Aug 21, 2017 Motivational Articles

MOTIVATION cum REALITY CHECK- Miss It At Your Own Risk!

R-E-W-I-N-D 5…4…3…2…1 and yes! With a click, you downloaded the ILP Plan that IASbaba had uploaded. You created a new folder and planted the plan there. You read all the motivational articles and guidelines and said “Oh yeah” With much excitement, you finally opened the plan and started reading it. After reading for a while you realized that this is THE PLAN for your success in the examination. You were glad. You were totally sure that if you follow this plan as it is, you are sure to be successful in the exam. You opened your notebook and started making notes about the timeline and the syllabus and a column to track your progress. But things were not that easy as it looks from its face value.   F-A-S-T  F-O-R-W-A-R-D You are staring ahead. It has been over 20 days that you have been unable to keep pace with the ILP Plan. You have just not been able to achieve your goals and now are scared that you might not just be able to achieve your goal but you would also fail this examination. You feel sad. All your enthusiasm fades away. That guy you follow on the portal has been scoring more than 90% and able to follow everything with ease put up almost on a daily basis. Earlier you used to compete with him/her. But today, his/her marks irritate you. It discourages you. It makes you believe that you are a loser. Are you losing hope suddenly? Are you not being able to follow the ILP Plan? Do you not feel motivated to complete the portion? A Reality Check!   Let’s get real and talk some sense. We will follow a narrative here. These Q/A are taken from emails and comments we have been receiving. So, thought to make them our base for this article. You- Huh, it is so unreal and impractical plan. How to read and complete such a gigantic syllabus within 10 Days gap? Reading 300 pages seems improbable? Reality Check- So, you have a better plan wherein you can easily and qualitatively complete the syllabus of Prelims and Mains before Prelims? Yes, you heard it right, completing Mains before Prelims. If you aren’t doing it and leaving Mains for post prelims phase, then you are going to lose it. You do not have an iota of knowledge about aspirants clearing this examination and their effort that is put behind achieving the same. You can have your own reasons not to follow something but you cannot invalidate the truth ‘Just because you cannot see the light, it is dark everywhere’ What reasons for them, who are able to follow and are keeping pace with the plan? They are also securing decent marks and learning through every test. You- I am not able to correctly answer more than half of the question in BLOCK related prelims tests which you conduct after every 10 days. I read through mentioned sources, Babapedia, Daily Prelims quiz and VAN. I even go through Hindu Newspaper daily. What more should I do or what more sources should I refer so as to answer nearly all the question in your test and secure top rank . Please advise!!! Reality Check- This is the learning phase. Are you able to point out your mistakes in the tests? Those silly mistakes due to which you made nearly 30 wrong guesses? Isn’t it part of the learning process? Or you want a strategy even for this? Why did we mention to make separate note book for each subject and note down concepts that you learn after tests? It will help you grasp those concepts in a better manner when you write all those new concepts and make note of them. And then revise them now and then. There is no short cut here. It is all about being smart in your approach and being objective to amend your mistakes. If you are bound to the vicious cycle of committing the same mistake then may GOD help you! (Because you are not bothered to abide by the repeated guidelines) You- I found many questions not covered in Babapedia or Quiz or VAN. This is not a good strategy to give questions out of syllabus of the block or things not covered in the sources we are told to follow. It is in a sense demotivating. Please clarify how to get those right or what to do? Reality Check- Can you question UPSC in the same manner? It is actually demotivating for us to know that you are still not able to understand IASbaba or UPSC or have faith in your mentor’s way Why we designed ILP? Why are you here? To crack UPSC! And how to do this if you are not ready to learn the way UPSC wants you to be? We set few questions out of syllabus to maintain that uncertainty for which actual exam is known for. You cannot attempt all 100 questions correctly. We want to guide you in a true sense and that is why keeping some element of uncertainty attached to every test. Don’t you think, you should learn to tackle this while preparing? Let’s be more practical by taking examples We covered Black Carbon in Babapedia- Correct! But the question in the test was about Climate Forcing Agent- Black Carbon is also a Climate Forcing Agent Quite sure, that many of you must have covered it yourself or by following the article given in the link. Why didn't we cover concepts given in Babapedia for Black Carbon in the Test? Because you are here to learn and have broad coverage of concepts not to be spoon-fed and then fooled by generating false satisfaction by letting you score high in tests. Our intention is to let you cover all important concepts either through Babapedia or Tests so that nothing is unfamiliar to you. You should take it as learning and consolidate your knowledge before the real battle. If you are not learning then scoring 90 or more out 100 here won’t guarantee success in UPSC Prelims or Mains. And if you are learning and consolidating your knowledge as well as amending all mistakes here, then scoring 40 per cent now and improving upon the same can guarantee success in UPSC Prelims or Mains. For a sincere aspirant following ILP: He/She can easily manage to score more than 80 % in every test and learn that 20 % as take away information from the tests. (Zeroing silly mistakes and avoiding blind guesses)   You- Why cannot you simplify everything to be prepared day wise rather than giving topics to be covered within a gap of 10 days. I don’t understand what to read today and how to divide it? Reality Check- If you cannot simplify such a simplified plan then we can never be of any help for you. An aspirant X is different from aspirant Y. X may have different potential and priority than Y. X may cover more in a day than Y and vice versa. Why cannot you make it flexible for you? You have plenty of things to do and we cannot throw something like do this or that at this point of time knowing everyone has a different schedule for the day. Do not behave like a school going kid. Be sincere; spend some time in internalizing the plan. At the same time, do not make it an excuse to drop you in the vicious cycle of procrastination. You can never come out of it at the later stage with the negative growth of yourself.   Word of Advice   A. For people falling into these two categories People joining now or later/ Joined but never followed With or without ILP- You will prepare for UPSC. If yes, then ILP is giving you a plan, quality content to cover and assess yourself. Start from Day 1 and try to finish off the left out portions B. Case Study by an Ideal Aspirant for an Idle Aspirant Here Ideal (anyone who is sincere) and Idle :P  (Imagine where you fall) Every exam has some theme. So does UPSC! Checklist Go through previous year question papers again and again. Make it a regular strategy! Since I am a fresher so more focus on basics of each block and restricted current affairs as said by Babajee :P Current Affairs- Babapedia- no extra coverage from any other site, rather work more on Think Section and related aspects. Since I have the habit of looking at previous years question papers, I can master to guess in what way UPSC may frame question from a particular issue covered in Babapedia (Same goes to guess how Baba may ask question in the respective test) I won’t be bothered about extra coverage of current affairs out of Babapedia or DNA or Yojana/Kurukshetra or AIR or RSTV as mentioned by Baba to follow. Since any extra coverage will form part of my knowledge builder. For Mains- I will focus on given Blocks and in parallel cover DNA, AIR, RSTV and Yojana/Kurukshetra sincerely. Nothing else as of now. AIR, RSTV and Yojana/Kurukshetra are not on daily basis so it won’t be an issue Revision is the key: I would revise every day. Revision is not to be put for any X time or day. What if I die before my revision day :P . I will revise whatever I learnt the same day. Usually before sleeping. I will keep half an hour or little more for revision before the sleeping time. I would love to check my productivity of thoughts after the day’s hard work. If I am able to recollect those the very same day or not? If not, needs to revisit my strategy. If yes, well and good :)   C. For those who are giving reasons or warnings to upload Value Add Notes (VAN) before the start of the Block! As mentioned and clarified so many times that VAN’s are supposed to build your preparation gaps qualitatively. It is never to be the first reference or source to prepare (not because of less worth but actual way of preparation process) Also, it takes a lot of time to make VAN relevant for you. If we had to copy paste everything and provide, it would have been very easy to follow it up. Trust us; VAN will be more productive once you are done with standard reference of sources. D. For those creating threads after threads in Forum (without reading the rules of Forum) Strictly, we are deleting them at the very first glance even without looking inside. Why? Because we already explained the process and you are the one not following it! We even told to simply put an email if you have an urgent query related to Plan or anything but all in vain. You shouldn’t complain if your threads are being deleted. You cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself! How many of you are consistent or having the same zeal of Day-1 when you came on this platform? How many of you are actually utilizing the full essence of this platform? Are you writing your daily confession for which we had started Daily Confession Forum? Hardly few of you are doing that. Ironically we have thousands of so called sincere participants here who are trying to compete with others but cannot compete with themselves or want self-assessment. Daily Confession Forum- Also gives you an opportunity to pen down your thoughts. You can write your day’s schedule in the form of story or passages. It will help you in answer writing also. Don’t you think so? Is it only about writing for Polity or Economics? With every passing day the number of confessions turning out to be as low as 10. WOW. It means only 10 aspirants are not sincere, rest of you are very well placed in following ILP! Isn't it?  ‘Procrastination is like a CREDIT CARD. It is a lot of fun until you get the Bill’ It is never too late Humans have been famous for being prolific procrastinators. It’s easy to make plans and throw dates on your calendar, and yet it’s very easy to also let some deadlines fly by with reckless abandon. Our brains are wired to simply prefer instant rewards over long-term payoffs. Given this tendency, we often have to create strict rules for ourselves to achieve the goals that we have set for our future. But is there a way we can take care of it? Is there a way that you can get back on track with ILP’s study plan? Yes, there is a way but mind you, it is going to take more than just your willpower and your resolve to achieve success in this examination.   Pull out your commitment devices Commitment devices are strategies that help improve your behaviour by either increasing the obstacles or costs of bad behaviours or reducing the effort required for good behaviours. Find ways to automate your behaviour beforehand. No need to rely on your willpower anymore. It may send you off to sleep when you should have been reading about constitutional amendments. Utilize Implementation Intentions An Implementation Intention is when you state your intention to implement a particular behaviour at a specific time in the near future. For example, “I will exercise for at least 15 minutes at [TIME] on [DATE] in [PLACE]. Scheduling things ahead of time can make a difference; implementation intentions can make you 2x to 3x more likely to perform an action in the future. So you know what to do next. Motivation is not the hardest part, Following through is Many times you know that you have to study. Your XYZ friend inspires you to compete with your previous marks. Your mother takes care that you get adequate nutrition. You know that it is time to pick up your ‘Economy’ module and prepare for the test. But you just are not able to. Remember: Motivation is in the mind; follow-through is in the practice. Shut down the talking that goes on in your head. Stop thinking. Make a very specific decision about something you want to do and don’t question it. And when your mind starts to argue with you — and I guarantee it will — ignore it. Yes, you got it – you are smarter than your mind. This GIF should define you! FLY HIGH away from others on the ground.  via GIPHY So how are you feeling now? The only thing that connects us is this platform. Don't let us feel it is a one way talk :)  P.S- We will post a write up for Mains and Essay tomorrow :) 

Aug 21, 2017

MOTIVATION cum REALITY CHECK- Miss It At Your Own Risk!

