Introduction
Life has many levels and stages. The first stage is student life. Which is the most powerful, delicate, and liberating phase. But this stage does not pass in the same way for everyone. Everyone has their reasons. Whatever may be the reason, the blame doesn’t make a difference. The one who works hard in the right direction at this stage gets the fruits of hard work throughout his life. It is the foundation of life. if the foundation itself remains weak then it is very difficult for a grand, strong, and tall building to stand on it. The possibilities of heights of your whole life are hidden in your student life. How clear these possibilities will be, only the coming stages will decide.
The most central aim of student life is education and the most central aim of education is character building. The person whose character and level of education rise high in his student life itself, then one thing is sure, no matter what the circumstances may be, he will not go astray. The possibility of going astray is strong in student life. In this state, the student neither gets complete experience nor complete knowledge, he just has to grow with guidance. If he doesn’t get proper guidance, then he won’t reach anywhere.
If one’s curiosity is not focused, then success is just an imagination. Now, it is established that guidance, curiosity, and NISTHA are the three pillars of the quality of student life. Together these three create the soil in which the seed of leadership grows. Leadership is born out of nistha, guidance protects it and curiosity serves as the water for that seed. If these three pillars remain strong, then life will always touch new heights.
Once maturity comes, the guidance becomes self-centered, and no external guidance is needed again. As the seed of leadership grows, you start noticing yourself. There is an understanding of what is right and what is wrong. When the plant is a little bigger, you start taking your own decisions, and you start to minimize your dependency on others. Important decisions in your life are now under your control, and you start guiding yourself. When the tree of leadership expands to its full size and the roots are strong, you are no longer confined to yourself; there is room for more people under the shadow of your leadership tree. Now whatever fruit is obtained under your leadership will be devoted to social welfare. Here only the resolution of world welfare and national welfare remains. Only a handful of personalities can reach this height, so whoever has reached this height of leadership must have sent many invitations to bring others to this height. These invitations become the inspiration to climb the pinnacle of leadership. The direction of the sky shows this inspiration to leadership plants. It is this inspiration that sparks a revolution and rejects injustice.
It is this inspiration that prepares Arjuna to fight and makes a common child Chandragupta. When this inspiration echoed in Chicago in 1893, it was heard all over the world and paved the way for great men to be born in India.
This inspiration demands blood in exchange for freedom and gives sacrifices. The courage to fight also comes from this inspiration.
But there should be nistha, otherwise, it is difficult for the seed to germinate. The power of loyalty is amazing but it is useless if there is no understanding. There are many means to make this infertile soil barren, their solution is also necessary. But for that, there must be an understanding of nistha.
1. Nistha (Allegiance)
Nistha includes discipline, dedication, and determination. These are the three pillars of nistha. Nistha is incomplete without them. All three complement each other.
A. Discipline
If the efforts are not concentrated, then the efforts remain only a means of wasting energy. If efforts are focused then good results are possible with less power. It is just a game of power. If energy gets direction, then it does not take time to change the condition. Whatever ups and downs may come in life, if the energy is focused and in the right direction, then all the challenges will be overcome. But the first challenge is how to focus and channel this energy.
This is the work of nistha. To focus and give direction to this energy. It is said that the hammer should be struck when the iron is hot. And the iron of personality remains hot only in student life. This is the time when the personality can be shaped in any way.
As the human brain gets trained at this time, based on the same training, it decides the future life. This upbringing is reflected in his decisions, knowledge, and beliefs. It is from this age that habits begin to form and deteriorate. This is the best time to be disciplined and take discipline in your blood. Because later the personality takes root and becomes stable. His tendencies have become rigid. That’s why if a person gets used to discipline in the student life itself, then the work becomes easy.
Discipline is energy conservation. Continuity of energy is also important here. But this continuity is not possible in the absence of discipline.
B. Dedication
The next step is to focus that conserved and continuous energy. Dedication is the concentration of energy. The very nature of this energy is impulsive. As long as the energy is not concentrated at one centre and directed in a certain direction, then it is natural for it to scatter in different directions. This is energy loss, work is done in it but there is no direction. This energy loss is very helpful in worsening the condition of life. There is a lot of hard work in energy loss and the result is only disappointment. Concentration and direction of energy are the combinations of hard work and smart work. Dedication is the foundation of quality. Unless the work is done with dedication, there will be a lack of work efficiency. It is important for a passion that attention should be focused on the objective by avoiding the distractions that come the way. Now the matter rests only on the purpose which will decide the third phase of nistha.
C. Determination
This third step is determination. The energy was conserved through discipline. Dedication is the centralization and direction of the conserved energy. But which direction would be appropriate for this energy depends on the determination. If there is a mistake in the determination, then the power will work in the opposite direction.
