Kautilya’s Arthashastra contains a total of fifteen books. Out of these, the sixth book is made up of only two chapters. Yet it’s very important as it explains how a king can run his kingdom successfully.
It also contains the three types of successes and how we can achieve them.
Chanakya had said: “Success is three-fold: That attainable by the power of counsel is success by counsel, that attainable by the power of might is success by might, that attainable by the power of energy is success by energy.” (6.2.30).
While it takes an entire day’s workshop to understand the above line’s full meaning, we can at least get an essence of the same:
Success by counsel
There are many people who try and keep trying, and still don’t succeed. Frustrated, they believe it’s not in their destiny to succeed. But they may have not got the right advice from the right person.
I remember a foreigner who was trying to do business here and could not get started for nearly two years. He finally approached a legal advisor who gave him just a few tips, and he was off!
This accurately portrays the first kind of success which, according to Chanakya, is achieved by listening to and learning from the right experts.
Remember, success is an attitude a person develops. So never give up till you achieve your goal. Chanakya had said, “Even after a hundred trials, an enthusiastic man will surely succeed.”
Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai is an Indian management thinker, author, and Founder of Atma Darshan and Chanakya Aanvikshiki. Dr Pillai has extensively researched Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the 3rd century BC treatise and incorporated it into modern management.
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