Avinash Kumar: AIR 17 UPSC CSE 2022 (Philosophy)

View from the Dalai Hills: It’s very close to the academy. Generations of civil servants during their training days have combed this hill. The climb is steep, the air thin, but the view from the top? Incomparable. It's a glimpse into the future you're striving for, a tangible reminder of the impact you can create.

The trees in a tropical deciduous forest shed their leaves in winter season to conserve water and ensure better survival. One must remember this lesson in life that there will be occasions when one has to duck down to just ensure survival. Identify this preparation phase as your winter season in life.

Phases in the journey of an IAS aspirant (coming from my first hand experience) 1. Over enthusiastic phase: This is the phase where everything begins. It might be triggered by the strokes of the ideals that you cherish; or by the emotional response of your mind upon seeing the plight of your fellow countrymen; or by the desire to prove yourself; or even merely by the attraction of the perks of being a bureaucrat. Whatever be the cause, this phase is important because it happens to be the origin point. 2. Bogged down phase: When someone tells you how hard it is to become an IAS? Or How many books are to be read and How many hours you need to study? 3. Recollection Phase: You recollect yourself and start simplifying the whole exercise for you. You make a tentative strategy and proceed. 4. Phase of bliss: You start with the NCERTs and are so overjoyed by reading them that you regret not pursuing social sciences in your undergraduate. 5. Reality check phase: You find that UPSC is not a cake walk and NCERTs are merely a veil to the higher truth. There are advanced reference books too. It is also a challenge to keep revising the same stuffs again and again. 6. Self-doubt phase: You solve some mock papers or previous year questions and look at the cutoffs and listen to all the noise surrounding the exam, the expectation of people around you and you ask yourself whether it was even a right decision to get into it? 7. Low phase: Your output decreases for few days, until you see some light coming from the dark end of the tunnel. 8. Phase of return of vigour: You get motivated again to do it right. 9. Rising phase: With multiple revisions, you see improvement in your performance and thus become more confident in your ways. 10. Phase of jumping the hurdles: You start jumping the hurdles one by one. 11. State of Mukti/Moksha/Nirvana/Kaivalya : It’s not a phase though, it’s a state. It’s a state of freedom. A state where you no longer have to worry about the next upsc calendar. A state where you enjoy the sudden upturn in your life’s trajectory. A state which can’t be defined, but can only be experienced. Some stop at the second phase itself, while others proceed only till sixth phase; Yet there are few who manage to reach the final stage. Which phase are you in?? Try to relate your journey with this and know that there’s a Dawn to every pitch black night. All the best!

Link for mock test papers