SERVICE, Indian Foreign SERVICE, Indian Revenue SERVICE... the reason why I have specifically made the word "service" in upper case is because that is the spirit of all the various posts- "service". It is a matter of great pity that candidates who opt for the civil services examination in their anxiety and competition lose sight of the fundamental reason as to why they study and prepare for the examination. What begins as an outcome of deep feeling to serve the nation gets diluted and focus shifts on the lucrative career, job security, prestige, power. In fact it is not to point fingers at any body but this is the sad state of affairs. We have able administrators, intellectual stalwarts, yet India has not progressed because we have lost our heart to the mind and the intellect forgetting completely that we are in the post of a civil services aspirant to serve the nation. Candidates who prepare for the Civil Services Examination needs to remind themselves again and again that they are writing this examination to serve the nation, to work for the nation, to lead by an example, to struggle for the development of the nation not to enjoy the perks and benefits. If India is not facing any crisis it is solely because of those Civil servants who embody in them the spirit of service.

Civil servants need to command respect in their absence. For this the aspirant who prepare for the Civil Services examination should study, work hard not for tickling is intellect and making his head loaded with information  but should study for the sake of understanding the society better and help as an administrator in whatever positive way he can. It is high time for aspirants to shift their focus from 350/600 in Public Admininstration... to really study Public Administration for the sake of administration of the Government so that you can SERVE the nation.
SERVICE is not used by mistake in each of the categories here. So what does this mean for an aspirant. It means that every moment he should looks for opportunities to find out how he can contribute to the cause of the development of the nation. Precisely if you observe the questions that come in the Mains examination today, UPSC has started to show greater inclination in asking questions that require analytical ability and not mere reproduction of facts. If the focus of the aspirant is set on SERVICE he would be able to answer the questions really succinctly with real clarity of thought and a sense of meaning which would put him always on a higher pedestal in the eyes of the UPSC today and in the eyes of the citizens tomorrow. Unfortunately our current education system in India does not provide enough opportunities to develop- An area where I would contribute directly in the capacity of an IAS officer and where I am also contributing to make a difference by my Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini Fellowship program.   

The very first one is having the right vision- this is very simple but a common area where we face lot of moral dilemma and face pressure in making righteous decisions. The fact is simple: an individual is a limb of the society which is in turn is a limb of creation and eventually the creation a limb of the creator. By having a right vision means to know with full conviction that there should be harmony among all the limbs to ensure global peace and harmony. In the context of examination and in life we need to understand that both the individual and the society should realize that they are part of the organic whole and not act in opposite directions. If this is understood clearly, be it is District Administration or in policy Formulation, the decisions would be based on righteousness.

The next thing is humility. By humility i mean being open and having a scientific temper to things. well this is of utmost importance here as the IAS officer would constantly encounter conflicting views each seeming right. In such a case to make a conscious decision there should be a balanced opinion based decision making. this is possible only when there is humility and not head highness where the IAS officer feels that his view alone holds. Such an attitude would spell disaster. How this is useful for a Civil Service aspirant is proves even before he is called for an interview in questions that are of the type: "critically evaluate." In general too the questions are generally asked to see if the candidate becomes a party to his emotions instead of having an objective approach in solving decision making problems. The beauty of humility is that you make everything your teacher. When you are open minded and have an ability to observe and learn from everything you become a pro in many activities though not related to each other on a direct basis. The frequent transfers, joining various departments require quick learning and understanding which would require an IAS officer to learn from his sub ordinates and also from younger officers. In such a situation there should be humility to learn and bereft humility you can never learn-you stagnate and stink to death.

At this point in time there are some more important thoughts that come to my mind. however i will pause here and write it down as the second part.

The Journey and not Just The Destination

After a long time, I am posting a new one.

Well, what I am going to type is a natural outcome of what I spoke to students of class XII of Sri Sathya Sai Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Thiruvottiyur, Chennai where I am pursuing my Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini Fellowship program. I told the students the importance of closely observing what you think, talk and do every moment of your life which they need to objectively assess whether it takes them towards their goal. The key to success in life lies in having a well orchestrated series of activities that fall in line in facilitating one to achieve his or her goal.

As mentioned in my first post itself I have a goal of being an IAS officer. I could not even qualify the Prelims in the year 2012. this setback has made me only more positive to face the exam next year and give the best to the exam by which I can realize my goal.

As you ponder over the title of this post you would stumble up on the fact that every bit of your journey is important to reach the destination. In fact the whole of your journey is as important as it decides whether you reach your destination.

I believe in one thing personally. whatever experience i have gathered till now would be of paramount use to someone who does not have that much experience itself. This only means that at any point in time each one of us can serve others who do not have even what we are blessed with. this is brought out beautifully in Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini in which I am a privileged Fellowship member. I strictly followed this thought of helping others all the time with whatever has been conferred up on you during my University days in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning where I used to teach my classmates, juniors who were having some trouble in thier academics. With this practice I realized that I not only help them score better marks, but also improve my conceptual depth and clarity of the subject that I taught them- be it Applied Statistics, Finance, Calculus, Real Analysis, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra or Macro Economics.

I shall hence forth express my views and on actions regarding what I do all through this year to gear up for the Civil Services Examination in 2013. in subsequent blogs, I shall elaborate on:

• The attitude the aspirants need to adopt to prepare for this challenging career  
• The spirit of the Civil Services
• The role of a civil servant in the development of the nation
• Learning about learning
• Importance of all round well being
• Role of Hobbies
• The importance of daily routine and discipline- Purity, Perseverance and Patience
• The way I chose my optional subjects for my mains
• The role of practice tests and mock exams
• The civil servants' perspective of looking at the world in general in general  and society in particular  
• Work on your opportunities and achieve your goal.                     

At this point of time, let me thank all those friends of mine who gave me a wonderful opportunity to teach them.This valuable experience of mine during my university days leads me to an important point about the attitude that I as a Civil Service aspirant need to adopt during my preparation which would be my first post that I believe would be inspiring and insightful for readers of this post.


On 6th August 2012, I shall be completing my 22 years of existence on this glorious planet Earth and on this sacred land Bharath. From 6th August 2012, I shall begin posting on important topics mentioned above that would be relevant for Civil Services aspirants. On my 22nd Birthday i shall begin with this topic "The Attitude that aspirants keen to join the civil Services must possess."