Kautilya's Arthashastra

Chanakya was undoubtedly ancient India's finest political strategist and thinker. Chanakya's brand of wisdom is ageless and immutable. Chanakya expounds his smattering of pithy observations on women, family life, human relationships, moral conduct and spirituality. His startling prophecies, meaningful reflection on everyday living and hard-headed axioms. Chanakya's amazing knowledge of human psychology his masterly insight into every facet of human life! The teachings of Chanakya are the real nourishment of life. Even if years and centuries go by, even if natural calamities change the face of the planet, the teaching of the great being spring forth a new.Or from time to time they are unearthened old treasure perhaps, but still alive with consciousness still essentials. Such teachings are never destroyed; nor does the subtle presence of such divine beings ever diminished.

Kautilya's Arthashastra

Chanakya was a strong character and great teacher. His message is a ageless in quality inspiring both for individuals and nations; a message which has countrymen from darkness to light and from poverty to prosperity. The most famous work of Chanakya is the treatise on the science of politics, referred to as, "Arthashastra". Although it is often referred to as Kautilya's Arthashastra. Arthashastra has 6000 verses.This is an extraordinary detailed manual on statecraft and the science of living by one of classical India's greatest minds. Kautilya, also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta, wrote the Arthashastra not later than 150 AD. His genius is reflected in this volume, which is the most comprehensive treatise of statecraft of classical times. It is written mainly in prose but also incorporates 380 shlokas. 

The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian Treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Arthashastra, discuss the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. The scope of Arthashastra is, however, far wider than statecraft and it offers an outline of the entire legal and bureaucratic framework for administering a kingdom, with a wealth of descriptive cultural details on topics such as minirology, mining and agriculture, animal husbandry, medicine and the use of wildlife.

The Arthashastra also focuses on issues of welfare (for instance redistribution of wealth during a famine and the collective ethics that hold a society together.

In Arthashastra, Kautilya mixes the harsh pragmatism for which he is famed with compassion for the poor, for slaves, and for women. He reveals the imagination of a romancer in imagining all manner of scenarios which can hardly have been commonplace in real life.

Centrally, Arthaśāstra argues for an autocracy managing an efficient and solid economy. It discusses the ethics of economics and the duties and obligations of a king. The scope of Arthaśāstra is, however, far wider than statecraft, and it offers an outline of the entire legal and bureaucratic framework for administering a kingdom, with a wealth of descriptive cultural detail on topics such as mineralogy, mining and metals, agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine. The Arthaśāstra also focuses on issues of welfare (for instance, redistribution of wealth during a famine) and the collective ethics that hold a society together.

Chanakya, also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, was an adviser and a prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta, and architect of his rise to power. Other important works of Chanakya are ‘Chanakya Sutras’ and ‘Chanakya Niti Darpanam’.

R. P. Kangle defines Arthashastra as “science of politics,” a treatise to help a king in “the acquisition and protection of the earth”. 

This text is divided into 15 books:

• Book I, "Concerning Discipline"
• Book II,"The Duties of Government Superintendents"
• Book III, "Concerning Law"
• Book IV, "The Removal of Thorns"
• Book V, "The Conduct of Courtiers"
• Book VI, "The Source of Sovereign States"
• Book VII, "The End of the Six-Fold Policy"
• Book VIII, "Concerning Vices and Calamities"
• Book IX, "The Work of an Invader"
• Book X, "Relating to War"
• Book XI, "The Conduct of Corporations"
• Book XII, "Concerning a Powerful Enemy"
• Book XIII, "Strategic Means to Capture a Fortress"
• Book XIV, "Secret Means"
• Book XV, "The Plan of a Treatise"

Read Book Kautilya's Arthashastra

Chanakya Neeti

Chanakya Neeti

As soon as the fear approaches near
Attack and destroy it - Chanakya says

Chanakya was an epoch-making personality. His was the time when India was emerging out of the 'Dark Age'. The old values were losing their relevance and the new were yet to be established. It was an age of confusion which permeated every walk of the society. The Dharma, so far a guiding and uniting force, was being subjected to the contradictory interpretations. The factionalism and fundamentalism were raising their ugly head and entering into the vitality of the social and religious norms. Taking the advantage of this confusion. Alexander of Macedon invaded India with the help of the selfish rulers of some border states. Chanakya witnessed and felt the severe trauma of this major invasion by a real foreigner. This shattering jolt helped efface the prevailing confusion in India and expedited the emergence of a new system which was in essence authored by Chanakya.