R-E-W-I-N-D 5…4…3…2…1 and yes! With a click, you downloaded the ILP Plan that IASbaba had uploaded. You created a new folder and planted the plan there. You read all the motivational articles and guidelines and said “Oh yeah” With much excitement, you finally opened the plan and started reading it. After reading for a while you realized that this is THE PLAN for your success in the examination. You were glad. You were totally sure that if you follow this plan as it is, you are sure to be successful in the exam. You opened your notebook and started making notes about the timeline and the syllabus and a column to track your progress. But things were not that easy as it looks from its face value.   F-A-S-T  F-O-R-W-A-R-D You are staring ahead. It has been over 20 days that you have been unable to keep pace with the ILP Plan. You have just not been able to achieve your goals and now are scared that you might not just be able to achieve your goal but you would also fail this examination. You feel sad. All your enthusiasm fades away. That guy you follow on the portal has been scoring more than 90% and able to follow everything with ease put up almost on a daily basis. Earlier you used to compete with him/her. But today, his/her marks irritate you. It discourages you. It makes you believe that you are a loser. Are you losing hope suddenly? Are you not being able to follow the ILP Plan? Do you not feel motivated to complete the portion? A Reality Check!   Let’s get real and talk some sense. We will follow a narrative here. These Q/A are taken from emails and comments we have been receiving. So, thought to make them our base for this article. You- Huh, it is so unreal and impractical plan. How to read and complete such a gigantic syllabus within 10 Days gap? Reading 300 pages seems improbable? Reality Check- So, you have a better plan wherein you can easily and qualitatively complete the syllabus of Prelims and Mains before Prelims? Yes, you heard it right, completing Mains before Prelims. If you aren’t doing it and leaving Mains for post prelims phase, then you are going to lose it. You do not have an iota of knowledge about aspirants clearing this examination and their effort that is put behind achieving the same. You can have your own reasons not to follow something but you cannot invalidate the truth ‘Just because you cannot see the light, it is dark everywhere’ What reasons for them, who are able to follow and are keeping pace with the plan? They are also securing decent marks and learning through every test. You- I am not able to correctly answer more than half of the question in BLOCK related prelims tests which you conduct after every 10 days. I read through mentioned sources, Babapedia, Daily Prelims quiz and VAN. I even go through Hindu Newspaper daily. What more should I do or what more sources should I refer so as to answer nearly all the question in your test and secure top rank . Please advise!!! Reality Check- This is the learning phase. Are you able to point out your mistakes in the tests? Those silly mistakes due to which you made nearly 30 wrong guesses? Isn’t it part of the learning process? Or you want a strategy even for this? Why did we mention to make separate note book for each subject and note down concepts that you learn after tests? It will help you grasp those concepts in a better manner when you write all those new concepts and make note of them. And then revise them now and then. There is no short cut here. It is all about being smart in your approach and being objective to amend your mistakes. If you are bound to the vicious cycle of committing the same mistake then may GOD help you! (Because you are not bothered to abide by the repeated guidelines) You- I found many questions not covered in Babapedia or Quiz or VAN. This is not a good strategy to give questions out of syllabus of the block or things not covered in the sources we are told to follow. It is in a sense demotivating. Please clarify how to get those right or what to do? Reality Check- Can you question UPSC in the same manner? It is actually demotivating for us to know that you are still not able to understand IASbaba or UPSC or have faith in your mentor’s way Why we designed ILP? Why are you here? To crack UPSC! And how to do this if you are not ready to learn the way UPSC wants you to be? We set few questions out of syllabus to maintain that uncertainty for which actual exam is known for. You cannot attempt all 100 questions correctly. We want to guide you in a true sense and that is why keeping some element of uncertainty attached to every test. Don’t you think, you should learn to tackle this while preparing? Let’s be more practical by taking examples We covered Black Carbon in Babapedia- Correct! But the question in the test was about Climate Forcing Agent- Black Carbon is also a Climate Forcing Agent Quite sure, that many of you must have covered it yourself or by following the article given in the link. Why didn't we cover concepts given in Babapedia for Black Carbon in the Test? Because you are here to learn and have broad coverage of concepts not to be spoon-fed and then fooled by generating false satisfaction by letting you score high in tests. Our intention is to let you cover all important concepts either through Babapedia or Tests so that nothing is unfamiliar to you. You should take it as learning and consolidate your knowledge before the real battle. If you are not learning then scoring 90 or more out 100 here won’t guarantee success in UPSC Prelims or Mains. And if you are learning and consolidating your knowledge as well as amending all mistakes here, then scoring 40 per cent now and improving upon the same can guarantee success in UPSC Prelims or Mains. For a sincere aspirant following ILP: He/She can easily manage to score more than 80 % in every test and learn that 20 % as take away information from the tests. (Zeroing silly mistakes and avoiding blind guesses)   You- Why cannot you simplify everything to be prepared day wise rather than giving topics to be covered within a gap of 10 days. I don’t understand what to read today and how to divide it? Reality Check- If you cannot simplify such a simplified plan then we can never be of any help for you. An aspirant X is different from aspirant Y. X may have different potential and priority than Y. X may cover more in a day than Y and vice versa. Why cannot you make it flexible for you? You have plenty of things to do and we cannot throw something like do this or that at this point of time knowing everyone has a different schedule for the day. Do not behave like a school going kid. Be sincere; spend some time in internalizing the plan. At the same time, do not make it an excuse to drop you in the vicious cycle of procrastination. You can never come out of it at the later stage with the negative growth of yourself.   Word of Advice   A. For people falling into these two categories People joining now or later/ Joined but never followed With or without ILP- You will prepare for UPSC. If yes, then ILP is giving you a plan, quality content to cover and assess yourself. Start from Day 1 and try to finish off the left out portions B. Case Study by an Ideal Aspirant for an Idle Aspirant Here Ideal (anyone who is sincere) and Idle :P  (Imagine where you fall) Every exam has some theme. So does UPSC! Checklist Go through previous year question papers again and again. Make it a regular strategy! Since I am a fresher so more focus on basics of each block and restricted current affairs as said by Babajee :P Current Affairs- Babapedia- no extra coverage from any other site, rather work more on Think Section and related aspects. Since I have the habit of looking at previous years question papers, I can master to guess in what way UPSC may frame question from a particular issue covered in Babapedia (Same goes to guess how Baba may ask question in the respective test) I won’t be bothered about extra coverage of current affairs out of Babapedia or DNA or Yojana/Kurukshetra or AIR or RSTV as mentioned by Baba to follow. Since any extra coverage will form part of my knowledge builder. For Mains- I will focus on given Blocks and in parallel cover DNA, AIR, RSTV and Yojana/Kurukshetra sincerely. Nothing else as of now. AIR, RSTV and Yojana/Kurukshetra are not on daily basis so it won’t be an issue Revision is the key: I would revise every day. Revision is not to be put for any X time or day. What if I die before my revision day :P . I will revise whatever I learnt the same day. Usually before sleeping. I will keep half an hour or little more for revision before the sleeping time. I would love to check my productivity of thoughts after the day’s hard work. If I am able to recollect those the very same day or not? If not, needs to revisit my strategy. If yes, well and good :)   C. For those who are giving reasons or warnings to upload Value Add Notes (VAN) before the start of the Block! As mentioned and clarified so many times that VAN’s are supposed to build your preparation gaps qualitatively. It is never to be the first reference or source to prepare (not because of less worth but actual way of preparation process) Also, it takes a lot of time to make VAN relevant for you. If we had to copy paste everything and provide, it would have been very easy to follow it up. Trust us; VAN will be more productive once you are done with standard reference of sources. D. For those creating threads after threads in Forum (without reading the rules of Forum) Strictly, we are deleting them at the very first glance even without looking inside. Why? Because we already explained the process and you are the one not following it! We even told to simply put an email if you have an urgent query related to Plan or anything but all in vain. You shouldn’t complain if your threads are being deleted. You cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself! How many of you are consistent or having the same zeal of Day-1 when you came on this platform? How many of you are actually utilizing the full essence of this platform? Are you writing your daily confession for which we had started Daily Confession Forum? Hardly few of you are doing that. Ironically we have thousands of so called sincere participants here who are trying to compete with others but cannot compete with themselves or want self-assessment. Daily Confession Forum- Also gives you an opportunity to pen down your thoughts. You can write your day’s schedule in the form of story or passages. It will help you in answer writing also. Don’t you think so? Is it only about writing for Polity or Economics? With every passing day the number of confessions turning out to be as low as 10. WOW. It means only 10 aspirants are not sincere, rest of you are very well placed in following ILP! Isn't it?  ‘Procrastination is like a CREDIT CARD. It is a lot of fun until you get the Bill’ It is never too late Humans have been famous for being prolific procrastinators. It’s easy to make plans and throw dates on your calendar, and yet it’s very easy to also let some deadlines fly by with reckless abandon. Our brains are wired to simply prefer instant rewards over long-term payoffs. Given this tendency, we often have to create strict rules for ourselves to achieve the goals that we have set for our future. But is there a way we can take care of it? Is there a way that you can get back on track with ILP’s study plan? Yes, there is a way but mind you, it is going to take more than just your willpower and your resolve to achieve success in this examination.   Pull out your commitment devices Commitment devices are strategies that help improve your behaviour by either increasing the obstacles or costs of bad behaviours or reducing the effort required for good behaviours. Find ways to automate your behaviour beforehand. No need to rely on your willpower anymore. It may send you off to sleep when you should have been reading about constitutional amendments. Utilize Implementation Intentions An Implementation Intention is when you state your intention to implement a particular behaviour at a specific time in the near future. For example, “I will exercise for at least 15 minutes at [TIME] on [DATE] in [PLACE]. Scheduling things ahead of time can make a difference; implementation intentions can make you 2x to 3x more likely to perform an action in the future. So you know what to do next. Motivation is not the hardest part, Following through is Many times you know that you have to study. Your XYZ friend inspires you to compete with your previous marks. Your mother takes care that you get adequate nutrition. You know that it is time to pick up your ‘Economy’ module and prepare for the test. But you just are not able to. Remember: Motivation is in the mind; follow-through is in the practice. Shut down the talking that goes on in your head. Stop thinking. Make a very specific decision about something you want to do and don’t question it. And when your mind starts to argue with you — and I guarantee it will — ignore it. Yes, you got it – you are smarter than your mind. This GIF should define you! FLY HIGH away from others on the ground.  So how are you feeling now? The only thing that connects us is this platform. Don't let us feel it is a one way talk :)  P.S- We will post a write up for Mains and Essay tomorrow :) 

