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.
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.
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