Chanakya was the first thinker of the ancient times who nurtured the sense of nationalism and inculcated in the minds of the people that they owed their basic allegiance to the Rajya (State of Nation) and not to the Dharma. In contradistinction to the earlier concept he made the State paramount.

He had seen that in the absence of any omnipotent religious authority the misconstrued faiths were shattering the very structure of society and morality. What was the needed was the total change or renovation of the system. But there were no guiding beacons to enlighten the people about this new system. Then he wrote two significant books the Arthashastra (known as Kautily's Arthashastra) and a collection of his observation on various practical aspects of life entitled 'Chanakya-Niti'.

'Chanakya Neeti' is, in fact, this great thinker's pithy observation to impart the practical wisdom to the people of his time. But these teachings are so fundamental relevance is almost ever lasting. Enshrined in the simple sense. Written in simple lucid language with clear thoughts. At times even some of the immoral teaching are part of this book. But they appear immoral only at the prima facie viewing. While telling what we should learn from the other beings, Chanakya says: i.e. "Learn from the cock the following four things: getting up at the right time, fighting bitterly, making your brothers flee and usurping their share also!"

There might be certain aphorisms which might appear objectionable to some persons, especially those who discuss the role of women in our society. Chanakya shares the same thoughts as these were prevalent during his time or are still prevalent in certain sections of our society. The entire Hindu thought gives only two positions to women: either they are adorable or they are like any other pleasure source, enjoyable. The sense of companionship, which is clearly an occidental concept is missing for obvious reasons. Well, nobody can be perfect in the world. Even the greatest thinkers of the world had some kind of achilles heel. A man is a product of the social set up. No doubt Chanakya tried to effect a change but even he could not rid himself of some diehard idiosyncrasies. Chanakya believed not only in imparting instructions but in also seeing their practical implementation.

History records that Chanakya not only carved out a massive empire for his pet disciple Chandragupta but also created such an awareness in the general masses that they began to talk about a 'Rashtra' or a 'Nation' instead of a 'State or a 'Rajya'. And the social, civil and political norms that he established had the concept of democracy in its embryonic form. Chanakya is one of those few great persons whose greatness enhances with the passage of time.

The basic purpose of Chanakya-Niti is to impart knowledge on every practical aspect of life. And in this context he has touched upon various factors dealing with faith and culture, from the individual's point of view.

Chanakya Neeti's and Sutras:

• Riches, Vitality, Life, Body-all are fickle and fey; only Dharma is constant and everlasting.
• God's abode is not the idols of wood stone or earth. He dwells only in feeling.
• Poverty, disease, grief, bondage and all the infatuation addictions are the fruits of the tree of sin of the person.
• If you want to overpower the entire world merely by just one action, then put restraint upon your tongue speaking ill of others.
• One well blossomed and sweet smelling flower is enough to turn the whole garden fragrant. Similarly, one worthy son is enough to bring glory to the whole family.
• That man who fails to achieve even one of the four aims of life, viz. Dharm (faith in his belief), Artha (riches which provide meaning to life), Karam (fulfilment of the desires), and Moksha ( satiation of all wants) is verily born only for dying (as his life is just a waste).
• Manners betray one's family, and the language country. Hospitality betrays one's love and the physique betray's one's food intake.
• Virtues enhances the beauty of the form; good manners enhances the glory of the family; perfection enhances the value of education and enjoyment enhances the pleasures of wealth.
• An impatient person gets ruined on enjoying luxuries in excess.
• Fools want to reveal the secret things told by their master.
• No advice should be given to a bad person.
• Keep your enemy engaged in artificial behavior till you find his weakness.
• Silver becomes gold when mixed with gold.
• A person who excels in a particular field should be given that work only.
• A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first!