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

Rank 6, DINESH KUMAR, UPSC CSE 2016 TOPPER'S STRATEGY, 467 MARKS in General Studies, First Attempt, Highly Inspirational-IASbaba's ILP Student (Miss This Article at Your Own Peril)

Rank- 6, DINESH KUMAR CSE 2016 who was our ILP-2016 student proudly shares his experience with IASbaba. When we met DINESH KUMAR, he had a brilliant story to tell! Nothing more than an amazing source of experience.  Coming from a very humble background reaching to such height of success is nothing less than a miracle. Meeting his family was equally wonderful and the values of family reflected in the manner Dinesh invited us and shared his experience. People complain about lack of resources and dearth of quality guidance in the journey of UPSC preparation, Dinesh's story is something to be cherished. What a humble and inspiring personality he is!! Indeed we need such hard working and down to earth people in our Administration. We are proud of you and happy to be associated with you. Examples like him give us strength and motivation to strive forward to achieve what we started our journey for – to provide quality education to aspirants in the remotest corner of India. She has also justified our moto i.e. “One stop destination for UPSC”. Watch IASbaba in Discussion with Dinesh, Rank 6 in UPSC CSE 2016   Dinesh sharing his experience and role of Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) in his success! Love the process than the Outcome. Hi Guys, This is Dinesh Kumar, Secured All India Rank 6 in this Year CSE 2016.  To be honest, even while I am writing this, it still feels like a dream, each and every second I pray to GOD, to not turn this into a dream.  I still remember on the eventful day of May 31st, when I was waiting for the results I was considering all the possibilities (In the top 90, In the list and Out of list) with equal probability. Hence my only wish to GOD was, Please get me into the list. I can still recall, that when I opened the list along with my friends, I started searching my name from the bottom of the list (I don't have the courage to use Crtl + F) only when I thought I did not make it to the list (as i was trying to see ranks below 50), my friends screamed RANK 6. We all started shouting loud, hugging each other like people gone mad. It was a moment when a long cherished dream looked coming to life all of a sudden. The result took so long to sink in, in fact even now I sometimes feel is it true ? After the initial excitement I looked at  my best friend and we both said "Now it is the time to serve". I don't want to put the feelings in words because I strongly feel no matter what, Words cannot do justice to that moment. I am telling you all these because, I just want to convey by my example that even the topper of UPSC is no different from others, even he was not certain about his selection, carries the same emotions and feelings, faces turmoils both emotionally,physically & financially, has ups & downs, faces self doubt at times but guys this is all very normal in UPSC's marathon preparation. I was also studying like you in the Basements of Old Rajinder Nagar or anywhere, and staying in highly inflated Flats of Delhi. In fact I can recollect, that when I was reading the success stories of many toppers, I always thought, will I be able to write my success story?. This can also be the same going through your minds now, but believe me and more so in yourself, you have all the capability, potential and ability to crack this exam and come out with flying colors. Below is my strategy for various subjects, and make few changes to your preparation if you think it is useful. Attached below are the screenshots of my Mains and Prelims scores.  Back Ground: I am a Mechanical graduate from National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Later I worked as a Site Engineer in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd for One Year, then I formally resigned to my job to focus on the preparation. I started full fledged preparation in July 2015, I took my coaching from Vajiram and Ravi(For my GS and Optional) and was able to clear this exam in my First Attempt. Disclaimer : I want to take this opportunity to mention to which Coaching institutes I am related with Vajiram and Ravi for my GS and Optional Coaching I took GS test series from Vajiram and Ravi, I also followed the regular posted on the website of IAS Baba I took my Optional Test series from Vajiram and Ravi and GS Score I participated in Interview Guidance Programme of GS Score, GS Mentors, KSG and Samkalp and IAS Baba. And I am frequent visitor to sites like IAS Baba and other online sources. I followed Mrunal for Couple of subjects & also newspaper analysis by one of our teachers (Rambabu Sir ) Apart from this I am not related to any of the Coaching insitutes, which many are claiming so. Please spread the word. Few Points to keep in mind: Believe in the process than in the outcome. Bhagavat Gita Says:  Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty. In other words, enjoy the pleasure of journey more than just the destination (trust me guys, this is something that I am not just saying to write a flowery article but i felt this every single day) I remember the day when I said to my father before starting my preparation, that even if I don't become an IAS/IPS, I will be a much better person with greater amount of knowledge and confidence and more so a responsible citizen. Hence exam pressure was not on me during my preparation, I started loving the process because there is so much to learn in this exam. This did not demotivate me during my preparation. (This can be a solution on how to solve the demotivation we may go through) You can do this: I strongly believe that each and everyone of us can clear this exam. To be frank, my General Knowledge was so poor, that I did not know the capital cities of France and Italy at one point of my time. If I can make it to the list definitely you can. Hence Self confidence and believing yourself is very important in this exam. You should know your Weakness and strengths:  This exam is relative hence you need to play according to your strengths. Essay was not my strength and added to it I did a mistake of not practicing it much.  If you observe I got very less marks in my Essay Paper, but even before the result was out, I was expecting around 120-130 because I wrote a very very general Essay and did not take risk to score high 140's. All I wanted was that my Essay should not pull my rank down. Hence knowing your weaknesses and working on it is very important in this exam. You need to make sure that your weakness wont cost you much. Make Note of everything:  All of us forget, because we are human beings, there is no wrong in it. But you should overcome this, because you have to write exam after so much time and you need to remember what you read today, till the examination. Hence I used to maintain a notes according to the each and every word of syllabus (As said by Gaurav Agrawal Sir), write what ever you study and make it a point to revise. I am attaching the notes of one of the section we have in Syllabus :   Economic Sectors Start Reading between the Lines to Study Faster:  Many a times we study many irrelevant topics or articles, to overcome this we need to have syllabus strongly in our mind to differentiate which all are important to save time. For example, take any text book like Bipan Chandra, you would be having one or two important points in the whole page, rest is just  supporting part to develop the context, hence while reading you should directly pick that important point and leave the rest. This way you can read fast. And believe me this can be easily developed with practice. But you should be conscious enough while reading on how to cut some time. Innovate and Replicate:  You need to make innovations in your answer writing to get that additional mark which differentiates you among others. To do this you should start picking up some Flowcharts, diagrams, graphs etc in the government reports or in your textbooks. Maintain a data base of all these and try to replicate this in the Mains examination. Go one Extra mile  This I did more so for my optional,  You study one extra scholar for every topic and one extra point for each scholar to make your answer standout. It would not take much time to do this, you just need to Google and study about them for 30 Minutes. Books/Sources:  Modern History : Spectrum and for Mains I studied Bipan Chandra too. Ancient History and Culture : Tamil Nadu Textbooks, NCERT's, Nitin Singhania, CCRT and NIOS Indian Polity : Laxmikanth Economy : Entirely relied on Mrunal and The Hindu. Apart from these you need to study Economic Survey and Budget Geography : Mrunal and NCERT Environment : Shankar IAS and Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book World History : Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book and Vision IAS material (Vision I studies after Mains) Governance: ARC reports, News Papers,,vajiram class notes (class dictations) Ethics : Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book , Justice Videos in Youtube,vajiram class notes (class dictations) Social Issues : Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book and News papers Post Independence: Bipan chandra (Read only selected topics, entire book is not in syllabus) Disaster Management : 2nd ARC Security : Tata McGraw Hill and Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book International Relations : Entirely Curent Affairs - Get a basic idea on how relations developed from any notes Science and Technology : I did not study any specific book, I just followed current affairs. IASBABA value Addition notes provided during my ILP(I was one of the member of their ILP programme) was very useful in getting few additional points and to have a quick revision. For prelims, I followed Online quiz initiatives of IAS BABA and other online initiatives  everyday. Apart from it as a part of ILP I also wrote the tests conducted by IASBABA and studied according to the plan given by them. And for all the topics, Vajiram and Ravi class Notes formed by basic foundation. Optional Sources : (Political Science and International Relations): Shubhra Madam Notes to get clarity and basics right. Paper I Political Ideologies by Andrew Heywood Political Theory by OP Gauba (Selected Topics like Political Theory, Meaning and Approaches) Political Theory by Rajeev Bhargava (Topics like Justice, Equality, Sovereignty, Democracy and Power are good) Western Political Though by Sushila Ramaswamy. Indian Political Thought by VR Mehta. I studies Indian BL Fadia for Section B(Paper I), I did not found useful. Rather than it I would suggest you to read ARC reports and Punchhi and Sarkaria Commission reports. Dont miss on easy topics like Planning and Economic Development, Land reforms, Agraraian relations. They are scoring and very easy. I refered Social movements was BL Fadia, (Only this topic can be referred from it) I also studied IGNOU books for all these topics, they are very helpful in making your concepts very clear. Paper II Comparitive Politics : IGNOU and some Online Browsing. For this topic it is very important to understand how Political Science develped over the years. Hence it is important to get the link between CP and Political theory(Approaches) topic Approaches : Baylis and Steve Smith Rest of the topics I covered from Global Politics by Andrew Heywood.(Every topic is important and cover it from page to page) IGNOU is good source for topics like Determinants of Foreign policy, institutions of policy making and role of diaspora etc (These are small topics and scoring) I also studied Oxford Indian Foreign Policy - But I did not find useful, you can use these scholar names. Rather than it I would suggest to watch RSTV debates. Followed Distinguished lectures of the Ministry of External Affairs. Do follow it, one of the best source to get good points. This was just a brief writeup, and very soon I would share all my notes and my Answer scripts and an elaborated strategy on how to write some good answers in GS and Optional.  I will make it As soon As Possible. Hope this Helps to some extent. Please feel free to contact me. (My email id :upscdoubts@gmail.com). Last but not the least, since Prelims is over, don't think more about cutoff's rather start preparing for Mains, because every day is important from now on. Keep Working hard till your goal is attained. And remember that UPSC is not an end for us, Life is much greater than UPSC. Enjoy the process, it will automatically take care of the outcome. There are many aspirants who could not clear it in their initial attempts, but they clinged on - they kept their routine on, kept giving their best & results did come their way gradually. UPSC has unpredictability, it is a great equalizer just keep giving your best. TRY TO WIN EVERY SINGLE DAY at a time. Remember !!! --Monotony is the true beauty of UPSC All the Best Friends.

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

Rank 121 UPSC CSE 2016 HITIKA VASAL, UPSC/IAS TOPPER'S STRATEGY-Do's and Don'ts!