When all the power is concentrated in one direction, it is difficult to stop it. If the determination of a disciplined, dedicated person is wrong then nothing is more dangerous than that. That’s why warning is necessary. The right resolution requires the right knowledge and discretion. A resolution made without discretion and the right knowledge is fatal. That’s why it is appropriate to take a resolution only by taking the help of the other three pillars of leadership, right knowledge, experience, and discretion. Because if any work is important in leadership, then it is decision-making. There are three main sources for decision-making. The first source is knowledge, the second is experience and the third source is discretion. The further story of leadership will be focused on them.
2. Knowledge
Knowledge, character building, and wisdom are the three aims of education. The education teaches us the art of living. Animality is also a level of consciousness, and humanity is also another level of the same consciousness. The only difference is that there is a lower level and a higher level. The name of the ladder to climb from the lower level to the level of humanity is education. Because education is synonymous with the most fundamental element in the journey of consciousness. Understanding is what separates man from the rest of living beings. This understanding is developed in the journey of consciousness. The purpose of education is to develop this understanding.
Knowledge is one of the central elements of this understanding. Life is a long chain of actions. Decisions are the foundation of this chain. These decisions determine the condition and direction of life. But subject knowledge is essential for that. Knowledge exposes the difference between right and wrong and brings it to the forefront. A decision needs clarity of thought, and a confused mind is unable to take decisions. The whole scenario should also be visible. Only in the light of knowledge, there is an understanding of truth-false and right-wrong. Ignorance is darkness, everything is visible in the light of knowledge. Then it becomes easier to step up. But, in the dark, there is a constant fear of stumbling at every step. Doubts remain about whether there is a fork in the path, whether there is a path or a maze. Such doubts dominate the mind.
In such a situation, the intellect is handicapped because it runs only on the strength of knowledge. Knowledge is light, and intelligence is the eye. Eyes crippled due to a lack of light and fear born out of the dark. Man will always be afraid of that which he does not know. There is no fear of what is known.
It is in our nature. But as soon as there is knowledge—fear ends. It is also natural to end fear with acquaintance and fear of the unknown is also natural. A fearful person cannot take a decision. Yes! He can decide to run away. Apart from running away in fear, nothing can be understood. It is natural to run away in fear and it is also natural to wake up in the light of knowledge. Until the person wakes up, until he is conscious, he will remain in doubt. The decision will not be in his control. Knowledge is the prevention of this fear. When there is no doubt, no fear, no darkness, and everything is clear and, in the light, then the decision is made automatically. Then it is not the person but the knowledge that decides. Knowledge becomes the guide and the guidance of knowledge is the best. This knowledge becomes the basis of leadership and elevates the personality.
But the possibility of a mistake remains. It is incomplete knowledge. This illusion comes again and again that I have complete knowledge, nothing is left to know now. This is a fatal fallacy because there is no limit to knowledge, something always remains to be known. The illusion of knowing everything cuts the chances of getting better. There may be a mistake, but it will be realized only when there is curiosity left to know something. Incomplete knowledge inhibits curiosity and where curiosity is inhibited, there is no scope for knowledge. Knowledge is meaningful only if it is complete. Incomplete knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. The ignorant have a thirst for knowledge, and the incomplete knowledgeable have pride in the knowledge and are not ready to learn. And the person who cannot learn can never win in life. The learning is soul of the victory for everyone. You should learn from your mistakes as well as learn from others. There is no end to learning as long as curiosity is alive. Curiosity is one of the pillars of the quality of student life. Curiosity is like water for the seed of leadership. There is a continuous question in decision-making, how would it be possible to answer them without curiosity?
3. Experience
The third pillar of leadership is experience. It is the wealth acquired from the work done. There is no other option for this. This wealth can be found only by working. But there should be dedication and curiosity in action as well. One does not get experience by working like a dead body. For experience, work has to be done in a lively manner. Where your body and mind are engaged with full dedication, you will get the right experience. Experience without surrender is lifeless. Discernment does not arise out of that. If there is no discretion, then that experience is not meaningful.
The right experience is important. The right experience improves performance, brings maturity to leadership, and develops decision-making ability. More work in less time and higher quality are possible only with experience.
4. Wisdom
The fundamental aim of education is to develop the conscience of the individual. For the meaningfulness of life, there is nothing more important than conscience. If the mind is Arjuna, then the conscience is its charioteer, Krishna. This charioteer takes us towards Satya (truth), dharma, and karma.
Decision-making requires responsibility. You need to stay with your decision in every situation, whether it is tough or not. Decision-making is the central function of leadership. But whether the decision is accurate or not, in that, discretion holds the most important place. Decisions are not made based on mere knowledge. There should also be discretion. Without discretion, knowledge is of no use. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge. It requires the right knowledge, the right experience, and the right amount of curiosity.
What you think about these pillars of leadership or have any suggestion, please write in the comment section below.