Top 10 Self-Help Books of All Time

There are many people who consider books as a dying art form, especially as physical objects. While I accept that books will one day be nothing more than words on a screen, stories will always live on.This means choosing what to read is a big decision. Sorting the wheat from the chaff is impossible without some help, which is why recommendations from other book lovers are crucial. I round up Ten Of The Most Self-Help Tones Of All Times. A list that covers such as wide range of topics, but everything below is considered a giant in its respective area. You can't go wrong with any of these classics, as they are all highly recommended by many sources.While friends and family are the obvious first choice. Have a good read!!

1. Think and Grow Rich- Napoleon Hill

Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up, heart and soul.

Even if it 70 years since the book Think and Grow Rich was written, it is still a highly respected and read books. This classic is a motivational Personal Development and Self-Help Books written by Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world's winner himself. Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate principles. While the title implies that this book deals only with how to achieve monetary wealth, the author explains that the philosophy taught in the book can be used to help individuals succeed in all lines of work and to do or be almost anything they want in this world. The book was first published in 1937 during the Great Depression. It had sold over 30 million copies and it remains the biggest seller of Napoleon Hill's books-a perennial best-seller after 70 years (Business Week Magazine's Best-Seller List ranked Think and Grow Rich as the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was first published). Think and Grow Rich is listed in John C. Maxwell's A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List. The essence of the book Napoleon Hill's famous statement:

                Everything your mind can conceive, you can achieve.

The title says the same in different words. A compelling title might explain initial rushes to buy a book, but in the last 60 years, the world has bought over 30 million copies of  Think and Grow Rich.

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2. Man's  Search For Man   An Introduction to Logo therapy by Viktor E. Frankel

In the thirty-three years since then, Man's Search For Man - at once a memoir, a self-help book, and a psychology manual - has become a classic that has sold more than three million copies in English language editions. Man's Search for Meaning tells the chilling and inspirational story of eminent psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and other concentration camps for three years during the Second World War. Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process.In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl outlines the principles of logo-therapy, and offers ways to help each one of us focus on finding the purpose in our lives. A must-read of anyone. A potentially life-changing and eye opening book.

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3. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People; Powerful Lessons In Personal Change  by Stephen R. Covey

This is one of the best-known leadership books of recent years, and the key phrase in the title is "people-focused". Rather than tackling specific problems or making external changes to processes, systems and so on, Covey's approach helps you focus on developing yourself personally and your relationships with others.

Covey describes three distinct stages of personal growth that we move through as we develop these habits: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a ground breaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People explains a useful set of guiding principles that help you change personally as well as professionally, and so become more effective.

* Dependence: This is where we start, dependent on other people. And without personal development, we would stay stuck at this stage.

* Independence: Through personal development, we become more independent and take responsibility for our actions. Still, however, we are not fully effective.

* Interdependence: At this stage, we develop the understanding that, although we are self-reliant, we still need other people to accomplish our goals. At the interdependence stage we embrace the idea of working together for better results.

Covey describes three distinct stages of personal growth that we move through as we develop these habits: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a ground breaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges.

Key Points:

Steven Covey's Seven Habits help you develop personally and so become more effective in how you work and relate with other people. Developing these habits can help you tackle your work and life challenges with new confidence. At the core of these habits are a deeper understanding of yourself and an appreciation of the fact that you need others in order to achieve your goals. Developing them will take time and effort. But it is worthwhile and will have a lasting effect on your personal effectiveness.

