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Tuesday, 29 April 2008

Wisdom from Mahabharat

Advice given to the Pandavas during their exile in the service of king Virata. This is so relevant for staff officers in their relationship with commanders.

When the Pandavas thus decided, Dhamuya blessed them and advised them thus : “those who are engaged in service under a king should always be vigilant. They must serve without talking too much. They may give their counsel only when asked, and never obtrude it. They should praise the king on befitting occasions. All things, no matter how small, may be done only after informing the king, who is a veritable fire in human form. Do not go too near him, nor yet appear to avoid him. Even though a person may be trusted by the king and have great authority, still he should always behave as if he would be dismissed immediately. It would be foolishness to place too much confidence in a king. One may not sit in the conveyance, seat or chariot of the king, presuming on his affection. A servant of the king should be ever active and self-restrained. He should not be excessively elated, nor unduly depressed, by being honoured or dishonoured by the king.

He may not reveal the secrets confided to him, nor may he receive anything in the form of gift from the citizens. He should not be jealous of other servants. The king may place fools in positions of authority, leaving aside the wise. Such waywardness should be ignored. One cannot be too careful with the ladies of the court. There should not be the faintest suggestion of indelicacy in one’s conduct towards them.”

Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Different Perceptions

When I get really exasperated with my children, I read this little piece, and it gives a good perspective to me.

· When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my garden. My kids see flowers for mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

· When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile right back.

· When I hear music I love, I know I can’t carry a tune and don’t have much rhythm. So I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they make up their own.

· When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground, laughing.

· When I pray I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My kids say, “Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don’t want to go to heaven yet. I would miss my mommy and daddy.

· When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross and worms to play with.

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things.




Sound Advice For Anyone Joining the Army

In units today, the senior subaltern is a lost instituion. Shortage of officers has resulted in a situation when there is hardly anytime when there are a sizeable number of young officers present. In such a scenario, there is a need to provice some substitute for grooming the new officers joining units.
The following extracts could form a good nucleus for material on the subject.

EXTRACTS FROM "A GOOD MAN IS A GOOD SOLDIER" FROM THE BOOK "FOLLOW ME II" BY MAJOR GENERAL AUBREY S. NEWMAN

There are some thoughts I would give any young man leaving to join the army-

- The first thing to get straight is that you are entering a profession. As in any other profession, good time Charlies and deadbeats travel a bumpy road.

-To go from high school to college is from one young society to another, it's a much greater transition to go from high school or college to the army. Suddenly you are in a man's word, dealing with serious responsibilities to others. Equally vital to understand, you no longer work alone [as in taking academic tests], but not must work in concert with others-which is much harder.

-A good businessman enjoys his work and it's the same way in the army. For poor businessman life is a burden and it's like that in the military profession too.

-Life in uniform is what you make it, just as it is on the outside.

-The armed services rest on a foundation of discipline-which is not the disagreeable thing many civilians visualize, nor is it hard to understand. Discipline is the willing obedience to all orders and, in the absence of orders, to what you think those orders would have been.

-Don’t be too quick to get chummy with new acquaintances; they maybe the wrong chums. If you run with the wrong crowd something happens inside your heart and to your attitude as a man and as a soldier-and that's a real misfortune.

-Reserve your ideas on how to reform the army until such time as you have won increased right by experience, increased rank, knowledge and understanding.

-Many things that seems senseless and useless to recruits have been proved by long experience to be the best way to serve the overall good. Young men new to the service should be slow to decide they know more overnight than all others said have preceded them. First learn to swim with the tide - there will be plenty of time to swim against the tide later.

-To say Sir demeans no man. It's a custom that helps military men at all levels bridge the rank gap-recognizing its existence while talking man to man.

-Similarly, saluting is a distinction reserved for military men-a friendly and professional greeting between soldiers in good standing.

-The more you know about anything, the more interesting it becomes. Don't wait to be force-fed information. Ask questions, study manuals and practice techniques with weapons and equipment. You will soon be an expert in many skills and fields if every day at every opportunity you seek to know.

-Develop the habit not only of being one time, but so regulating your days that you are on time without scrambling.

-Don’t have your feelings stuck out to be bruised, or they will be. When dealing with thousands of people, it's not possible to rub everybody's for the right way all the time when issuing orders. Just do what the man saves-and forget it.

-Observe those who have been in service for years: watch how they meet problems and perform their duties. Emulate things you admire in good soldiers, avoid errors made by bad ones.

-Just as "ignorance of orders is no excuse" in civilian life, it's the same way with military regulations and orders. Study those that affect you personally.

-Don’t drift, aim for advancement.

-The same things that make fine soldiers make successful civilians, including good character and good habits, sense of responsibility, getting along with others, good judgment and the continuing will to strive. Military service has an intangible something to offer any man-but you have to reach for it.

-The army has no quick and easy method to make a man out of a bum. An interesting comment on one case was made by a senior general in a reply to a soldier's father who had written a letter berating the army for not instilling discipline in his son. The general said, tactfully, it was hardly reasonable to expect the army to do in six months what the father had failed to accomplish in 18 years.

-The gripers are unhappy ones and they always distort facts. Look closely and you see they are really kicking themselves, trying to alibi their own failures and weaknesses.

-The measure of a man and a soldier is the ability to take it when the going is rough. To "blow your top" does not make you a tough cookie; it's just lack of self-control. Any dope can lose his temper.

-All successful men need human understanding-the ability to understand people and what makes them do what they do. Military service offers an unparalleled opportunity to cultivate this quantity and to learn to get along with others, as important in civilian life as in the army.