<p>I am the Great Emperor,<br />
Who tried to be aggressive through war<br />
Raised the success bar<br />
My story would thus would be heard in 7 oceans far.</p>

<p>Yet why do I yearn by victory?<br />
Why do I feel sorry?<br />
For who did I win this?<br />
I won merely the land, but people are the kingdom&rsquo;s real bliss!</p>

<p>The above poem shows how the emperor Ashoka, changed from the one<br />
pompous and aggressive King to questioning himself for not being<br />
accommodating or a good human being. It is often believed that &ldquo;good guys finish<br />
last&rdquo; hence came in the notion that a good human being is often the one who is<br />
not a winner. Although there are examples for the same, being aggressive also<br />
doesn&rsquo;t really guarantee success. It is the zeal of victory, courage to fight till last<br />
yet be a good human being makes the people successful. Ashoka post battle<br />
didn&rsquo;t stop expanding his kingdom, instead followed the principle of &ldquo;Changing of<br />
hearts&rdquo; instead of war, which made it possible that the world still considers him a<br />
respectable king.<br />
At an individual level, we have seen many examples from our lives, who are<br />
inherently good human beings but couldn&rsquo;t achieve what the society calls<br />
&ldquo;success&rdquo;. In the times of materialism, if one doesn&rsquo;t own a luxury car or fancy<br />
phones, people consider them &ldquo;not so successful&rdquo;. But if one sees what Maslow in<br />
his need hierarchy theory called &ldquo;Self-actualisation needs&rdquo; is what at the end of</p>

<p>commercial wants, we thrive for. On the other hand, we have seen the aggressive<br />
people like Harshad Mehta, Vijay Mallaya, Nirav Modi etc. who were respected<br />
and called successful in their careers but since the means weren&rsquo;t good, it only<br />
paid off in the short term. In political terms, there are some people who liked the<br />
approach of Lenin &amp;amp; Hitler for long term but at the same time, there were and<br />
there are many people who still consider Barack Obama&rsquo;s approach more<br />
sustainable. Having seen the perspective of individuals, let&rsquo;s have a look at the<br />
wider lens.<br />
At a Societal level, the fundamentalists and radicalists feel that they can wipe out<br />
other religions or sects altogether to establish peace. But as Gandhiji said during<br />
revolutionary militarism, &ldquo;It may be true that we may get independence faster<br />
through this method, but what foundation are we providing to the dream of our<br />
Nation?&rdquo;. Indeed, if the foundation was violence, people would feel, they can get<br />
anything if they are courageous enough for violence. For example: Spreading<br />
Jihad can never be successful but the approach &ldquo;Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti&rdquo;<br />
which was followed when India allowed Parsis in the society calling them sugar<br />
crystals to come and mix in the milk bowl (the society) is long lasting.<br />
At the national level, the approach of protectionism, unpeaceful rise of<br />
hegemonic powers like China, suppressing of Iran by USA etc. although are<br />
aggressive and may look like successful in the short run but in the long run we can<br />
see the results of USA trying to suppress Taliban in Afghanistan. It failed miserably<br />
and at the end like a good human being, they are accommodating Taliban and<br />
having deliberations with them.<br />
In real terms, the synergy of being a good human being, being accommodative<br />
and being passively aggressive to achieve one&rsquo;s ambitions can collectively help in<br />
achieving success. Individually it may seem impossible at first but we must<br />
remember the easier paths will always lead to undesired destinations. Similarly, a<br />
good society produces good human beings and increases the longevity of Earth&rsquo;s<br />
age. It is the Nuclear weapons which can completely destroy nations and the<br />
world collectively. Thus to ensure success in international arena, Vasudhaiva<br />
Kutumbakam&rdquo; is the way forward.</p>