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4. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problem by changing the way you think and behave. Talking and changing your behavior can change how you think (Cognitive) and what you do (Behavior). This can make you feel better about life. With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you work with a mental health counselor in a structured way, attending a limited number of session. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking, so you can view challenging situation more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be a very helpful tool, in treating mental disorders or illness, such as anxiety or depression. It can be an effective tool to help anyone learn how to better manage stressful situation. For more information about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Please Visit: Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy   The best book for those who suffer from depression or anxiety. The best selling self-help book for mental health issues. Feeling Good is based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, among the best types of therapy if not the best, and it is the bases of a lot of the stuff from the current 'it' fad of "The Secret." In Feeling Good, eminent psychiatrist, David D. Burns, M.D., outlines the remarkable, scientifically proven techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life

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5. Awakening The Giant Within: How To Take Immediate Control Of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical And Financial Destiny by Anthony Robbins     

                                               

Wake Up and Take Control of Your Life! 
By applying the fundamental principles of self mastery, any person can take control of their life and harness the forces that shape destiny.

Self mastery holds the key to the quality of life. In particular, the nurture and development of a powerful belief system is vitally important. When a far-reaching belief system is established and regularly strengthened, a person life must follow the direction and ultimate destiny of that belief system. You can literally have and achieve anything you want in life and create your own destiny by developing an appropriate underlying belief system, and then by using that system to influence everything you say, do and think. Anthony Robbins, the nation's leader in the science of peak performance, shows you his most effective strategies and techniques for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life. The acknowledged expert in the psychology of change, Anthony Robbins provides a step-by-step program teaching the fundamental lessons of self-mastery that will enable you to discover your true purpose, take control of your life and harness the forces that shape your destiny.

TAKE LIFE TO THE NEXT LEVEL-DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE-GIFT EDITION OF TONY ROBBINS'RE-AWAKEN THE GIANT WITHIN

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6. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard

For more than twenty years, millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses nationwide have followed The One Minute Manager's techniques, thus increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity. These very real results were achieved through learning the management techniques that spell profitability for the organization and its employees.

The One Minute Manager is a concise, easily read story that reveals three very practical secrets: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praising, and One Minute Reprimands.

The book also presents several studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences that clearly explain why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people. By the book's end you will know how to apply them to your own situation and enjoy the benefits.

That's why The One Minute Manager has continued to appear on business bestseller lists for more than two decades, and has become an international sensation.

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7. Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways To Stop Procrastinating And Get More Than in Less Time by Brian Tracy

Your ability to select your most important task at each moment, and then to start on that task and get it done both quickly and well, will probably have more of an impact on your success than any other quality or skill you can develop! If you develop the habit of setting clear priorities and getting important tasks completed quickly, you will run circles around a genius who talks a lot and makes wonderful plans but gets very little done.

An old saying is that "If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!" Your "FROG" is the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don't do something about it now! It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment. It has also been said that "If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first!" This is another way of saying that if you have two important tasks before you, start with the biggest, hardest, and most important task first. Discipline yourself to begin immediately and then to persist until the task is complete before you go on to something else.

You can think of it as a "TEST" or personal challenge. You must resist the temptation to start with the easier task! You must continually remind yourself that one of the most important decisions you make each day is your choice of what you will do immediately and what you will do later --- if you do it at all!

One final assumption is "If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to sit and look at it for a very long time!"

MAIN IDEA = The key to reaching high levels of performance and productivity is for you to develop the lifelong habit of tackling your major task first thing each morning. You must develop the routine of "eating your frog" before you do anything else and without taking too much time to think about it!

Successful, effective people are those who launch directly into their major tasks and then discipline themselves to work steadily and single-minded until those tasks are complete.

In the business world, you are paid and promoted for getting specific, measurable results. You are paid for making a valuable contribution that is expected of you. But many employees confuse activity with accomplishment and this causes one of the biggest problems in organizations today, which is failure to execute!

