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AANVIKSHIKI AND
THE ART OF THINKING








RADHAKRISHNAN PILLAI


INSIDE CHANAKYA’S MIND


Aanvikshiki and the Art of Thinking


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Contents


. Introduction to Aanvikshiki

. Types of Thinking

. The Different Models of Thinking

. The Seven Dimensions of Thinking
. The Eighth Dimension of Thinking


. The Other Side of Chanakya


Chanakya’s Thoughts on Management
The Duties of a King


Human and Divine Thinking


10. Inside Your Mind


Acknowledgements


Follow Penguin


Copyright


PORTFOLIO
INSIDE CHANAKYA’S MIND


Radhakrishnan Pillai is a management speaker and strategy consultant with
nearly twenty-five years of experience and over 200 articles and papers to his
credit. He has a PhD in the Arthashastra from the University of Mumbai.
Currently the deputy director of the university’s leadership science programme,
Pillai has taught in many prestigious institutions, including Oxford, Cambridge,
Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management. He has
represented India at the World Congress of Philosophy in Athens, the Academy
of Management in San Antonio, Texas, and the Indian Philosophical Congress.
He received the International Sardar Patel Award in 2009 and the Aavishkar
Chanakya Innovation Research Award in 2013 for his contribution to the field of
management and industrial development. Pillai is considered one of the top
thirty Indian management thinkers globally by Thinkers50. His books include
the bestselling Corporate Chanakya, Chanakya in You, Chanakya’s Seven
Secrets of Leadership (with D. Sivanandhan), Katha Chanakya and Chanakya in
Daily Life. He can be reached at rchanakyapillai@gmail.com.


To my children, Aanvikshiki and Arjun, who are curious and always in
wonderment.


And to my wife, Surekha, who forces me to think differently as a husband, friend
and partner in solving life’s problems.


Th


1
Introduction to Aanvikshiki


Let me begin with a story.

There was once a child. Whenever he did something wrong, others used to tell
him, ‘Why are you making so many mistakes? Why can’t you understand things
well? Can’t you think properly?’

When the child went to school, he was brought up in an examination system
instead of an education system. When he did not do well in his exams, his
parents and teachers used to say, ‘Why can’t you study properly? Think about
what we tell you, otherwise you will not only fail in your exams but also fail in
life.’

As a teenager, he fell in love and had his heart broken. His friends told him,
‘We had told you not to go after that girl. Why did you not take our advice?’

When he got out of college and worked in various companies, his bosses
would say, ‘Your effort is important in work—but what matters more is the
result. Think about it and you will succeed in your career.’

When he got married, had children and was bestowed with the responsibilities
of a householder, the elders in the house would advise him. They said,
‘Remember and understand your duties. No one can run away from it. It is part
and parcel of life.’

Then came a stage in his life when his children were settled and he was close
to retirement. His friend asked him, ‘Have you thought about what you are going
to do post retirement? Do you have a plan?’ He did not.

Finally, he was old and alone. His wife had passed away, his children and
grandchildren were busy with their own lives, and he had nothing much to do.
He had all the time in the world to look back and ponder over his life.


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professional, homemaker, he was constantly advised by others to ‘think’, to
succeed in life and to avoid making mistakes.

He hadn’t really got a chance to do an in-depth reflection on the word ‘think’
at all.

Now, for the first time in his life, he was ‘thinking about thinking’.

But was it too late?

All his life, he had been told by others to think. But no one actually taught him
‘how to think’.

Does the story tell you something? Does it ring a bell inside your head?

Do you think this story has a connection to your life?

If you really ‘think’, you will understand that this is a story about all of us.
This is a story of every man and woman, every child, every teenager, every
professional, the young and the old, the married and the unmarried.

This is the story of you and me.

Strange but true, one can lead one’s whole life without thinking.

What a tragedy.

Now let us reverse this story.