Name: Hitika Vasal Rank: 121 Optional: Sociology Marks Essay:154 GS 1: 108 GS 2: 104 GS 3: 108 GS 4: 111 Sociology 1 : 127 Sociology 2 : 157 Interview :165 THE UPSC JOURNEY: I am one of those who had always dreamt of this ever since I was a kid and hence I choose to pursue sociology for both my graduate and postgraduate. However, It was only after my post graduation that I got serious about pursuing my dream. It was in October 2014, that I started seriously thinking about UPSC but was totally clueless as to how I was going to do it. Like a sheep following the herd, landed myself in Rajinder Nagar and joined one of the coaching institute for general studies. Started following what everyone else was doing without using my own mind.  This was the time when I was just blindly following everything people said buy Bipin Chandra because MR X said so or Buy Spectrum because MR Y said so. In between all this hustle bustle and confusions rocking my mind everyday, I Decided to give my first attempt in 2015 and failed to qualify for prelims. This served as a shock, I had never thought of any other career option all my life and all that fear of “What if I fail” “where will I work “ “ This has been my only dream “, et al This failure stuck me hard and I pledged to give my best in 2016. After 2015 result that shook me I was determined to do the unconventional, that was to move out of Rajinder Nagar and come back to my hometown (as I felt it was more peaceful). A lot of my friends felt that this was a wrong decision to take because being so far from Delhi I would miss out on a lot. Here,I would like to say a special thanks to IAS BABA team, who have made sure that an aspirant from any corner of the country can prepare at the comforts of their homes, (That has also been the motto of IASBABA Team, to make sure that all aspirants at any given place have equal access to knowledge). I religiously followed 60 Days for Prelims, TLP for Mains Answer Writing. The other initiative I would like to specially mention is Current Affairs (issue based). It helped me in getting different perspectives of an issue.   I really can't thank your team enough.  Some dos and don’ts: Limited sources: I always kept my sources limited, whether be it books or online sources such as IASBaba, I never wasted time going through different sources. For me the key was Read>Revise>Tests>Revise. When you stick yourself with limited sources, you are able to revise better. This also saved time as I would highlight in my book and mark what was important for prelims point of view and what could be used in mains (Saved me from making notes too). However, there are people who like to read from different sources to grasp a topic better . See what suits you and follow that. Make a timetable and stick to it: I made a timetable for both prelims, mains and interview and made sure that I finish the topics in the given time period, if at any point I failed to do so i made sure to devote extra time to complete the topics that were left. Integrate your preparation: Try to make sure that you actively engage with the subject so that it stays with you for longer, in case you have a problem understanding or learning something try referring to you tube videos for the same. Make sure that the topic is understood well, this will help you both for prelims and mains. Tests: Tests are an integral part of preparation for two main reasons: Firstly, it helps you to stick to the given timetable and thus reduces the scope for procrastination (specially if you are a person like me who is preparing in the comforts of your house). Secondly, It helps you to realize your weak and strong areas so that you can work on both accordingly. However, never underestimate yourself due to your scores (I was always doing that ) These scores might have no resemblance with your real scores. Just keep giving the tests, try learning from them but do not take the scores too seriously. You don’t have to study 15 hours and there is no need to isolate yourself: The maximum I have studied is 10 hours (maybe just for a day or two: P). Ithink consistency matters more. Also it takes time to be able to start studying for that long, slowly you will get used to it and will start enjoying the process. I also used to reward myself after finishing each subject with a holiday: P(this helps you to remain sane) Surround yourself with people who trust you and have faith in your abilities: This path is really bumpy and No you don’t want people who make you feel weak or incapable, this is then time you need to be positive and have faith in yourself. Always remember “IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, WHO WILL?“. Be confident about yourself and if there are any people who are undermining you, just avoid their company. Do not be scared of Failure: If you have chosen this journey, be strong enough to face hurdles and obstacles (as many have already said: that this is not only a test of knowledge but also your attitude towards life). Know how important this is for you: Don’t give this exam because your friends are giving it or your parents are coaxing you to do so, give it because you want to. Once you have deep desire for this, Success will follow. Some Minor Tips: In my first attempt, I tried to attempt only those questions about which I was 100% sure, ended up doing only 60 questions. However, when I returned home to check the answers I was shocked to know that many were wrong. (Moral : a little risk is cardinal ) Secondly, after your prelims do not waste more than two three days. No matter what the result is you need to keep going forward. Write answers in whatever form (be it points or paragraphs,) I am a humanities student and hence I am habituated to write in paragraphs, I was warned by many that this can be suicidal but I was firm on writing in the manner that I was comfortable. So I suggest you all to write in the form that you are comfortable. I am not writing any booklist here because many toppers have already written about it, but if there is any thing any one wants to know about be it sociology or anything else that you feel I can help, I would be more than happy to do so. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU, TRUST YOURSELF. Believe that you can do it and you surely shall do it. Regards Hitika 

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

IASbaba's Toppers Strategy Rank 141 NITESH PANDEY, Clears UPSC IAS in his Last Attempt!

Hello Friends Its a great feeling to share when one of our students cracks UPSC with such a good rank. Nitesh was a very sincere follower of our platform and had been very consistently following TLP and other initiatives. And what better if one achieves a great rank in his last attempt. This proves that consistency and patience play a vital role in ones success. Read it from the man himself! My name is Nitesh Pandey. I have done my Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras and completed it in 2008.  I have been working in the private sector in solar power for the past few years. Being from the family of an IAS officer, it's been my childhood dream to be a civil servant. I have been trying to crack civil services for past few years. Finally in my last attempt, I have secured a rank of 141. This was the first attempt in which I gave interview. My optional is psychology. It has been a long, grueling journey with lots of hard work, pain, failures and finally success and joy. Mistakes made in earlier attempt I tried to cover too many things for various topics. The preparation was inefficient and little bit disorganized. This took a toll on my revision and somewhere in order to cover so much, I missed most crucial aspects of an issue, what some call as "bulls eye". I didn't give adequate attention to answer writing. Essay was a weak area. It requires practise which I didn't do. Things which I did differently in this attempt I had focussed on making concise notes especially for very important topics, even if this was not possible I would at least mark important words or phrases(bulls eye). It is important that in each answer we do mention the core of the question and for that being thorough with the "bulls eye" of each topic is important. I had written lots of answers by joining test series and writing on iasbaba. An important aspect of my strategy for answer writing and covering current affairs has been relying on multiple sources. As a result, there is constant revision and also one comes to know and feel what is the most important topic as these get repeated in multiple sources. However, this is only advisable if one has enough time or has some base because of previous attempts. I had practised over ten essays before mains. Role of iasbaba IASbaba is a complete package. I had referred to its daily news analysis and gist of pib and Rajya Sabha videos extensively. This helped in covering the most important topics of current affairs more comprehensively. For writing practise, the Think Learn and Perform (TLP) proved to be a great boon. It consists of quality questions and regularly practising them and then peer review helped me in improving my answer writing skills. Further even when I was not able to answer the questions, I would at least refer to the mock solutions given by iasbaba. These solutions would give a 360 degree view of the question and this would help me in refining my knowledge base. In the mains GS papers this year, few questions had direct linkage to TLP questions. For prelims, I religiously followed 60 day plan and daily quizzes given by iasbaba and this helped in systematically revising the syllabus. Here again, many questions asked in prelims were linked to iasbaba questions. Though I didn't join the ILP programmed but I did refer to economics notes given under ILP (I borrowed it from a friend of mine) and I must say the quality of material was superb. Everything required in order to cover a topic was there in the notes and it was presented in very interactive factor making the material very interesting. The ILP would especially be helpful for aspirants who have just started preparing for the exam, as everything required for GS is provided in it and that too in a very easy, simple understandable manner. Writing from my experience I can say that, in initial years covering such a vast syllabus of GS from a variety of sources can prove to be a big challenge as it can be overwhelming, confusing and disorganized and still all the handwork may turn not yield desired results. ILP saves time, energy and for those preparing from small towns, it provides quality material in a cost effective manner which can be accessed from the comfort of one's home. Some words of advice The process of preparation for civil services can be very long, difficult, painful for many. So before entering the journey, please be prepared to do real hard work, have lots of courage, perseverance and patience. One should be totally dedicated to the goal and it is also necessary the aspirants carry out smart, organized studies. These days so much material is available on the internet and in the Delhi and so many suggestions of "how to succeed in IAS" that it becomes incumbent on the aspirants to be very discerning, intelligent about what to do. They should remember there is no "one size fits all" strategy and each aspirant should evolve their own way of doing things. Thanks Nitesh Pandey AIR 141

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

Rank 126 UPSC CSE 2016 Mani Agrawal, UPSC/IAS TOPPER'S STRATEGY-Importance of TLP Mains Answer Writing!

