Until recently I never knew about the word “Aanvikshiki”. But having stumbled upon It and doing a bit more reading to find out more, I was fascinated with the depth of thoughts it represented and the unlimited possibilities of adopting it.
"Aanvikshiki" is a Sanskrit term that can have different meanings depending on the context. In simple terms I would like to believe it as “science of strategic thinking”.
Aanvikshiki refers to the ancient Indian philosophical and analytical tradition associated with logical reasoning, critical thinking, and systematic analysis. It was well documented by sage Chanakya (also known as Kautilya) in his classic Arthashashtra. The term is often translated as "science of critical examination" or "science of strategic analysis."
Aanvikshiki is a combination of two words – “anu” and “ikshiki”. Anu means “atom”, the smallest part of anything and ikshiki means “a person who wants to know” – someone who is curious, an inquirer, researcher or thinker.
When I started reflecting on this, the first thing I realized is how Indian education system has moved far away from our traditional ways, limiting the thinking capability of our children. Today our kids go to school/college – study, get a degree, secure and job and we believe purpose of education is over! There is a set pre-defined syllabus, and all kids need to do is to “study” what is prescribed and answer questions which are not necessarily out-of-syllabus. Rarely do our children have the opportunity to think and wonder, to imagine, to create, to construct, to visualize….
Apparently the first chapter of Arthashashtra talks about Aanvikshiki and its importance. Its as good as teaching ‘thinking’ as a subject in education system. How different would it be if the education system allows our children to think, inquire, ask, question, apply logic and then arrive at their own conclusions? It indeed would develop the ability to think correctly and clearly, and from such clarity comes good decision-making capacity, which is essential for tomorrow’s leaders. Many of the western education systems have adopted the above method, while we in India we have lagged behind, though we did have that tradition originally!
Even in corporate world, I have seen many leaders not exhibiting adequate “curiosity” to continuously learn, probably because they believe it will be mistaken for ignorance. From curiosity arises our ability to understand deeper and applying the larger “perspective”. The ability to “soar” and “dive” is so crucial in leadership, and it can be acquired only through continuous learning, and building the right perspective.
Maybe it is time to change the way education is imparted in India? So that better leaders can be ready for tomorrow?
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