Essay: January 2023 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

Just Because You Have a Choice, It Does Not Mean That Any of Them Has to Be Right

May your choices reflect your hopes not your fears.

A choice is the act of selecting something from a range of possibilities or is one of your options. Choice may also mean that something has been carefully chosen. Existence of choices does not mean that all choices are legally right or socially acceptable. Existence of choices does not assure your righteousness. If something has been asked to do it does not mean that it is right. If something was done according to the wishes of others, then it cannot be claimed that you are not guilty because someone else has asked to do so. Concerns related to right or wrong are independent of virtue or wishes. Something is absolute in this world and no negotiation is possible regarding such kinds of things. Moving from one choice to other choices is your discretion but its righteousness or wrongness sometimes depends on your act. It means the choice is neutral. You have to prove that the choice you made is right. In some other circumstances the right or wrong is predetermined i.e., it is absolute, and you cannot negotiate it. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ provides a cohesive response to the claims of righteousness and wrong. The fundamental idea that promotes harmony and joy is generally considered as the path of righteousness.
Civil Servants have fundamental characteristics such as patriotism, neutrality, rationality, hard work, Honesty, Transparency & Integrity etc. A civil servant must have to make decisions according to preexisting circumstances to solve the issues of the people without fear. The ability to make appropriate choices is critical for survival. In order to choose the optimum course of action, successful decision-making involves the integration of sensory information, motivational states, and probable consequences. A civil servant has to make decisions not just for sake, but he has to prove that his decision is right because a wrong decision can destroy several lives and their future. A person with such a huge responsibility cannot rely on circumstances for decision making. He cannot just watch the right time to make an appropriate decision. He has to make a decision and choose the steps to implement his decision irrespective of circumstantial constrains. Due to fundamental characteristics of fearlessness the Civil Services in India is considered as the “Steel Frame of India''. A civil servant has to make the best choices out of several choices fearlessly. After taking decisions he has to strive hard to prove it right and to implement it for the welfare of society. The bureaucratic process is prone to criticism and is equated with duplication, arbitrary decision-making, and inefficiency. The underlying causes may be the inefficiency of the entire system, but responsibility lies on the civil servant or on bureaucrats. Accountability always comes to the head who takes the decision. Civil servants cannot claim that he is not guilty of the adversity which is the outcome of his decisions. The decision making or making choices are physiological aspects of life which are highly influenced by the personal thought process and existing circumstances and conscience of the individual. Possessing the power to choose is not necessarily a good thing always. When we must choose between two courses of action, we typically also assume some of the responsibility for our decisions.

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.

If we talk about world history in the late 18th century, France was a country in turmoil. This turmoil and the resulting power vacuum presented an opportunity to Napoleon, who by all accounts, was a shrewd opportunist in his quest for power. He was keenly aware of the opportunity of how being on the winning side would benefit him in his quest for power. Napoleon carefully analyzed possible scenarios to develop the best strategy to further his goals. In successfully dispersing the insurrection, Napoleon became a hero to everyday French citizens looking for change and tired of the bloodshed. The Battle of the Nile in August 1798 is considered to be Napoleon’s first big mistake. He “quit learning from the past in order to direct the future” and started making impulsive and emotion-based decisions.
The life of an individual either personal or professional, is full of right and wrong decisions. If a person makes the right decision he enjoys and if the decision goes wrong, then he has to face adversities. The crux of life is just to make decisions. Making decisions or choices should be based on awareness, knowledge and conscience. Decisions should not be impulsive, and emotion based.

A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.

An individual's thought process shapes his or her personality. The guiding force that determines an individual's future course of action is his own thinking. The future of an individual is determined by their current course of activity. Everything is based on the decisions or choices that a person makes. Thoughts may be constructive or destructive, good and bad; what we choose to think about shapes who we are. Mahatma Gandhi describes how his upbringing, experiences, and unwavering principles influenced his way of thinking in his book "My Experiments with Truth." This finally facilitates decision-making. Mahatma Gandhi also says that a person's decisions and behaviors are both strongly impacted by their cognitive processes.
We the human beings are on the earth because we have chosen life. Life is an absolute thing in itself so we cannot say anything about whether life is right or wrong. Utility of choices may be right or wrong, but it again depends on our choices which usually we make in life for the very survival of the life. Life gives us choices at every turn because we choose it to do so. Ultimately life choses death.

Poets are the Unacknowledged Legislators of the World

The poet's idea, artist's work, and writer's writing all play a crucial role in the evolution of the society. It aids in the identification of priority areas for development. It assists in decision-making during the process of formulating policies and passing legislation. The primary goal of the legislature is to establish norms for the proper functioning of society through legislation. Poets are forging new paths for culture and country. The poet talks about justice, beauty, suffering, despair, anguish and pain. Equality, justice, empathy, grief and poverty are prominent topic which always find its way to be reflected in the poetic and artistic creation.

Indian poetry in English is said to have begun with Henry Louis Vivian Derozio who was not only a poet but also a teacher of poet. He had a significant role in the profound socio-cultural transformations brought about by the Renaissance. Socio-cultural circumstances play a very prominent role during the formulation and implementation of the legislation. Poetic and artistic creation and writing by writers is influenced by the society and in the same way cinema is impacting the society.

