Life lessons from Acharya Chanakya

Acharya Chanakya popularly known as Vishnu Gupta or Kautilya is known as one of the greatest Strategists, Philosophers, Economists and Teachers that India witnessed. Acharya Chanakya Neeti is fulfilled with a lots of life lessons. According to history, it is known that Chanakya was educated at Takshasila, an ancient university of Bharat Varsha. He was connected to two cities, Takshasila and Pataliputra in Magadha.

Acharya Chanakya’s Arthashastra deals with subjects like welfare, fiscal and monetary policies, war strategies and international relations. On the other hand, the ‘Neeti Shastra’ is regarded as the collection of aphorisms which are collected by him from the existing shastras.

With the help of his advice, Mauryan Empire, under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya made a lot of progress. Life lessons of Acharya Chanakya and teachings from Chanakya are even taught as an important part of Management Studies which is also referred as Chanakya Neeti.

Here are some of the life lessons that he gave:

1. Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.

Acharya Chanakya by this statement explained that a person may be weak in terms of strength or may be average or below average looking or may not have ample of wealth but he will be still treated as wise person and gain a lot of respect from everyone and everywhere if he is well educated. A rich person can lose his wealth, beauty may be lost in due course of time, relations and love made fade out but education and knowledge never leaves a person in any condition. Acharya Chanakya Neeti gave best life lessons that Education and knowledge can only be increased and in any condition it can not be stolen from you.

2. Learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

This statement of Acharya Chanakya Neeti persuades a person to watch, observe and learn from your environment and the people surrounding you. It means it is not neccessary to learn from your own mistakes only but also you should observe others and learn from their mistakes as to not repeat them and prevent yourself from unwanted troubles in your life.

3. Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you.

Most important learning from Acharya Chanakya Neeti gave life lessons is that you should never never disclose your secrets to anybody because you never know who might use it against you. He said that in any circumstances you should not share your weaknesses or your strengths to anyone. So that no one can attack upon your weaknesses and no one can trick your strengths in any way.

4. Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions – Why am I doing it, what the results might be and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

Acharya Chanakya explained in his Chanakya Neeti that before beginning of any work or implementing any strategy or initiating any plan, you should always go through these questions with all the possible pros and cons so as to define the possibilities of your success and failure.

5. The fragrance of flowers spread only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of the person spreads in all directions.

Acharya Chanakya said that a person shold always be good to others irrespective of differences in cultures or communities. He said that a person will die but his goodness remains forever. His good deeds are remembered by people for ages and ages.

6. A man is great by his activities only, birth has nothing to do with it.

Acharya Chanakya explained that a person becomes great in front of people by the kind of things and activities he does in his life. Whereever he born, whatever is his community, caste or language be that may not decide anyone’s greatness. He has to prove himself by his way of living and his activities towards society and humanity.

7. Humbleness is at the root of self-control.

Acharya Chanakya in his this statement says that best life lessons for a successful and happy person in life you have to be as much humble as you can. Your humbleness may weaken your enemies at times and it will always keep you in self-control and increase your self-confidence at the same time.

8. God is not present in idols. Your feelings are your God and your soul is your temple.

When people are blind in worshipping God in materialistic Idols and follow various ways to please God, Acharya Chanakya had very different point of views. His Chanakya Neeti said that God doesnt exists in Idols or temples, God is within us. He said that God is present within us as our feelings and our soul is the temple for that God. One need not run behind temples in search of God but treat his own soul as temple and his feelings and emotions as God.

9. A debt is like an enemy. As one should destroy his enemy without any trace, a debt should be paid till the penny.

Acharya Chanakya said that good life lessons is that a person in debt has to face insult and shame in front of others. A person should try not to take any debt or if in worse situations he has taken a debt then it should be his foremost priority to pay that debt as soon as possible.

10. Learning is a friend on a journey, a wife in the house, medicine in sickness, and religious merit is the only friend after death.

No wonders, time will change, people may change, situations can be favourable or infavourable but the only thing static remains in life is your learnings. So it is immensely important to give importance to your learnings in life. Your learnings will be your life long friend, it is as important as wife in the house or medicine during sickness.

11. He who is overly attached to his family members experiences fear and sorrow for the root of all grief is the attachment. Thus one should discard attachment as much as possible to be happy.

Just like Bhagvad Gita, Acharya Chanakya also explained that one must not be over attached to his family. Though this learning from Chanakya Neeti is the most difficult one or we can say next to impossible to follow but it has true sense. A person who is much attached to his family has some sort of expectations in return. It may be in form of respect, love, sacrifice or service but most of the times even family members are not able to fulfill those expectations to the limit that person thinks which creates sorrow and grief for that person and differences within relations.

12. Actual knowledge is not confined in books and possessions. If it does, people can never use both of them when practically they need to use those.

Acharya Chanakya in his Chanakya Neeti said that true learnings and knowledge cannot be stored or saved in books or any kind of possessions. Knowledge is meant to be within ourselves and has to be applied in each and every stage of life.