The key to happiness, satisfaction, great success, and a wonderful feeling of personal power and effectiveness is for you to develop the habit of eating your frog first thing every day when you start work! Fortunately, this is a learn able skill that you can acquire through repetition. When this habit of starting on your most important task first is developed, your success is assured.

Get more things done faster by learning the following 21 rules and principles until they are ingrained in your thinking and actions:

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8. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People  is a classic book by Dale Carnegie with a pretty self-explanatory title. The inspirational personal development guide that shows how to achieve lifelong success. How to Win Friends and Influence People is the first, and still the finest, book of its kind. One of the best-known motivational books in history. First published in 1937, Carnegie's advice has remained relevant for generations because he addresses timeless questions about the fine art of getting along with people: How can you make people like you instantly? How can you persuade people to agree with you? How can you speak frankly to people without giving offense? The ability to read others and successfully navigate any social situation is critically important to those who want to get a job, keep a job, or simply expand their social network. The core principles of this book, originally written as a practical, working handbook on human relations, are proven effective. Carnegie explains the fundamentals of handling people with a positive approach; how to make people like you and want to help you; how to win people to your way of thinking without conflict; and how to be the kind of leader who inspires quality work, increased productivity, and high morale. One of the top-selling books of all time, "How to Win Friends Influence People" has sold more than 15 million copies in all its editions., You can go after the job you want...and get it! You can take the job you have...and improve it! You can take any situation you're in...and make it work for you! For over 50 years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Now this phenomenal book has been revised and updated to help readers achieve their maximum potential in the complex and competitive 90s! Learn: The six ways to make people like you. The twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking The nine ways to change people without arousing resentment and much, much more......

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  9. Flow: The Psychology of optimal experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

In the 1970s a psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi experimentally evaluated Flow. He found that a person's skill and the difficulty of a task interact to result in different cognitive and emotional states. When skill is too low and the task too hard, people become anxious. Alternatively, if the task is too easy and skill too high, people become bored. However, when skill and difficulty are roughly proportional, people enter Flow states.

While in these states, people experience 1. Extreme focus on a task. 2. A sense of active control. 3. Merging of action and awareness. 4. Loss of self-awareness. 5. Distortion of the experience of time. 6. The experience of the task being the only necessary justification for continuing it.

Csikszentmihalyi also outlined four characteristics found in tasks that drive an equilibrium between skill and difficulty, thus increasing the probability of Flow states. Specifically, these are tasks that:

1. Have concrete goals with manageable rules.
2. Demand actions to achieve goals that fit within the person's capabilities.
3. Have clear and timely feedback on performance and goal accomplishment.

Diminish extraneous distraction, thus facilitating concentration.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

Look inside the book

Cognitive Flow: The Psychology of Great Game Design

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10. 50 Self-Help Classic: 50 Inspirational Books To Transform Your Life from Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus by Tom Butler-Bowdon

Thousands of books have been written offering the 'secrets' to personal fulfillment and happiness: how to walk The Road Less Traveled, Win Friends and Influence People, or Awaken the Giant Within. But which are the all-time classics? Which ones really can change your life? Bringing you the essential ideas, insights and techniques from 50 legendary works from Lao-Tzu to Benjamin Franklin to Paulo Coelho, 50 Self-Help Classics is a unique guide to the great works of life transformation.

This is the first and only guide to personal development literature - to works that have captured the imagination of millions, and which can inspire you to follow your dream. 50 Self-Help Classics provides commentary assessing the impact of each classic and summaries each classic's key ideas, allowing the reader to make an informed choice from the bewildering array of books on the market.

A practical, inspirational and interesting guide to an area of literature that finally deserves to be taken seriously, this book covers, among others, Marcus Aurelius, M Scott Peck, Dale Carnegie, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, the Dalai Lama, Benjamin Franklin, John Gray, Susan Jeffers, Phil McGraw, Anthony Robbins, Lao-Tzu, Marianne Williamson...

Tom Butler-Bowdon has provided an excellent tool for personal re-engineering - ideal for anyone contemplating career change or re-orientation.

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