Imagine if you were taught how to think from the very beginning, the moment
your thinking faculties develop. Instead of loading the child with information, if
one taught the child the right methods of thinking—analysis, decision-making,
prioritizing, planning, structuring, critical evaluation, logic—things would be
different. You would question when questions are required. Accept others’ views
where it is necessary. Think through all the consequences. Take calculated risks
and, without doubt, you will be far more successful. You will be successful not
only at the very end, but also at every stage of your life.

In this book, we present something very interesting: Some methods and
techniques of thinking, the philosophy of thinking and alternative ways of
thinking. This book is simple yet profound. It will lead you to something that
will ignite your mind and intellect.

In a sure yet subtle way, it will change your thinking. It will add a new
dimension to your views about life in general.

I hope the book becomes a silent killer. It will kill various misassumptions
you had in the past. It will kill your ignorance and make you happier. If
understood from the right perspective, it will kill your ego. You may die


internally once, only to live a full life again.

Most importantly, you will enjoy this journey—it is fun. It will help you
discover yourself all over again.

Let us call this process an adventure in thinking.

Let us begin the journey which actually started many centuries ago in India.


Chanakya the Man


Who is Chanakya? To be honest, he was a phenomenon. A legend, a master





We can hardly find any parallels in world history that come close to him. He
could take up any field and become a master of it.

When he studied political science, he became one of the greatest statesmen
India has ever produced. When he decided to study military science, he could
defeat Alexander on his way to conquer the world. When he decided to dethrone
Dhanananda, the strongest king of his time, he made sure he achieved it. He
chose an ordinary village child, Chandragupta Maurya, and made him one of the
greatest emperors of all time. Gemmology, Ayurveda, espionage, crime, law,
punishments—no subject was difficult for him. He was a master of all subjects
and became a master of many kings.

He had a kind of magic wand in his hand. Whatever he touched turned into
gold.

When he decided to write a book, he made it an all-time bestseller. Kautilya’s
Arthashastra, written in the fourth century BC, sells in large numbers even today.
Imagine a book being on a bestseller list for 2400 years and still going strong!

When he decided to teach, he became a teacher whom all teachers could look
up to as a role model.

His principles of ‘good governance’ continue to inspire leaders across the
globe. His administrative models are still followed. His accounting systems were
flawless.

One even wonders if there ever lived such a man in flesh and blood.

But then, we know for sure that there lived such a man who walked the earth,
taught in universities and created leaders, setting standards for others to live up
to.

In this book, we get into the mind of this great man.


We will try to dissect his personality. We will decode his intellect, understand
his background and his thinking, deliberate over the many ideas he preached and
practised, and finally ask ourselves, ‘Can I become like Chanakya?’

The answer is yes. Each person has the potential to become the Chanakya of
his or her generation.


How to Think


Now, the good news is that thinking can be taught.

Yes, I repeat, thinking can be taught.

People ask us to think, but when it comes to the process, no one talks about it.

Just like the man who was deboarding a flight. The air hostess wished him
with a smile, ‘Have a nice day, sir.’

The man smiled and replied with a question, ‘How?’

The air hostess was stunned. No one had ever asked her such a thing. For the
air hostess, it was routine to wish every person—a mechanical action.

In the same manner, when people say, “Think carefully’, “Think twice, act
once’, ‘Have you thought through about it?’—all these may be just mechanical
suggestions.

But if, like the man who surprised the air hostess, we were to step back and


ask, “How does one think?’, hardly anyone will be able tell us the process.

But Chanakya was different. When he said something, he meant it. What he
achieved in his life was due to a well-thought-out plan. And, therefore, he could
also teach others how to think.

This process of thinking is called aanvikshiki.

I am sure that most of you reading this book are hearing the word for the first
time. We will talk about aanvikshiki in detail in this book. But before that, let us
explore one more aspect of Chanakya—the amazing book that he wrote, the
Arthashastra.