Hello all! My name is Mani Agarwal. I am from Agra. I did BSc Honours Mathematics from Hindu College, Delhi University and MSc Mathematics from IIT Bombay. I cleared UPSC exam in 2nd attempt with optional subject Mathematics. In my 1st attempt, I reached till interview stage but missed the final list by 40 odd marks. I always thought to give my first attempt with full preparation with a goal of clearing the exam in first attempt. Irrespective of success, I think this should be the mindset of all aspirants. Although this doesn’t ensure rank, it makes one’s preparation rock solid. And this helps in future attempt. I think that worked for me a lot. If we have an attitude that there are more attempts to clear than our preparation becomes half-hearted. My knowledge about this exam started when I was in school my mamaji used to say to my mother that she should make me an IAS. So technically it was IAS and not UPSC that I came to know about first as happens with mot aspirants.  This idea grew during graduation when I met many people in DU who were preparing. Eventually I made my mind and committed myself to this journey. It was not a real social incident that encouraged me for this service. But yes, during preparation I understood the value of this service. I began my preparation in BSc Honours 2nd year by reading The Hindu. Till then I was not aware of this newspaper and how one should go about it. I gave myself time to read it, enjoy it and also digest it. Earlier it was very difficult to read the full newspaper and I used to feel sleepy but I made it a regular practice to read it. I didn’t make any notes at that time. I talked to some seniors in my PG who were preparing and came to know about the importance of optional. As I was good in Maths, there was never any question/doubt about which optional I will take. Some people told me that Maths is not scoring and it can doom you, I trusted my intuition. But yes, I understood in 2nd year that BSc will not be enough to get me through. I need to have Masters in Maths. So, essentially my graduation was spent in excelling in college and preparing my foundation for a good post –graduation. I didn’t start studying for any GS/Essay in graduation. Rather from my 3rd onwards I started for IIT-JAM (Joint Admission for Mathematics). When I reached IIT, my mind was clear. I have to solidify all my concepts in maths with a higher level reading of The Hindu. This included reading Hindu and also preparing some notes about what I understood. I read previous years papers extensively, literally googling where those questions were framed from. This was exhausting and time consuming but I didn’t give up. Rather I gave up my 1st summer vacations and stayed in hostel to read Hindu and preparing my own notes. It was there I had a discussion with one lady who was in IFS. She gave me excellent guidance about preparing notes. I transformed my preparation form hard to soft copies. It was easy to maintain, add, delete, modify on laptop. I ensured that I didn’t compromise on my life in IIT and fully enjoyed each moment, participated in dance festivals, debates, class trips because I was regular in reading newspapers, preparing for IIT exams and making notes. When I came out of IIT in May 2014, I was 100% sure that I don’t have to take coaching. My foundation and “understanding” of UPSC exam was clearer. I was able to find how ques might be framed from any news. I decided to stay at home and prepare. I decided to give 2015 attempt with full preparation. It was now that I started reading books for the exam and making my own notes, both hand written and typed. I kept in mind that I am preparing for mains. Maths preparation was also kick-started. I fixed my after dinner time for maths. I made notes for prelims side by side; about news that were not extensive but could me asked in MCQs. For others, it was Mains notes that could help. I completed the syllabus by reading and preparing notes for the first time by December 2014. It was then that multiple revisions started. Side by side maths was going. By first prelims was in August 2015. I started to read only Prelims in May 2015. Mains preparation was reduced if not completely side-lined (because of current affairs). I used to solve many MCQs from online websites. I joined one small test series of 10 full tests in June 2015. CSAT preparation was also started from May only. Since I was good in maths it was not a big deal. After giving prelims, I was pretty sure (although nervous) that I will clear it and started Mains preparation. I was casually googling for questions for GS preparation that I saw IASBABA website. The mere presentation of the website: spacious, de-stressing font and lighter presentation made me think about my 1st mains being less haunting. It was no turning back. I read the info and came to know about TLP- Programme. I didn’t know then that this programme will be my SOLE GUARDIAN for mains. I started writing answers from next day. i thought that I will continue writing and let’s see if somebody evaluates my answers. Normally on online platforms it is very difficult/ not possible to fix accountability as they are free of cost and you don’t know people personally, it is your time and your practice that is at stake. But IAS BABA was different. I still remember my answer was evaluated the very 1st day! Of course I needed to improve but someone telling that created a lot of enthusiasm and positivity. I wrote answers for 5 questions in TLP program each day and everyday there were evaluators who were reading my answers, sometimes all 5 and sometimes at least 3 if not all. But then there were other aspirants who checked my answers and gave their comments. It was this consistency in IAS BABA team that I never gave up mains answer writing till November end. It helped me groom my writing skills. I kept a 35 minute timeline for answering these 5 questions to create exam feel each day. I didn’t join any test series for my optional and had to pay for it. I gave the mains and cleared it but couldn’t get the final rank. It was my optional that doomed me. I scored a mere 208/500. But as far as IASBABA was concerned, the practice did its work, I scored around 360 in GS. I decided to give second attempt. With people going for some very costly test series I was pretty sure that my trust in IASBABA will pay off. I stuck to IASBABA, this time for both prelims and mains.  Since I had to catch with my current affairs within less time, the summary versions of Yojana/Kurukshetra Magazines by IASBABA were very helpful. They started an amazing 60 day prelims plan which I regularly practiced. I didn’t join any other test series for prelims. Then it was TLP again and the team was again at its very best at evaluating mine and other aspirants’ answers. I was very positive about IASBABA from the very start and didn’t go for any other platform. But this time I joined a test series for maths by IMS. The hard work paid off and I cleared Mains. For interviews, I took part in interview discussion initiative by IASBABA for keeping in touch with the kind of theoretical questions that can be asked. Also, joined interview guidance program by Samkalp (2 mocks) along with 1 mock each from Chanakya IAS Academy and Vajiram and Ravi. As I now see my mark-sheet, I realise the important role of IASBABA in making me score high in GS in Mains. It is one thing that you are very particular about answer writing but it another to have a belief that your answer will be evaluated and you can improve. Without evaluation one seems to lose enthusiasm to write each day. It was this enthusiasm that kept the fire burning in me and I hope in all the future aspirants. I heard some negative opinions about Mathematics as an optional subject for UPSC. I think that we should listen to other people but decide on our own as to what suits us. Despite being a low scorer in my 1st attempt I didn’t lose faith in my subject and I realised my mistake of being over confident in being a post graduate in Mathematics. We should prepare a subject if we enjoy it (if we take a new subject altogether) or if we have a strong hold on it (as in my case) but should never be over confident about it. For people in maths, I want to tell that don’t break the chain of regular practice even when you are studying when Prelims exam is near. Reduce the time given to maths but don’t give it altogether. UPSC exam is one which checks not just your knowledge but also your approach towards life and its problems.  It tests you on your patience, mood swings, courage and persistence. Also, anyone can crack this exam with proper planning and suitable timetables. Regularity and consistency with support systems like IASBABA is a necessary recipe for acing this exam. I wish all the aspirants very best for the upcoming Prelims 2017. With less than a fortnight left, brush up the facts, solve MCQs and pray for positivity in thinking from Almighty. Don’t overthink and overanalyse. Keep calm and excel. Regards, Mani Agarwal AIR 126, UPSC 2016

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

MOTIVATION and TOPPER’S STRATEGY: Pawan K Pal, Rank 505, CSE-2016, First Attempt, Full Time Working Professional, 121 Marks in ETHICS, 156 Marks in ESSAY-PSIR Optional, IASbaba's ILP Student

