If by Rudyard Kipling - Explanation

 This poem was written by a famous nineteenth century writer, Rudyard Kipling. Kipling, a Nobel Laureate, who was renowned for his storytelling. But here, we are discussing his philosophical poem "If".

This poem is a practical advice by the poet, in the role of a father to his son, guiding him how to become a "real man". His wisdom points to living a life of integrity, grit and temperance.  His avoidance of the life of extremity is worthwhile and pragmatic.

According to Khuswant Singh, the poem is said to summarize the core message of Bhagwata Gita. Notably, this poem is hung on every study table in the rooms of every cadet in the prestigious National Defence Academy, Dehradun (India).

Lessons from the poem:-

• Remain calm and composed in adverse situations when everyone's mind goes boggling. People may blame one for the tough times/conditions, but one shouldn't lose it under such censure.

• Trust your own abilities and have some confidence in yourself even when people doubt you. The more people doubt you, the more you believe in yourself.

• Be patient as good things take time to manifest. One should be ready if things get derailed, don't lose hope.

• Don't hate if you receive hatred. There is no value in proving yourself too good to others. In simple words, seeking validation doesn't help at all. Nor pretend to be too worldly-wise as, in the long run, it will hurt you. Don't preach or help those who don't value it.

• Everyone should have dreams, but it is unwise to obsess over your desires and made them your sole aim in life. Life is much more than your material ambitions, so one should enjoy the present moment. Being grateful for what you have is the foundation of a happy life. 

• God has given us the ability to think, but merely engrossing in your ideas or plans and not actually working on them is not the trait of a great man.

• A man should not take both his successes and failures too seriously. What usually happens is that people celebrate success with a blast, but can't handle failures and they sink in despair, crying their misfortune. That is not the way of a real man.

• You must have the courage/strength to hear dishonest people tweaking your own ideas/insights to swindle others or to fool others. In simple words, life is not fair, people will take advantage of your intentions and plans. One must be able to let that sink in.

• Life could be a disaster. A man should be able to see his life's work going to utter waste. He should begin working again from scratch from the next day onwards with whatever tools he has.

• A man should be so gutsy, that he can risk all his earnings on a single gamble and if he loses, he should start again without complaint.

• When there is no energy left in a man's body and mind have, still he should persist as long as possible. With just fiery will power, he can take a stand.

• One should be able to mingle both with powerful people as well as commoners, but not at the cost of maintaining one's own values and individuality.

• Even if you rise to an elevated status, you must be aware of the conditions of the common people and how they live.

• One must have such integrity and honesty that neither your loved ones nor enemies can find major faults in your character. One should love everyone, but not too attached to someone.

• Time never stops for anyone, so one must keep running with it and try to do as much as you can.

If you possess the above qualities, you can achieve anything you want on earth. And you will be a force-to-be-reckoned-with.