Poet is setting norms through his poetic creations such as Vande Mataram, Jan Gan Man Adhinayak and Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna etc. These poetic compositions not only signify patriotism, but also instill feelings of love and affection for the nation. Vande Mataram is the national song of India. On November 7, 1875, Mr. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote this poem to honor Mother India. Maulana Hasrat Mohani, an Urdu poet and Indian freedom fighter coined the slogan Inquilab Zindabad in 1921. In the late 1920s, Bhagat Singh popularized it through his speeches and writings. The poet legislates the social norms through its poetic creation. It was also the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association's official motto. This beautiful statement instills a sense of revolution in the individual's heart and spirit.

Poetic creation is not limited to literature. It may be found in many facets of society, including film, lyrics, music, and various visual and performing arts. The song Karchale Ham Fida Jan Tan Sathiyo is from the film Haqeeqat. Cinema is a reflection of society because what happens in society influences the creativity of the cinema. The power of audiovisuals has been demonstrated and used politically, socially, and financially throughout history. During World War II, leaders such as Adolf Hitler successfully exploited films as propaganda weapons. As technology advances, leaders in politics and business have used songs, poems, and lyrics to influence public opinion for both their personal and the collective goods. The great poet and scholar Rabindranath Tagore who has written the National anthem “Jan Gan Man Adhinayak'' had a huge respect and following. Rabindranath Tagore and his works were greatly influenced by a segment of his admirers. On the other side, songs serve as a reminder of the value of love and the justification for its pursuit.

A poet has a deep and farsighted vision like a legislature which enables them to see the crisis before humanity. Poet in his poem tries to summarize the crisis which a society is going through or intended to face, and a legislature tries to put a holistic solution of the problems which a society is facing.

Rahim Das, Kabir Das and Pt. Nehru are the prominent persons who secures respect by mean of their poetic and writing capability. Discovery of India is one of the very famous books written by the Pt. Nehru. The book offers a comprehensive overview of Indian history, philosophy, and culture. This book's assessment of society sheds light on contemporary situational concerns and other associated problems. It facilitated the knowledge-based decision-making policy formulation and enactment of law.
It is the magnificent culture of Indian society that Indian Saint presented his message in poetry form.

Kabir Das and Rahim Das both are the prominent saints who enlighten to the society through their knowledge. Kabir used a dialect used by the average populace. His words were spontaneous, poetical, and melodic, as well as simple, direct, and colloquial. His statements were garnering respect and having too much importance for the society, much like the importance of any regulation for the society.
Rahim Das in his poetic creation is advocating that you should always keep your emotional pain concealed. Because others would mock if they got out a little about this mental sorrow. Nobody can split it apart or make it smaller for your comfort so limit your secrets to yourself. This is a universal truth of society. This universal truth prevails in society. This concept was introduced by Rahim Das, who was motivated by social conditions at the time.

Rahim Das provides an insight of life achievement in this poetry work. Rahim Das is emphasizing that attempting many activities at once is never a good idea since failure is the end result because success requires whole dedication to one objective rather than several goals. They won't be able to complete the task effectively if they do this since it is tough to handle too many tasks at once. If only one task is given complete focus, it will undoubtedly be completed successfully. Similar to how a tree's fruits, flowers, leaves, and stems stay green while only its roots receive water.

Many famous poems were written by the Hindi poet Shri Jai Shankar Prashad. In his poem, the poet is depicting that life of an individual is like full of emotions which depicts the of struggle, pain, suffering and achievements. The struggle of life evolves a warrior inside an individual. Happiness and sorrow both are the indispensable part of life and human life is blessed with it. Life is passing with the passage of time and different stages of life come with different challenges. Every circumstance of life teaches individuals the art of handling the challenges. As an individual learns the art of handling the challenges his understanding of life increases. Thus, in this way we can say that as time is passing life experiences are getting enriched.

The Ramayana, Mahabharat, Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta, and Hanuman Chalisa are all examples of legendary poetic creation. These are infused with poetic expression and use storytelling to depict society norms and conditions. Bhagavad Geeta is the teaching of Sri Krishna to Arjuna. The main focus of the Bhagavat Geeta is to eliminate the suffering of the people by awakening their heart, mind and soul. These lessons are described poetically. These poetic creations set the standard and gives direction to society. The sound, letter and its arrangement produce magical effects. This reflects the transcending power of a poet.

Poems strengthen the socially weaker segments of society by giving voice to the voiceless. Poem gave the words to the Women, Dalit, Blacks, Tribals, Humanity etc. Any relationship in a society proceeds in the manner suggested and outlined by the poet, not only by the legislator. Poem is capable of mobilizing the sentiments of the society so poetic slogans are used to mobilize the peoples for the political campaigning. The "Ekla Cholo Re" national anthem of Bengal was written in 1905 by Rabindranath Tagore. In spite of rejection or a lack of support from others, the song encourages the listener to continue on their endeavor. The song is frequently used in relation to campaigns for social or political change.

Sarojini Naidu, Hasrat Mohani, Rabindranath Tagore, and Aurobindo Ghosh were among the poets who took part in the Indian freedom struggle. Through their poetry and active participation, they made a contribution to the Indian freedom struggle.

Poetic, artistic and various writing works inspires to the masses. During the course of freedom struggle poetic artistic creations along with various writing works were used to mobilize the masses. Poets are able to inspire the masses along with bringing the revolution for social change. They inspire the government for the societal development. But they are highly unacknowledged because their impact on society is not reflected directly. Society is also ignorant for their contribution in social development. Act of legislature produces direct impact on the society so in this contrast the impact of a poets on society are underestimated. Poets are also not craving for the political power or money. Poets work behind the scenes to improve the world and build the civilizations.