Hello Friends, Every success story is unique and different in approach and manner in which it is achieved. But what is more cherishing than achieving the same in the very first attempt with full time job. Pawan's success makes it much more inspiring because of many reasons. This was his first attempt. He was working full time with Maruti Suzuki He prepared for Political Science and International Relations in less than 4-5 months He scored 121 Marks in Ethics and 156 Marks in Essay He was part of IASbaba's Integrated Learning Programme ILP-2016 We are really proud of him because he has given strength to our motto and vision of imparting guidance to aspirants preparing from Home specially freshers and working professionals. We wish you a great future ahead! Name - Pawan K Pal Residence - Panipat Education Background – Btech ( Mechanical) from D.C.R.U.S.T Murthal Company employed –Production Dept ,Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Manesar [ From 2012 to 2017] UPSC Roll no. – 0007348 Optional – Political Science & International Relations Attempt – 1st Rank – 505 With Summer Solstice raising the temperature of the Northern plains, there was a gamut of CSE aspirants waiting to witness their hard earned rank in the sacred Pdf. For some the list although came as a spring in this hot weather but for some it was a clarion call to buck-up and prepare for the pre-2017. With the information depicted above some questions are quite obvious, like: Why you thought of giving CSE so late – After 4 yrs of experience in MSIL Why you choose Political Science and International Relations How you managed time while working that too in Production Department Source of motivation To clear the clouds hovering around your heads let me give you a brief of my preparation. It is often said that after being frustrated of a 9 hr job, a person often tries Civils, CAT or Start-up. I choose the 1st one. The monotonous job of production never intersected with my ambitions and one day the longing to do something that suits my physical & biological capabilities got so empowered that I landed at Karol Bagh to search for a weekend course. It was Sept-2015. I never had any plan to sit for Civils nor I had any cravings for this most coveted job. But it was the option that seemed possible during that time (the Bandwagon effect with which most young population in India suffers for). I subscribed The Hindu as its printed copy was not available in Manesar.  After attending my office I had to rush to my class (from Manesar to Karol Bagh, Delhi) at 5 pm to 8 pm on Saturday and 7am to 6pm on Sunday. The schedule was hectic as 6 day working coupled with bulky books was very gruesome and I was in state of never ending confusion. Time passed and I was a part of hoi polloi that ate, drank, walked what they were taught in the classroom. But one training of Cost Benefit analysis in Maruti Changed my perception and I bought a Laptop to start a journey with my own Map. It was Dec-2015. From this onwards I never followed the coaching wallas and subscribed to IASBABA and joined ILP. With so many online initiatives and programmes it was really confusing to make a choice. Here the confusion ended and I relied totally on IASBABA whatever may be the consequences. The logic was simple – What you are doing that will make you stand out from a group of 13-15 Lakh applicants. The IASBABA programme was a boon for me as it gives you a time bound target with list of books to read. After that it tests you and you will feel the heat, the competition which is very much required in Civils. I never skipped any mail from IASBABA. The daily questions they ask were always a challenge for me. I tried hard to get all correct but never achieved that feat. Now, you will ask that how I managed to cover the vast syllabus. The answer is simple – I just followed the study plan of IASBABA and gave my tests regularly. I can recall that in first test I got 56 marks but in last test I got 152 marks. For the syllabus my plan was to read at least 200 pages daily. I competed Laxmikath in 5 days and completed my syllabus in multiple readings. NCERTs were treated like comics and Bipin Chandra was like a Shaktimaan story. I had read one interview of Mr Shashi Tharoor, where he told that he was able to read a complete book within his travel time from the Library to his Home. I was nowhere less than him ( you can feel the arrogance here). :P  Plan was made and the calendar was scrambled. The plan was to complete the whole syllabus plus 5 times revision. May-2016 was the deadline and June & July was the revision months. But here again that question cropped up in my mind – What you are doing that makes you stand out from the Rajinder Nagar wala group. Here again brainstorming started and I took Prelims test series of Vision IAS and Vajiram too. Here I joined Vision IAS Mains test series also (June-2016). Here I was mocked by my friends as I just started my preparation from the scratch and this decision of joining Mains test series before giving prelims was stupid for them. But I knew my Strengths and Weaknesses. Even if you clear prelims with good marks and you fail in mains it is again a zero sum game. My aim was to crack this examination in single attempt and for this it should be attacked from all sides.  I accomplished my plan which was to complete whole syllabus + 5 time revision. Meanwhile I gave 2 Mains tests of Vision IAS before prelims. After the above plan and solving over 100 mocks that means around 10000 questions I sat for Prelims on 7 Aug 2016. For Prelims the key is Revision + Mocks. All NCERTs are must and Google should be preached like god for prelims. Quora is good for clearing the concept but never stop yourself from applying some common sense and logics. Never skip any content or questionnaire of IASBABA. The ILP here played crucial part for its effective planning, high quality VAN and tests and I give all credit for the result to IASBABA. After coming home I checked all my answers with the answer keys and I found that I am through. From the very next day I started writing daily. The Best part was when you complete your Newspaper by stealing some time in office and a mails comes from IASBABA with list of possible questions for Mains. TLP was a boon in this regard for its quality questions. I wrote daily and followed this simple strategy and avoided any confusion. But the dark clouds of Optional subject still surrounded me. One day I saw a motivational video of Varun Kumar (IAS) where he emphasized on how he randomly picked Political Science as optional and prepared it. This instilled in me a confidence that it is achievable. After being bored of reading Mechanical subject till February 2016 I switched my subject to Political Science & International Relation and after that I never looked back. Again same strategy was followed – Syllabus + 5 times revision Now the Mocks. I took some time when I started giving my pending mocks of Vision IAS mains because the format of your answer should be different and it should be attractive. Meanwhile I got test series of Sriram IAS and GS Score. Here I relied totally on Textual material because you can write a nice answer only after diverse and rigorous reading. Watching Videos may clear your concept but it will not be beneficial for getting crux of answer writing. I stretched myself with 3 newspapers – Hindu , Indian Express and Livemint + EPW(Subscibed) To Metamorphise myself I wrote my last 6 mains test in 2 days at VisionIAS test center, Karol Bagh. Never skipped any Mains question of IASBABA. Books followed: History – NCERT Old (Ancient and Modern history), Spectrum(Modern), Nitin Singhania (Culture), Tamil Nadu (Ancient). Economics – 11th& 12th NCERT + Diverse Online Sources, IASBABA notes Environment – Shankar IAS, IASBABA notes, Moef annual report + Online Sources Geography – All NCERTs + Online Sources Polity – Laxmikanth + B L Fadia + Legalserviceindia website(this is boon for Pol. Science optional) Science & Tech – IASBABA notes Current Affairs – VisionIAS + IASBABA For Political Science and International Relations When I started with my preparation for CSE in Nov-2015, my plan was to write this examination with Mechanical Engineering as Optional. As my background was technical and I had interest in mechanical so this decision was easy to make. But when I solved the mocks of mechanical engineering in Feb-2016 after studying for 3 months for this optional my all beliefs eroded. Meanwhile I saw a motivational video of Varun Kumar (IAS) where he emphasized that how he completed his optional (PSIR) in just 3 months. I decided that Political Science will be the one I will go forwards. I researched on internet and found Shubra Ranjan Mam. But I was late and coaching was not possible. So I took ND Arora – a book of Political Science where syllabus wise content is given. I took help from it but never relied on its content. It can guide you about where to go and what to study but only reading this book is a sin. I purchased Notes of Shubra Ranjan mam and all standard books for the optional. Andrew Heywood as a name looks scary but this book is easier than any other Indian author. Books referred: Political Theory – Andrew Heywood + O P Gauba + Wiki Western Political Thoughts – Nelson + Wiki + Scholarly articles Indian Political Thinkers – Pearson + Internet Paper 1 , Part B – BL Fadia + EPW Magazine + Indian Express + Legalservicesindia + Internet Comparative politics – Ignou Notes(MPS series) + Internet + ND Arora World Focus MEA Websites + ASEAN Website + IDSA India’s World on RS TV+ BIG Picture PAX Indica by Shashi Tharoor Global Politics – Andrew Heywood Oxford Handbook on Indian Foreign Policy Shubra Ranjan Mam Notes – Very Important The Wire – Editorial EPW The above books are just a glimpse of what you should read but the actual concepts grasped can be from different sources like I regularly watched and read Ramchandra Guha, Yogendra Yadav, CP Bhambri, Hamza Alawi, Zia Mody etc. Political Science imparted me philosophical mindset which I used in essay writing and got mammoth 156 marks. It also helped in Ethics paper and in paper 2 also. Speed Reading and using the core terms in practical ways can take you distances and you will never forget the things that you will read. Argue with the author while reading his/her article, this will not only give you critical thinking but will also make your decisions bold and mature. Write small cheat notes so that you can revise them before the examination. Every optional for CSE should be covered till the level of masters programme so respect the optional and do appreciate the authors. Plan your strategy and devise your own path. The beauty lies in the mystery and risk. Don’t rely on Coaching centers as they will homogenize you and UPSC wants a unique one from bunch of 15 lakh people, so stop preaching false GOD. Steal every style and methodoly from the toppers and make alloy of it and apply it with full confidence and skills. This examination is all about patience, perseverance and hard work and remember the concept of ESCAPE VELOCITY. You have to attain that escape velocity to crack this examination. Some people attain it in 5yrs  some in 6 months, it totally depends how much pain and brain you are using to bundle up this exam. I got 505 rank with above paraphernalia and things got aligned just because of one thing – Confidence. I was never confused after I went into hardcore mode of reading in Dec-2015. I choose my optional and never regretted, took impossible targets to achieve and tried to achieve by hook or by crook. I punished myself for not achieving the target but at the same time I also appreciated myself on completed the target. I gave 6 hrs daily while attending my job and Avoided sleep by drinking gallons of Coffee, stole time in office to read. I was sure that I will make it out, and only because of this I acted accordingly. There is a social construct that prevails among innocent Civils aspirants that you cannot crack this exam in 1st attempt while in job and that too in just 1 yr of preparation from the scratch. But it is possible, Humans are beyond any measurement and limitation. I Prepared my Optional Without Coaching and in a time frame of 4 months. Which construes that we cannot gauge our capabilities without giving our best. For those who are trying to crack this mighty exam, I exhort you all to not just try – Give all you have to it just for once. It’s better to be in isolation for one year than to swivel as pendulum in dichotomy of Fun & Study for many years. Isolation is a gift which tests you endurance. You are beyond any calculation and can do and witness miracle. All you have to do is to just crack the essence of this exam, only then you can crack this exam. Respect your age, its magnificent and Don’t just slog this precious period with Youngster angst into UPSC Civils. This glorious period will never come again and even if you crack this exam after 4-5 attempts  you will feel after some time that the splendid hormonal outburst of you stifled under the burden of Books of Civil Services. So give an honest attempt with all the force you have in you. Achieve the impossible and don’t beat your chest because you are surrounded by Naysayers. Show them your breed. You can do it because Asaan Hai. Thank You Pawan K Pal

Aug 20, 2017 Topper's From IASbaba

MOTIVATION and TOPPER’S STRATEGY: Ravi P Meena, Rank 694, CSE-2016, First Attempt, 161 Marks in ESSAY, हिंदी Medium- IASbaba’s TLP Student