I would urge you all to read the Arthashastra in detail at some point in your


lives. It is a book that will change your thinking—one of the greatest books on
thinking, written by one of the greatest thinkers from India.
Yes, the Arthashastra can change your thinking, because it teaches you how

















Kautilya’s Arthashastra


Kautilya is another name for Chanakya.

‘Artha means ‘wealth’, in a broad sense, while shastra means ‘scripture’.

So, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, a book written by Chanakya, is considered to be
a scripture on wealth.

Once a student and now a teacher of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, I have been
amazed by this book again and again. Every time I read this book, it makes we
wonder, ‘How can one man write on so many subjects in one single book?’ Yes,
there are nearly 180 topics that Chanakya has written about in this book.

That is why it is called a scripture—something which contains ancient and
eternal knowledge.

During my own research, I found that there were many Arthashastras before
Chanakya wrote his own. The word ‘arthashastra’ was not invented or coined by
Chanakya—it did exist before him. We find the earliest references to
‘arthashastra’ in the Rig Veda, the oldest Indian text.

The Arthashastra has been dealt with at length in the Mahabharata as well.
Bhishma, the great grandsire, is considered as one of the great exponents and
teachers of Chanakya’s work.


The Arthashastra is also considered as the science of politics, economics,
warfare, and a text that relates to governance, leadership and strategy. It is also a
book on law, foreign policy, international relations and how to rule a territory.


The Process of Writing the Arthashastra


Chanakya is clear in his thinking.

He has a methodology and a process while he writes the Arthashastra. Unlike
most of us, he declares, at the very beginning of his composition, how he wrote
the book.

The opening sutra in the opening chapter starts by telling the readers what the
background was when he wrote the book:

This single treatise on the science of politics has been prepared mostly by bringing together the


teaching of as many treatises on the science of politics as have been composed by ancient teachers
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were many ancient teachers who taught the Arthashastra before Chanakya. He
had studied all the ancient books himself. Before one creates knowledge, one
ought to thoroughly study the existing knowledge available.

The world of knowledge is continuously evolving. It always grows. The
existing knowledge is expanded with the help of every generation. Each
generation adds its experiences and wisdom and contributes to the field of
knowledge.

Thus, the first step in knowledge creation is research, and it is this research
that leads to development.

Chanakya had done research and studied the existing knowledge of his field
and subject—the Arthashastras. He studied them in detail, made notes and
compared the same with his experiences before writing his own treatise.

So his creation of the Arthashastra is based on others? work—and yet it is
original. Originality does not come because one starts from zero. Originality
comes from going into the depths of any subject and uncovering new insights.
Those insights are original creations, much like Chanakya’s work. Throughout
the Arthashastra that he wrote, one can find quotes and thoughts of other
teachers. Yet, he took them and interpreted them in a different manner. This
interpretation and presentation is what is original about his book.

The same principle applies to every field of knowledge. Take physics, for
example. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is considered an original contribution
to the field of physics. The formula E=mc° has redefined various aspects. It has
become a guiding principle for students, researchers of physics across the globe.

Yet, we know that physics as a subject existed long before Einstein. We also
know that as time passes by, there will be more scientists who will do research in
the subject and invent new formulas and findings. In spite of all the additions
and deletions that may happen in the area of physics, Einstein will continue to be
remembered as a great scientist. His contribution will be remembered forever,
and his findings will provide solutions to many future researchers.

Future generations will look upon the work of Einstein with respect and, in
some way or other, his theories will become a reference point.

The same goes for Chanakya’s work. Even though Chanakya did not invent
the field of Arthashastra, he studied the subject in depth, analysed it, discussed it
with experts, even criticized it and critically evaluated the ideas. Finally, he


formed his own opinions on the subject.
The writings in Kautilya’s Arthashastra are rich, cont atras. Each

sutra is profound and rigorous, and makes you think. It brings together the

various experiences of masters, experts and teachers of the Arthashastra.





The Purpose of Writing the Arthashastra


Why was the Arthashastra written by Kautilya?
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