Hello Friends,

A boy was travelling by train when people around him got talking. He was a shy fellow, so instead of participating in the conversation he just listened to what each one of them were saying.

At one point, a person said, “How will the problem of poverty be solved? Isn’t it all dependent upon God?”

Later in his diary he wrote the following words –

Divine will – what is this divine will that people keep talking about? They are never tired of it. I just cannot seem to wrap my head around why would people just leave everything to divine will and blame everything on divine will.

Yes, if somebody else is dying, somebody else is hungry, it must be divine will. But what will happen if my stomach is empty, or if my parents are dying of hunger. I will have to have my own plan, right?

Simply put, I believe that whenever we have to do something about our lives, we have taken the issue in our hands. Whenever it comes to other people’s misfortunes, we always have a word to explain it: destiny.

And what a convenient word it really is! Destiny – the perfect scapegoat, a way to deal with failure, a way to skip some uncomfortable situations. How many of us have the courage to really turn inward and stay away from all these instances of passivity? How many of us can stop playing the victim game and attempt to beautifully make our own destiny?

And, look what has happened – ‘Polio’ is in our hands today!

The very word ‘polio’ used to strike terror in the hearts of all. But political advocacy with the right amount of community participation led all of us to defeat all the obstacles, and led to the eradication of this deadly disease.

This is what it’s like – To be Human! To be human you can mould situations you are living in the way you want them. And no, you do need divine intervention to pass the weekly tests. You just need to know who you are, and what your goals are.

There is a famous saying that says that our destinies are written by us unconsciously. Anger, fear, anxiety, and stress – yes, everything does exist but it is your choice after all, if they will affect you. Taking destiny in your hands does not mean that everything will happen your way. The outside world consists of a lot of varied dynamics, and it will never happen a hundred percent your way. But when you are in pain, or stress, it is certainly time to look within yourself, not at the situation or the problems around you.

When in sickness, it is you who needs the medication. When hungry, it is you who needs the food. But when you sit for a test and you do not score that well, it is not the fault of the teacher who set the paper, or your destiny who gave you that particular set. It is you – the only one who needs to be fixed, is you!

Dear friend, whatever be the situation, make yourself in such a way that, whatever the events and situations around you, you don’t get crushed by them, but you ride them.

Hola – it is time to wake up to a whole new you, with a different perspective and a different goal in mind – to take your life in your own hands.

It is possible. It is a guarantee of your success.

P.S- A very Happy Diwali to all of you from the Team of IASbaba :) 

You all must be busy in buying gifts, sharing happiness and joy with friends and family and why not? This day is meant for this.

When we first thought about Civil Services, by default, Social Service was in our mind. Whenever anyone asks, why you want to become a Civil Servant?

"Because I want to do social service. Because I want to work for the society. Because I want to bring change in society”. Isn’t it?

If we plot a normal distribution of UPSC aspirants 80% would fall under this.This post is for those aspirants. Offcourse there would be aspirants who would want it for money, power status alone.

Now, in the atmosphere of celebration, festivals, and our own happiness, how many of us actually think about sharing our happiness & celebration with “Deprived/Needy Section of Society”?

When we are buying stuffs worth thousands, they are struggling to buy one-time food for their survival. When we are spending extravagantly on clothes, food and gifts, they are struggling to sustain their livelihood.

“Just think of your neighbour who is struggling to sustain with one meal a day”

We should be sensitized enough to have empathy towards our surrounding, in this case, our neighbour or surrounding.

This insensitivity is the actual cause of deprivation and poverty in our Country. We seldom care and ponder over our responsibility. Almost all of us blame Government and other authorities for this.

And this sensitivity is the first step towards you being a successful administrator.

Just imagine, if each one of us develops this sensitivity and empathy, the whole society will change.

It is not the matter of providing food. That is just an example. The Big Picture is “Sensitivity and Empathy in spirit not in words”.

Have you ever thought of giving a treat to children involved in Child Labour and are thrown on streets to beg? These children, biologically and psychologically share the same childhood and feeling as ours. On Diwali or other festivals, they also expect someone to give them gifts, crackers, sweets etc.

Cannot you afford this for one such Child?

Look around you. You will find Old People abandoned by their children, physically handicapped & deprived people, Children involved in Child Labor and begging on streets. Go to them, share the celebration with them. They are one of us. They too deserve to be happy. Our happiness and celebration are at the expense of their pain and sufferings. How can we celebrate without them?

We have lost the basic thread that defines us as HUMAN. And that is Humanity. Let us take a pledge today!

We will develop this “Sensitivity” in us. We will start social service from within.

Are you waiting to become IAS officer to start social service? Common!

Let’s do it from now. Let us share our happiness with all of them and share the experience to motivate others also.

And this will be a wonderful step in your journey towards Mussoorie!