Classical Indian traditions

The first principle

Indian moral traditions mostly ask not "what rule applies?" but "what kind of person acts well, and for whom?" They join inner discipline, such as freedom from craving, ego and anger, to outward duty, such as honest work, sharing and the protection of the weak. For an officer this gives a single lesson: a clean decision comes from a clean motive, and both are tested by what reaches the weakest person.

The core

• The Bhagavad Gita teaches nishkama karma, which is acting fully on one's duty without craving its fruit, and svadharma, which is doing one's own role well rather than another's. For an officer, it means doing the right thing whether or not it brings credit or a posting.
• The Buddha taught the middle way between indulgence and harsh self denial, the Eightfold Path, and karuna, or compassion, as the motive behind right action. He also taught that suffering has causes that can be found and removed, which is the logic of good policy.
• Mahavira taught ahimsa in thought, word and deed, anekantavada (the many sidedness of truth) and aparigraha (non possession), along with the three jewels of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.
• Thiruvalluvar and Kautilya wrote about rulers and officials directly. The Tirukkural sets the just sceptre, meaning fair rule, against the cruel one, and the Arthashastra treats the honesty of officials as something to be tested, watched and designed for.
• Guru Nanak, Basava and Kabir made ethics a matter of daily life rather than ritual: honest work, sharing what one earns, and the equal dignity of every person regardless of caste.

Dimensions

• Inner discipline: the Gita's steady mind and the Buddha's mindfulness help an officer stay calm under pressure, which is where emotional intelligence and ethics meet.
• Social ethics: Nanak's langar and Basava's Anubhava Mantapa, a hall for discussion open to people of every caste, were early institutions of equality.
• Statecraft: Kautilya and Thiruvalluvar give the classical Indian view that the ruler's good lies in the welfare of the people.

In practice

• Kautilya's administrative design: officials were tested before appointment through secret tests (upadha) that tempted them through appeals to piety, money, lust and fear, and the Arthashastra lists forty ways in which officials embezzle. It also compares detecting their theft to knowing when a fish swimming in water drinks it.
• Guru Nanak's three pillars: kirat karo (earn by honest work), vand chhako (share with others) and naam japna (keep the divine in mind). Applied to service, they mean honest income, a habit of giving, and humility in power.
• Kabir's couplets mock empty ritual and ask people to look for faults in themselves before others, which is a guard against the arrogance of office.
• Anekantavada in a public hearing: an officer settling a dispute over a dam or a land acquisition hears each side as holding part of the truth, which is what stakeholder consultation is meant to do.

Issues and way forward

• The traditions are quoted but not applied, because answers list teachings without a situation. Take one idea and use it on one case, such as aparigraha against accepting gifts.
• Some texts carry the hierarchy of their time, such as caste roles read into svadharma. Use the ethical core, duty done without selfish motive, and say plainly that birth based duty conflicts with Article 14.

Common confusions

• Nishkama karma and indifference. Nishkama karma means full effort without attachment to reward. It does not mean not caring about results.
• Anekantavada and relativism. Anekantavada says each view holds part of the truth and must be weighed. It does not say every view is equally right.
• Ahimsa and passivity. Ahimsa forbids causing harm. It does not forbid firm action to protect others from harm.

For the exam

• Keyword bank: nishkama karma, svadharma, lokasangraha, middle way, Eightfold Path, karuna, ahimsa, anekantavada, aparigraha, just sceptre, upadha tests, kirat karo, vand chhako, kayaka, dasoha.
• Previous year questions: Practise the previous year questions on this topic →
• Introduction lines:
  • The Arthashastra lists forty ways in which officials embezzle, which shows that ancient Indian statecraft treated probity as a problem of design.
  • The Gita asks a person to act on duty without craving its fruit, which is the ideal of a neutral civil servant.
• Conclusion lines:
  • From the Buddha's compassion to Nanak's sharing, Indian traditions ask the officer to measure power by the good it does for the weakest.
  • Ancient as they are, these ideas answer modern problems of greed, intolerance and the abuse of office.