नमस्कार दोस्तों, मेरी इस साल सिविल सेवा परीक्षा में हिंदी माध्यम से 694 रैंक थी, यह मेरा पहला प्रयास था| इस परीक्षा की सही रणनीति जानने से पहले, यह जानना जरूरी है कि UPSC को किस तरह की अभिवृति(aptitude) वाले लोग चाहिए| मेरी इस परीक्षा के बारे में जो समझ बनी है, उसके आधार पर मुझे लगताहै कि अगर किसी भी अभ्यर्थी में निम्न गुण है तो, रास्ता बहुत आसानहो जाता है, जैसे- जिस भी भाषा में हम परीक्षा लिख रहे हैं उस पर बहुत अच्छी पकड़ होनी चाहिए, अभिव्यक्ति कौशल इस परीक्षा में बहुत काम आताहै| IIT कानपुरसे होने के बाद भी मैंने हिंदी माध्यम में परीक्षा दी क्योंकि मुझे स्वयं को अभिव्यक्त करने में हिंदी में बहुत सहूलियत महसूस होती थी, इसलिए माध्यम चयन का सबसे सही तरीका यही होना चाहिए|हालांकि मैंने आधी तैयारी अंग्रेजी में उपलब्ध स्रोतों से की थी| दूसरा, अगर अभ्यर्थी की स्कूल समय से ही सामाजिक अध्ययन के विषयों में अच्छी रूचि रही है और ग्रेजुएशनके दौरान करंट अफेयर्स आदि में भी रूचि रही हो तो भी बहुत आसानी रहती है| एक संतुलित, और तार्किक सोच होना बहुत जरूरी है| रटने की बजाय समझ विकसित की जानी चाहिए, और interconnected study औरविश्लेषणात्मक (analytical) सोचकी बहुत जरुरत है| एकाग्र औरप्रसंगानुरूपसंगतयानिto the point होना बहुत महत्तवपूर्ण है| और हाँ, मेहनती होना तो जरूरी है ही, परअपने लक्ष्यों को ईमानदारी से और समयबद्ध तरीके से प्राप्त करने की कोशिश रहनी चाहिए, जैसे कॉलेज में मेरी कोशिश रहती थी वैकल्पिक HSS courses (Humanities and social science) में उन्ही का चुनाव करूँ जो मुझे इस परीक्षा में मदद करें और उन्हीं एक्टिविटीज में हिस्सा लिया जो इस दिशा में लाभप्रद रहें| अभ्यर्थियों को उपर्युक्तगुण विकसित करने चाहिए क्योंकि यह परीक्षा ज्ञान और मेहनत से ज्यादा व्यक्तित्व की परीक्षा है, और यही कारण है कि कई लोग प्रथम प्रयास में निकाल लेते है और कई को समय लगता है| अबअध्ययन की रणनीति की बात करते हैं, यहाँ मैं उत्तर लेखन,मैन्स की रणनीति और निबंध और कुछ अध्ययन स्रोतों की बात करूंगा, कुछ चीजें जो छूट गयीं हैं उनके लिए मैंने एक विडियो शेयर किया है उसमें सभी महत्त्वपूर्ण स्रोतों की जानकारी दी है, आप यह देख सकते हो https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuR9Nzh9S9g. उत्तर लेखन:- मैंने IASBABA और अन्य ऑनलाइन प्लेटफॉर्म्स पर उत्तर लेखन किया था, कोई औपचारिक टेस्ट सीरीज ज्वाइन नहीं की थी, मेरी सलाह है कि आप भी पूरी श्रृद्धा और विश्वास के साथ ILP और TLP पर उत्तर लिखिए और बाकी लोगों के उत्तर रिव्यु कीजिए, अच्छे उत्तर की निम्न विशेषताएं होनी चाहिए- To the point होना चाहिए, संगतता बहुत जरूरी है| सवाल के हर हिस्से का उत्तर होना चाहिए| intro, body, conclusion सामान्यतया होना चाहिए, इससे जांचने वाले को सहूलियत भी होती है और आपकी अनुशासित और सुलझे हुए व्यक्तित्त्व की छवि उभरती है, हालांकि कुछ मामलों में सवाल की प्रकृति के अनुरूप इसरूपरेखा में बदलाव किया जा सकता है| बिन्दुवार या फिर पैराग्राफ दोनों ही रूप में उत्तर लिखा जा सकता है, खैर, यह प्रश्न की प्रकृति पर निर्भर करता है, तथापिमैंintro और conclusion को छोड़कर body मेंयथासंभव बिन्दुवार लिखने की वकालत करूँगा| flowchart, tables इत्यादि मदद करती हैं| तथ्य और अन्य आंकड़े उचित मात्रा में होने चाहिए ना तो बहुत अधिक ना ही बहुत कम होने चाहिए| और toppers की कॉपी उनके उत्तरों की खासियत समझने की कोशिश करें| २. आगामी मैन्स के लिए: इस बार prelims लिखने वालों को अच्छे परिणाम के लिए शुभकामनाएं| और जो लोग चयन होने ना होने की दुविधा में हैं, उनको मेरी यह सलाह है कि पढ़ाई जारी रखें, उत्तर लेखन का नियमित अभ्यास करें, और अखबारों पर अच्छी नजर रखें, क्योंकि UPSC की अनिश्चित्तता के बारे में कोई नहीं जानता, अगर आप अपने आप को बॉर्डर-लाइनपर समझ रहे हो तो समझदारी इसी में है कि तैयारी करते रहें, क्योंकि इसी तरह की दुविधा पिछले वर्ष मेरे साथ हुई थी और मैंने 1.5 महीने का वक्त बर्बाद कर दिया, वरना रैंक बेहतर हो सकती थी| 1. निबंध का अभ्यास अभी किया जाना चाहिए क्योंकि बाद में वक्त कम होता ही चला जाता है| 2. GS-4 के उत्तर लेखन का विशेष अभ्यास किया जाना चाहिए और किसी अच्छी कोचिंग की टेस्ट सीरीज की ३ घंटे में प्रैक्टिस करें, क्योंकि इसमें समय की सबसे ज्यादा कमी पड़ती  है| और अपने दोस्तों के साथ इसके उत्तरों पर अच्छी चर्चा करें यह बहुत मदद करती है| 3. बाकी के सामान्य अध्ययन के पेपर्स के लिए ऑनलाइन उत्तर लेखन या टेस्ट सीरीज से प्रैक्टिस करे, 4. अब कोर किताबें पढने का समय नहीं है, उन्हें बहुत ही कम पढ़े, बस जो आता है उसी का बेहतर प्रस्तुतिकरण पर ध्यान दें और ऑप्शनल आदि में जो कमी रह रही है उसे पूरा करें| 5. इन चार महीनों के अखबारों के सम्पादकीय सबसे महत्वपूर्ण हैं, उन पर अच्छे से चर्चा और तैयारी करें, और उनमें रटने वाले तथ्य आदि के लिए करंट अफेयर्स की मैगज़ीन आदि का सहारा लें| 6. प्रथम प्रयास वालों के लिए कि यह ही सबसे अच्छा प्रयास होता है, अपनी सम्पूर्ण ऊर्जा लगा दो| निबंध: निबंध में मुझे 161 अंक मिले थे, मैंने केवल ऑनलाइन निबंध लिखे और कुछ निबंध परीक्षा से पहले दोस्तों के साथ लिखे और उन पर चर्चा की| मेरी समझ के हिसाब से अच्छे निबंध की निम्न खासियतें होती हैं: जितनी ज्यादा विवधता संभव हो सकती है, उतने पहलुओं पर विचार किया जाना चाहिए| भाषा तरल और सरल होनी चाहिए, कठिन भाषा से कोई विशेष प्रभाव पड़ने की बजाय कई दफा नकारात्मक छवि भी बन जाती है| और निबंध केवलविषय पर ही होना चाहिए, मैंने अपना निबंध आपसे साझा किया है वो देख सकते हो| तथ्य आंकड़े और बड़े लोगों के कथन इस प्रकार समाविष्ट किये जाएँ कि बोझिल ना लगें| और इन सब बातों का सार यह है किनिबंध ऐसा हो कि जिससे आपके परिपक्व व्यक्तित्व की झलक मिले| हिंदी माध्यम के मित्रों के लिए अपने मन से यह पूर्णतः निकाल देना चाहिए की हम किसी से कम हैं या हिंदी माध्यम के साथ भेदभाव होता है, ये सब बहाने हैं| हाँ कुछ स्रोतों की हिंदी माध्यम में समस्या है उसके लिए कोशिश करके अंग्रेजी की चीजों से पढ़ें, IASBABA जैसी वेबसाइटों का अच्छा उपयोग लें, अगरयहाँ भाषा की समस्या है तो वैकल्पिक स्रोतों का सहारा लें उन्हें ढूंढें, थोड़ी मेहनत करनी पड़ेगी पर काम हो जायेगा|   IASBABA के लिए:         धन्यवाद,आभार, मैं कृतज्ञ हूँ, अपने इस अच्छे काम को जारी रखिये, ताकिदिल्ली को दूर समझने वाले, अपने लैपटॉप से दुनिया ढूँढने वाले लोग भी बिना मुखर्जी नगर आये, अपनी मम्मी के हाथ की रोटी खाते हुए IAS बन सकें|   Book list GS Preparation for Prelims (Summary) Study material / Guidance   Basic Books     M. Laxmikanth or DD Basu, Bipin Chandra or Spectrum history, TN board class 11th history and + new NCERTS for Ancient and medieval. 6th to 12th NCERTs for Geography. Eco. Survey for Economy. Current Affairs   Hindu, and IE + u can follow IASBABA summaries. Test Series   Join any good test series. I Solved IASBABA 60 day program also. Recommended IASbaba's ILP Any other   Solve as many questions as you can. And revise their solutions 2-3 times. GS Mains Preparation (Summary) Paper Study Material/Guidance Current Issues Source Answer Writing Practice GS Paper 1     NCERTs for Geo., BIPIN CHANDRA, new NCERTs for History and ART and culture and Sociology NCERTs.   Newspaper Indian express and the Hindu Write answers and get them evaluated from friends , fellow aspirants. Use online platforms as TLP/ILP of baba, Test series can be joined though I did not join any. GS Paper 2   DD BASU , my optional was PSIR. For IR I read V.N. Khanna, and some IGNOU material also,     SC judgments, RSTV discussion are very good, and summery magazines for current affairs ( IASbaba, GS score, and vision are good ) Same as for GS1. GS Paper 3   Economic survey + some lectures of Mrunal. Hindu  and RSTV AIR, Same. GS Paper 4     I read nothing so can’t tell   Try to connect the news with case studies. Wrote some answers online and  4 full papers and discussed with my friends.. ( 2 of GS score and two of Vision, purchased from Market.) Optional Subject Preparation (Summary) Study material / Guidance   Basic Books   V.N, Khanna for IR, O P gauba for western political thought, for indian political thought I read IGNOU. For comparative politics, O P gauba, and for IGP B.L. Fadiya and IGNOU for other topics, class notes of piyushchaubey sir. Current Affairs   Hindu+ IE+RSTV Answer Writing   I wrote some answers and got them evaluated from piyush sir. Any other   Nothing, I prepared in just 2 months with the help of piyush sir. सभी अभ्यर्थियों को दिल की गहराइयों से अशेष शुभकामनाएं :)  SAMPLE ESSAY BY RAVI PRAKASH MEENA आवश्यकता लोभ की जननी है और लोभ का आधिक्य नस्लें बर्बाद करता है| ईसा से 262 सालपहले की बात है, कलिंग के युद्ध में चारों तरफ खून ही खून हो गया, इसनेकई नस्लों को बर्बाद कर दिया, और कारण था सम्राट अशोक की यह इच्छा कि उन्हेंबड़ा साम्राज्य चाहिए| लेकिन उसी दौर में उसी क्षेत्र की फिजां में एक स्वर गूँज रहा था महात्मा बुद्ध का, जो अपरिग्रह पर जोर दे रहे थे, और कह रहे थे किआवश्यकता ही दुःख का मूल है| हालांकि, सम्राटअशोक को शुरू में इनका महत्व समझ नहीं आया, लेकिन जब खून बहा तो वेइस सन्देश का अर्थ समझ गये, और बौद्ध धर्म को गले लगाया, और एक बड़े साम्राज्य की जगह सुखी साम्राज्य की स्थापना की| मानवजाति का  इतिहास इस तरह के उदाहरणों से भरा पड़ा है, जहाँ आवश्यकता से उपजे लोभ ने नस्लें बर्बाद की हो, चाहे बड़े राज्य के लिए दुर्योधन की इच्छा से उत्पन्न महाभारत का रणहो या फिर नवीनसाम्राज्योंकेबीच युद्ध का होना रहा हो, आधुनिक इतिहास मेंप्रथम विश्व युद्ध इसी की परिणति थी और इसी तरह  उसके बाद हिटलर की बृहद साम्राज्य की आवश्कयता ने भीमानवता को मिट्टी में ही मिलाया है| वर्तमान में विद्यमान आतंकवाद और उससे पीड़ित विश्व के कारण भी यहीं हैं, पश्चिमी शक्तियों द्वारा तेल पर कब्जे और अपने प्रभुत्व को बढ़ाने के क्रम में पश्चिमी एशिया में हस्तक्षेप ने संघर्ष को बढाया और फिर इसमें धार्मिक पहलू के आने और सभ्यताओं के बीच संघर्ष के सिद्धांत ने स्थिति को बदतर किया| शीत युद्ध और उससे उपजे उन्माद, परमाणुओं की होड़, और मानव के विनाश का आग के गोले तक सीमित हो जाने के मूल में भी यही है| इससे पूर्व औद्योगिक क्रांति से उपजे पूँजीवादऔर साम्राज्यवाद के कारणों में भी लोभ ही था, और इसने अतिराष्ट्रवाद और उपनिवेशवाद को जन्म दिया जिसनेपूरीमानव जाति को संकट में डाला, विकसित देशों द्वारा कई नस्लों के आर्थिक राजनैतिक और सांस्कृतिक शोषण ने विकासशील देशोंके स्वछंद विकास को नष्ट कर दिया, और उन्हें अभीयुद्दोत्तर काल में भी बौद्धिक रूप से गुलाम बनाया जा रहा है, और इसके लिए अब नवउपनिवेशवादीरणनीतियां इस्तेमाल की जा रही है, जैसा कि घाना के राष्ट्रपति नक्रूमा ने कहा है कि “ नवउपनिवेशवाद नवसाम्राज्यवाद की अंतिम अवस्था है” इसके लिए विकसित देशों द्वाराबहुराष्ट्रीयनिगमों और और उनके द्वारा निर्धारित व्यवस्था और मानकों के माध्यम से यह सब किया जा रहा है| इसने विशव में उत्तर-दक्षिण विभाजन पैदा किया है और यह सबगंभीर भू-राजनैतिक संकटों की ओर बढ़ सकताहै| इसी कड़ी के दूसरे छोर पर, विश्वको आज के समय में पर्यावरणीय समस्याएं आतंकित कर रही हैं और इनका कारण प्रकृति का अधिकाधिक दोहन है, विकसित देशों की भौतिकवादी व्यवस्था ने इसको चरम पर पहुंचा दिया है, कईप्रजातियाँ लुप्त हो गयी हैं और कई होने वाली हैं, आने वाले पीढ़ीअपने पूर्वजों के कृत्यों से कितने संकट में रहेंगी इसका अनुमान भी मुश्किल ही है| महात्मा गांधी ने भी कहाथा कि “ हमारी पृथ्वी के पास लोगों की आवश्यकता की पूर्ती के लिए बहुत कुछ है किन्तुस्वार्थकी पूर्ती के लिए नही है|” इसके आलावा मानवीय संसाधनों के सन्दर्भ में इसने श्रम के शोषण सेअसमान समाज तैयार किया औरइससे बहुत सारी अमानवीय समस्याएँ पैदा हुई है| लेकिन यह दोहन केवलसंसाधनों के लिए ही सत्य नहीं है, जीवन के हर पहलू को यह प्रभवित करता है, जैसे आज की पूंजीवादी व्यवस्था में आवश्यकताएंऔर लोभ बढते जा रहे हैं, मनुष्य मशीनों में तब्दील हो रहें हैं, जैसे उनका उनके पर्यावरण से अलगाव हो रहा है, परिवार को समय नही दे पा रहे हैं साथ में पूजीवादीव्यवस्था में कार्य के विभाजन के कारण वे अपने कार्य को देखकर खुश भी नही हो पा रहे हैं क्योंकि वे बहुत बड़े प्रोजेक्ट के एक छोटे से हिस्से पर कार्य कर रहे हैं, मार्क्सिस्ट विचारधारा इसे ही कार्य से अलगाव कहती है, इस क्रम में जीवन में एकरूपता आ जाने से जीवनरसघटगए हैं, साथ ही इसतंत्र ने एक अघोषित प्रतिस्पर्धा को जन्म दिया हैं जैसे पडौसी की भौतिकवादी चीजों को देखकर दुसरे पडौसी का दुखी होना और उसकी अंधी होड़ में दौड़ पड़ना, इससे मानसिक तनाव बढ़ा है सच्चा सुख कम हुआ है,जीवन में संघर्ष बढ़ाहै वैमनस्य बढ़ा है प्रेम कम हुआ है, आपसी विश्वास कम हुआ है, ये किसी भी जीवंत मानवीय समाज के लिए अच्छी चीज नही हैं| और, इसका मनोवैज्ञानिक पहलू यह है कि मनुष्य को पता ही नही चलता और वह आवशयकता और लोभ के प्रति अँधा होता चला जाता है, और यह जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में दिखाई देता है जैसे एक व्यापारी धन के प्रति अँधा होता है,उसी तरह कुछ लोग अपने धार्मिक, जातीय और सांप्रदायिक विचारों को लेकर चरम पर पहुँच जाते हैं और अंततः द्वेष और बर्बादी हाथ लगती है| आज के समय में इससे उपजी प्रतिस्पर्धा ने बच्चों तक को नहीं छोड़ा , छोटे छोटे बच्चे मोटे मोटे बस्ता टाँगे, अपनी माता-पिता कि इच्छाओं को ढ़ोते हैं और उनके स्कूल के अंकों को लेकर अपना बचपन बर्बाद कर लेते हैं| इस क्रम में उनके सहज विकास और रचनात्मकता की जो हानी होती है वह कई बार अपूरणीय होती है| सामाजिक स्तर पर भी यह दिखता है कि लोभ के कारण सामजिक अपराध जन्म लेते हैं, अधिक धन कमाने की चाहत में एक पिता अपने बच्चों को समय नही दे पाता है, रिश्तों में दूरियां आ जाति हैं, सामजिक बुराई जैसे दहेज़ तलाक सब इसी के कारण हैं, यह लोभ ही होता है कि भाई भाई के बीच में वैर ला देता है, यह लोभ ही होता है जो व्यक्ति को इतना व्यस्त कर देता है कि वह ना तो बारिश में मिट्टी की खुशबू को महसूस कर सकता है और ना ही चांदनी रात की ठंडक को, और यह लोभ ही है जो फूलों को इत्र की शीशी में समेट रहा है आदि आदि| अतः यह स्पष्ट है कि आवशयकता और लोभ मनुष्य को बहुत नुकसान पहुंचा रहे हैं इसीलिए दुनिया के धर्म दर्शनों में अल्पसंग्रह पर जोर दिया है चाहे इस्लाम में जकात का सिद्दांत हो या फिर हिन्दू धर्म का “त्यक्तेन भुंजीथा” और दान का सिद्धांत| इसी तरह बौद्ध और जैन् धर्म भी कम संग्रह पर जोर देते हैं| हमारे समाज में कहावत भी है कि “ संतोषी सदा सुखी”,और इसी क्रम में यहाँ जन्में महापुरुषजैसे महात्मा बुद्ध , महावीर जी, गांधीजी, आदिने भी इसी पर जोर दिया, हिंदी के कविदिनकर जी भी लिखते हैं कि “शांति नहीं जब तक, हर भाग ना नर का सम हो, ना ही किसी को बहुत अधिक हो ना ही कम हो” इन्हींमूल्योंको सतत रखते हुए भारतीय संविधान भी समाजवादी मूल्यों कि स्थापना करता है, और राज्य के नीति निर्देशक तत्व में सामजिक आर्थिक न्याय की स्थापना करता है और एक  कल्याणकारी राज्य की स्थापना करता है| आरक्षण और कर प्रणाली यही सुनिश्चित करने के लिए है| अतःस्पष्ट है कि लोभ महाभारत करवाता है और त्याग प्रेम बांटता है, लोभसगे खून में दरारे डाल सकता है है जबकि प्रेमपूरी दुनिया को एक कर सकता है, लोभ हमको खुद से छीन लेता है और एक अंतहीन चक्र में धकेल देता है और जीवन को सुखहीन बना देता है, इसीलिए हम अधिक पैसे से नई नई लाइटें खरीद सकते हैं किन्तु सूरज की रौशनी नहीं, शीतलमंद समीर का सुखAC नहीं दे सकती, आजकलपैसो से नींद से ज्यादा चिंता मिल रही है, और फलतः इंसान भीड़ में होते हुए भी अकेला हो रहा है, लोभ की वजह से ही हम बड़े बड़े मकानों में भी अकेलेपन से मर जाते हैं किन्तु पहले लोग झोपड़ी में भी सुख से रहते थे, इसलिए जरूरत अधिक पानेकी नहीं, बल्किकममें अधिकखोजने की होनी चाहिए,और अंत में बाबा कबीर का यह दोहा जो इस सबके सार को कह देताकि- “ साईंइतना दीजिये, जामे कुटुंब समाये, मैं भी भूखा ना रहूँ, साधू ना भूखा जाए|” MARK SHEET

