Leverage the Power of the Not-Knowing Mode | Crack Civil Services in First Attempt by Divey Sethi, IRS - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Leverage the Power of the Not-
Knowing Mode
“Most significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive in nature.”
Have you ever wondered what the interview panel of UPSC Civil 
services wants from a candidate? One of the strongest misconceptions 
is that bureaucrats “know” everything under the sun! The reality is 
very far from it. You cannot know everything, and the interview panel 
acknowledges and accepts this truth. They are looking for someone 
who, apart from other qualities, has an acceptance of this very fact that 
you can’t know everything and your knowledge is limited, and someone 
who is humble enough to accept this, provided that he/she is willing to 
learn the unknown.
Most of the significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive, just 
like playing chess; a grandmaster would sacrifice a noteworthy piece 
under his or her kitty, which would look like a mistake to a person with 
myopic vision, only to realize later on that this was a trap created by the 
grandmaster so as to checkmate the opponent. Here, I am asking you 
to become a grandmaster by setting up a default not-knowing mode in 
your mind with respect to UPSC Civil services, which, in fact, is very 
counter-intuitive from the perspective of an ordinary aspirant. Most 
of the aspirants are preparing in the default knowing mode and are 
not only very opinionated about anything and everything you throw 
at them but also rarely acknowledge that there is a limit to the human 
mind as far as knowing is concerned, specifically with respect to the 
general nature of the examination syllabus.
I am also not here to give you fake assurances regarding your sense of 
epistemology, that is, the way you inculcate what to know and what 
not to know. Your entire understanding of knowledge may be incorrect 
Page 2


Leverage the Power of the Not-
Knowing Mode
“Most significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive in nature.”
Have you ever wondered what the interview panel of UPSC Civil 
services wants from a candidate? One of the strongest misconceptions 
is that bureaucrats “know” everything under the sun! The reality is 
very far from it. You cannot know everything, and the interview panel 
acknowledges and accepts this truth. They are looking for someone 
who, apart from other qualities, has an acceptance of this very fact that 
you can’t know everything and your knowledge is limited, and someone 
who is humble enough to accept this, provided that he/she is willing to 
learn the unknown.
Most of the significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive, just 
like playing chess; a grandmaster would sacrifice a noteworthy piece 
under his or her kitty, which would look like a mistake to a person with 
myopic vision, only to realize later on that this was a trap created by the 
grandmaster so as to checkmate the opponent. Here, I am asking you 
to become a grandmaster by setting up a default not-knowing mode in 
your mind with respect to UPSC Civil services, which, in fact, is very 
counter-intuitive from the perspective of an ordinary aspirant. Most 
of the aspirants are preparing in the default knowing mode and are 
not only very opinionated about anything and everything you throw 
at them but also rarely acknowledge that there is a limit to the human 
mind as far as knowing is concerned, specifically with respect to the 
general nature of the examination syllabus.
I am also not here to give you fake assurances regarding your sense of 
epistemology, that is, the way you inculcate what to know and what 
not to know. Your entire understanding of knowledge may be incorrect 
Leverage the Power of the Not-Knowing Mode
and, therefore, the outcomes. I am here to challenge your entire 
approach to how you begin understanding anything about the study 
of UPSC Civil services, correct, whether it means dismantling these 
fragile foundations you have constructed for your comfort in the mere 
fact that you are studying civil services. Do not solely find solace in the 
fact that you are merely studying for civil services but in whether you 
have true mastery over the subjects you have studied or not.
Have you ever mindfully watched yourself in a manner that a third person 
would see over every aspect of your life? Most probably, the answer to 
this question would be a big NO. This power to shift perspectives is very 
rare and is generally available and accessible as the consciousness level 
of a person increases. I am proposing a very counter-intuitive thing in 
this chapter, which is to be mostly in a not-knowing mode rather than 
a knowing mode. During this last decade, I have known many varieties 
of aspirants: those who were aspirants and stayed as aspirants, as they 
remained unsuccessful at every attempt of UPSC, and those who made 
it into the final list. Also, a few of such aspirants left civil services and 
preferred other employment opportunities, and finally, those aspirants 
who could not be settled till now after tremendously failing at each 
and every attempt of UPSC. One thing I am definite about those who 
made it to the final list is that they were more modest than the others 
who didn’t find a seat. They were more comfortable with not knowing 
a particular thing, and there was, in fact, a listening ear for openness to 
learning rather than the awkwardness, essentially accompanied by the 
not-knowing mode.
By now, you should have observed that the not-knowing mode would 
have an effect on making you humble toward knowing more than 
before. It’s almost a decade since I have been working as a mid-career 
bureaucrat now, but I never felt awkward or obstinate when it comes 
to a particular task at hand of which I am not aware. I would humbly 
accept my lack of knowledge in that particular task only to develop a 
listening ear to learn it from any other source if it is important enough.
