Manoj Dwivedi's Book Not Only Decodes Life's Philosophy But Also Decodes Much Needed Wisdom For Modern Day Bureaucracy

Manoj Dwivedi's  recently released eleven-chapter book "Decode Life", with practical suggestions at the end of each chapter, not only beautifully touches every aspect of life from a philosophical angle but also attempts to delve into the prism of reality. It seeks to carve out some essential wisdom for the modern-day bureaucracy, which has become a cut-throat system. Chapter six, 'Knowing without Judging ', traces how humans form perceptions that are often far from reality and embrace these notions under the influence of multiple filters. This tendency of filters distances one from reality and truth. As Dwivedi argues, 'Maintaining equanimity is a big step towards removing filters that distort our perception and make it difficult to get the real picture.' The book resonates with the wisdom of the Ancient philosopher Socrates, who once said, "To find yourself, think for yourself". It strives to shape and direct our thinking towards reality by exploring the inner self.

However, an interesting silver lining from the book is that it also conveys some gold wisdom to today's bureaucracy, which is driven by more cut thrust and less by output and service delivery. The book focuses on two key aspects: decision-making and adopting a balanced approach if we see it from an administrative reformist view.

There are ample examples, especially in young bureaucrats whose ground assessments and multiple decisions tend to be coloured by external and internal factors. They sometimes tend to make wrong choices or decisions. "What brings bondage is bad, and what brings freedom is good; every act and thought should be tested on this sole parameter, its gold standard of wisdom," Dwivedi noted in his book. If we apply this test in the administrative field, we can easily make decisions without being influenced by externalities. Once these filters are out, we can make sound and fair decisions.  

The second aspect with which we can de-accelerate this cut-thrust-driven bureaucracy to a more balanced bureaucracy is by giving weight to some thoughts conveyed by Dwievidi, "We should understand and accept that all opposites as two sides of the coin we should train our mind and body to start accepting loss along wins, pain along with pleasure, sorrow along with joy and so on  We have to treat them as equals," he notes  This line of thought helps not only build a balanced approach in administration but also helps to build human character  As a famous American novelist Jhon Gardner said, "The World loves talent, but it pays off on Character".