Inside Chanakya's Mind by Radhakrishnan Pillai

Author:Radhakrishnan Pillai
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789385990434
Publisher: Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd.
Published: 2017-01-17T05:00:00+00:00

Competition Is Good

When we think about competition, there is a negative feeling. We do not like competition. But Chanakya was different; he liked competition. He believed that having an enemy keeps you alert. There are many good things about having an enemy, having a competitor. Competition is good, because it brings out the best in you.

Do not just look at the enemy as a person; it can be a problem, a situation or a challenge that you have come across. You have to face it, tackle it and come up with a solution to the problem.

One day, one of Chanakya’s friends from a different kingdom came to him. He looked very sad and had some issues in that kingdom. He looked at Chanakya and said, ‘Sir, my kingdom has a major problem with the government employees and the bureaucrats. The state administration is totally corrupt. Because of this, there is no progress in our place and people are frustrated. Please do something, tell us what to do.’

Chanakya was not an impulsive person. He took his time to think through the situation, look at the problem in depth, look at the ground realities and only then did he make an action plan. This is how Chanakya operated. Inside his mind was a solution-focused approach, but one that relied on studying details.

He said, ‘Okay. Let us go to your kingdom. I want to see the situation myself, and then see how to solve it.’

This friend of Chanakya’s then took him to his kingdom. He took Chanakya to various government offices, marketplaces and also the common people’s houses. He could see the degree of corruption that was evident even in public places. The situation was very alarming indeed. Anybody could tell that the administration was in a really bad shape.

Chanakya was thoughtful for a long time. He suddenly asked his friend, ‘Tell me, what percentage of people in the government offices are corrupt?’

This came as a surprise to his friend. ‘Percentage?’

He wondered. His first impulse was to tell Chanakya that ‘100 per cent of the people are corrupt’. But he paused and started thinking. There were people in the system who were still not bitten by the heavy corruption all around. These honest officials worked sincerely for the people even though others in the government machinery did not like them. They were a rare few, but they did exist.

And he told Chanakya, ‘About 98 per cent of people in this system are corrupt.’

Chanakya gave an alarmingly wide smile. He seemed to be laughing, when his friend interrupted, saying, ‘Sir, I know why you are laughing. The situation is hopeless, right? If 98 per cent of the people in the system are like this, then you can’t do anything. Is that right?’

Chanakya, in a happy mood, said, ‘No, no, no. I am not worried about the 98 per cent who are corrupted. I am happy that 2 per cent of the people working in the government offices are still untouched by corruption. They are our hope.

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