Aug 20, 2017 Motivational Articles

MOTIVATION: Start Where You Are, Use What You Have & Do What You Can!

How do you do, dear aspirants? With the weather being so uncertain and the crowded community of notes hoarders lurking around the corners ready to stupefy you, how are you keeping up? Have you been able to start working on killing your self-doubt? If yes, bravo! If not, you should take the required steps immediately. It is very important for this roadblock in your life to disappear in order to take important steps to be able to realise your dream, your aspirations. Life is uncertain. Imperfections are a part of your life. But what you do have under your control are your choices. Choices that can help you succeed. Choices that can make or break you completely. Just imagine that you have an account in your pocket -  Bad choices & Good choices. Your option should always be to increase the weight of good choices. So how do you increase the weight exactly? Begin by taking the first step from wherever you are standing today. Difficult, does it sound? Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. It is never easy, I know. But it is never too difficult to start all over. Use whatever that you have to take the first step. Do not hesitate. Do not think about what your friends will think, or what your parents might feel. The most important thing for you is to decide that the first step should be taken and secondly, that the step should be taken by you with full awareness. So, what are you waiting for? If you feel dejected, start now accepting that it happens to everyone and you are fully capable of getting away from it. Believe that you are capable of many wonderful things that life has to offer, one being your success in your dreams and wishes. Trust me, take this step. Use all your energy and put your best feet forward. Do whatever you can and whatever it takes to make this event in your life possible. After all, success visits only those who are willing to take the first step towards it. And who does not want to increase the weight of the account named 'Good Choices'? All the very best! Your friend, philosopher and guide - IASbaba

Aug 20, 2017 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – Meditation and Creativity – Inspirational & Educative Articles

Meditation and Creativity: There is a part of us that is not influenced by the noise and clutter of the mind; there is a part of us that is pure, pristine and clear. This is the part that meditation opens up. Meditation is the doorway to the vast and beautiful realm of the self where life, creativity and joy flows like an endless perennial stream. Practice of meditation is a quest to listen to the silent murmur of this stream. It is an effort that we put in to declutter the mind so that it can experience silence, solitude and creativity. Those who are willing to put in the effort will experience the joy of this magnificent inner world. Creativity is a spontaneous moment to moment response to challenges of life. When you are able to move beyond the set patterns of the mind and act from the moment, creativity becomes a natural out flowing. In this state, all challenges of life can be handled with a smile. There is only one obstacle for creativity; it is our inability to let go of the obsession to keep reflecting on what has happened or what has to happen. Our minds are addicted to thoughts. Although it is so easy and simple to see solutions for complex problems of life, the mind refuses to move beyond its set patters. Creativity begins when the mind let’s go of the knowledge it has accumulated and allows spontaneous imagination to lead the way. Einstein put this beautifully saying, “imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution." To be imaginative, creative and spontaneous, you have to be in the present moment. The whole science of meditation is a systematic process of learning how to be in the present moment. Mind and body anchored to the present moment are always in a positive state of mind, ready to imagine new solutions for old challenges. So then, how do we begin the practice of being in the moment. This is where different methods and techniques of meditation become useful. Meditation has absolutely nothing to do with religion or rituals. It is a simple, scientific and an understandable system of inner transformation. As with any scientific system, practice using right methods will produce the desired results. Here are some simple meditation techniques you can practice on a daily basis for 30 to 45 minutes. You can choose a comfortable place and posture so that your mind and body is relaxed; preferably a quiet room. Set an alarm for the duration of your choice and start these practices. a) Watching the Breath - You can keep your focus on the breath throughout the meditation. Every time your mind drifts into thoughts, bring it back to the breath. This is a simple and beautiful meditation that relaxes and allows your mind to quieten. b) Watching the Candle Flame - This meditation can be practiced in late evenings. You can turn off the lights of your room and sit in front of a single candle flame and watch it. You can do this for about 30 minutes. c) Mindfulness - This is a practice you can do throughout the day. Being mindful of each and every action of the mind and the body keeps you rooted in the present moment. This is a very powerful way to access imaginative creative thinking. “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”