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Predicted Questions with Model Answers
Q1 (5 marks — 50 words): What is 'Nishkama Karma' in the Bhagavad Gita? How is it relevant to administrative ethics?
Model Answer:
Nishkama Karma (Gita Ch. 2.47) means "act without attachment to results — duty for duty's sake." An administrator practising Nishkama Karma writes honest reports even when they displease superiors, enforces rules even when politically inconvenient, and serves citizens without expecting personal reward or recognition. It prevents corruption (actions motivated by personal gain) and inertia (paralysis from fear of failure). Equanimity regardless of outcome — promotion or demotion — keeps public service focused on the constitutional mandate.
Q2 (5 marks — 50 words): Define Sthitaprajna. What qualities does the Gita attribute to a Sthitaprajna, and how do they apply to a civil servant?
Model Answer:
Sthitaprajna (Chapter 2, verses 54–72) — "one of steady wisdom" — is unmoved by sorrow, uncorrupted by pleasure, free from passion, fear, and anger, with senses mastered like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs. For a civil servant: (1) composure under crisis — neither panics nor overpromises; (2) incorruptibility — not swayed by bribes or patronage; (3) equanimity under media or political pressure — responds to substance, not noise; (4) non-defensive openness to criticism and course-correction.
Q3 (10 marks — 150 words): The Bhagavad Gita presents a comprehensive ethical framework for public administrators. Discuss with reference to the concepts of Nishkama Karma, Sthitaprajna, Lokasamgraha, and Swadharma.
Model Answer:
The Bhagavad Gita, through a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra, provides a sophisticated ethics framework directly applicable to public administration.
Nishkama Karma (Ch. 2.47) — "act without attachment to results" — is the ethical foundation. An administrator motivated by duty rather than reward or fear makes decisions uncorrupted by self-interest. When a District Collector faces a politically sensitive matter, Nishkama karma urges: file the honest report, let consequences follow.
Sthitaprajna (Ch. 2.54–72) — "one of steady wisdom" — describes the psychologically resilient administrator: equanimous under criticism, uncompted by praise, unafraid of adverse postings. This composure is prerequisite for impartial decision-making.
Lokasamgraha (Ch. 3.20–25) — "welfare of all" — is the Gita's governance philosophy. Administrators act not for personal benefit but to hold society together, enable collective flourishing. Every policy decision should pass the Lokasamgraha test: does it serve all citizens, particularly the marginalised?
Swadharma (Ch. 3.35) — role-specific duty — prevents role confusion. A civil servant's swadharma is constitutional obligation, not political allegiance or personal preference. "Better is one's own duty imperfectly performed than another's well performed" — the officer stays in lane, neither exceeds mandate nor abandons responsibility.
Together, these concepts create an integrated administrative ethics: know your duty (swadharma), do it selflessly (nishkama karma), with equanimity (sthitaprajna), for the collective good (lokasamgraha). This is why the Supreme Court and administrative reformers have repeatedly cited the Gita as India's foundational text for civil service ethics.
Q4 (5 marks — 50 words): Explain the concept of Lokasamgraha. How does it serve as a guiding principle for governance?
Model Answer:
Lokasamgraha (Ch. 3.20–25) — "holding the world together" — is the Gita's governance philosophy: leaders and administrators act not for personal gain but for the welfare of all, setting an example that society follows. Krishna himself acts without personal need, solely to prevent cosmic disorder. For governance: every policy must be evaluated by whether it holds society together, reduces conflict, and enables collective flourishing — not whether it serves the powerful or popular constituencies alone.
Q5 (5 marks — 50 words): How does the Bhagavad Gita address the problem of moral paralysis (vishada)? What lesson does it hold for administrators facing difficult decisions?
Model Answer:
Arjuna's vishada (despondency at Kurukshetra) represents moral paralysis — refusing to act because duty involves painful consequences. Krishna's response is uncompromising: inaction in the face of duty is itself unethical; the soul is immortal; consequences of right action must be accepted. For administrators: bureaucratic inertia — delaying decisions to avoid controversy, passing files indefinitely, avoiding action on difficult complaints — is the administrative equivalent of vishada. The Gita insists duty demands decision; equanimity is not passivity.