Page 3


Leverage the Power of the Not-
Knowing Mode
“Most significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive in nature.”
Have you ever wondered what the interview panel of UPSC Civil 
services wants from a candidate? One of the strongest misconceptions 
is that bureaucrats “know” everything under the sun! The reality is 
very far from it. You cannot know everything, and the interview panel 
acknowledges and accepts this truth. They are looking for someone 
who, apart from other qualities, has an acceptance of this very fact that 
you can’t know everything and your knowledge is limited, and someone 
who is humble enough to accept this, provided that he/she is willing to 
learn the unknown.
Most of the significant moves in life are very counter-intuitive, just 
like playing chess; a grandmaster would sacrifice a noteworthy piece 
under his or her kitty, which would look like a mistake to a person with 
myopic vision, only to realize later on that this was a trap created by the 
grandmaster so as to checkmate the opponent. Here, I am asking you 
to become a grandmaster by setting up a default not-knowing mode in 
your mind with respect to UPSC Civil services, which, in fact, is very 
counter-intuitive from the perspective of an ordinary aspirant. Most 
of the aspirants are preparing in the default knowing mode and are 
not only very opinionated about anything and everything you throw 
at them but also rarely acknowledge that there is a limit to the human 
mind as far as knowing is concerned, specifically with respect to the 
general nature of the examination syllabus.
I am also not here to give you fake assurances regarding your sense of 
epistemology, that is, the way you inculcate what to know and what 
not to know. Your entire understanding of knowledge may be incorrect 
Leverage the Power of the Not-Knowing Mode
and, therefore, the outcomes. I am here to challenge your entire 
approach to how you begin understanding anything about the study 
of UPSC Civil services, correct, whether it means dismantling these 
fragile foundations you have constructed for your comfort in the mere 
fact that you are studying civil services. Do not solely find solace in the 
fact that you are merely studying for civil services but in whether you 
have true mastery over the subjects you have studied or not.
Have you ever mindfully watched yourself in a manner that a third person 
would see over every aspect of your life? Most probably, the answer to 
this question would be a big NO. This power to shift perspectives is very 
rare and is generally available and accessible as the consciousness level 
of a person increases. I am proposing a very counter-intuitive thing in 
this chapter, which is to be mostly in a not-knowing mode rather than 
a knowing mode. During this last decade, I have known many varieties 
of aspirants: those who were aspirants and stayed as aspirants, as they 
remained unsuccessful at every attempt of UPSC, and those who made 
it into the final list. Also, a few of such aspirants left civil services and 
preferred other employment opportunities, and finally, those aspirants 
who could not be settled till now after tremendously failing at each 
and every attempt of UPSC. One thing I am definite about those who 
made it to the final list is that they were more modest than the others 
who didn’t find a seat. They were more comfortable with not knowing 
a particular thing, and there was, in fact, a listening ear for openness to 
learning rather than the awkwardness, essentially accompanied by the 
not-knowing mode.
By now, you should have observed that the not-knowing mode would 
have an effect on making you humble toward knowing more than 
before. It’s almost a decade since I have been working as a mid-career 
bureaucrat now, but I never felt awkward or obstinate when it comes 
to a particular task at hand of which I am not aware. I would humbly 
accept my lack of knowledge in that particular task only to develop a 
listening ear to learn it from any other source if it is important enough.
Here, I also narrate an incident that I was fortunate enough to oversee. 
Very recently, I visited Rajendra Place in New Delhi, a hub of civil 
services preparations, where most coaching institutes are located. 
While having tea at one of the stalls, I found 2 aspirants initially talking 
about the relevance of voting in a democracy. One of the aspirants 
hailed from Bihar and could not go there to cast his vote in the Lok 
Sabha election of 2024. On this, he was pulled right and left by the 
other aspirant who hailed from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and who, in 
fact, took the pains of going there and casting the vote. The discussions 
ranged from how even one vote could make a difference to the results 
to chastising those who, due to some reason or the other, could not 
contribute to the massive feast managed by our election commission in 
India. The discussion between those 2 turned from a battle of opinions 
to verbal abuse to the extent that several other people had to intervene 
to calm them and hold their horses.
The incident above I narrate to make a point that there is no fruitfulness 
in any discussion, which is so opinionated that the thin boundary 
between discussing and fighting goes away. In any case, my dear 
aspirants, we should learn to be silent. Only if we are silent are we 
able to develop a listening ear, which is more important for the task 
at hand, that is, clearing the Civil Services Examination. Speak only 
when required, if required at all. In the aforesaid example, one of many 
others that you may have observed with yourself and others, where the 
content may be different, but the structure of discussion remains more 
or less the same, the election commission & political parties take into 
account the fact that there will be some voters who would not be able 
to vote due to myriad reasons.
The crux of many such scenarios is to observe silence and save your 
life energies so that you can develop a listening ear, and only then, the 
power of not-knowing can be leveraged to the best.