GS Paper IV 2020 · Q3 (Section A)
2 parts · 10 marks and 150 words each Moral thinkers & philosophers X-Ray · Core #25Q3(a) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
What teachings of Buddha are most relevant today and why? Discuss.
Approach · directive: “what; discuss (why)”
What it asks · Identify the Buddha's teachings most relevant today and explain, for each, why it answers a present-day problem.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Identify the Buddha's teachings most relevant today
- Discuss why each is relevant to today's problems
Open with · The Buddha's last words, by Buddhist tradition, 'Be lamps unto yourselves', a call to reason and self-effort that speaks to an anxious, divided and over-consuming age.
Cover
- A table maps three teachings to today's problems: the Four Noble Truths to stress and craving, the Middle Path to over-consumption, ahimsa, karuna and maitri to violence and online hate.
- The Eightfold Path as a practical discipline, from right speech and right livelihood to right mindfulness.
- The Middle Path in climate policy: India's LiFE idea (since then), mindful use over wasteful consumption.
- Reason over authority: the Kalama Sutta against blind belief and fake news.
- Equality: rejection of birth-based hierarchy; Ambedkar's adoption of Buddhism in 1956.
Close with · The UN General Assembly's recognition of the Day of Vesak in 1999, to acknowledge the contribution Buddhism continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.
Add value (verified)
- India's LiFE idea (introduced at COP26, Glasgow) urges mindful and deliberate use instead of mindless and wasteful consumption, a modern form of the Middle Path.Mission LiFE launch — PIB, Prime Minister's Office (June 2022) ↗“The idea of LiFE was introduced by the Prime Minister during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow last year. The idea promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’.”
- Kalama Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 3.65): the Buddha tells the Kalamas not to accept teachings on report, tradition or scripture alone, but to know for themselves.Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas (AN 3.65), tr. Thanissaro Bhikkhu — Access to Insight ↗“So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that”
- UN: by resolution 54/115 of 1999 the General Assembly recognised the Day of Vesak, to acknowledge the contribution Buddhism has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.International Day of Vesak — United Nations ↗“The General Assembly, by its resolution 54/115 of 1999, recognized internationally the Day of Vesak to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 213words · Minimalist IAS
According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's last words were: 'Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation.' This call to reason and self-effort speaks to an anxious, divided, over-consuming age.
| Teaching | Today's problem | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Four Noble Truths | Stress, craving, consumerism | Treats suffering at its cause |
| Middle Path | Over-consumption, climate stress | Moderation, not excess |
|---|---|---|
| Ahimsa, karuna, maitri | Terror, war, online hate | Non-violence and goodwill |
- A practical discipline: the Eightfold Path, from right speech and right livelihood to right mindfulness, turns ethics into daily habit; mindfulness now informs medicine.
- Sustainable living: the Middle Path suits a warming planet; since then, India's LiFE idea, introduced at COP26, has urged 'mindful and deliberate utilisation' instead of 'mindless and wasteful consumption'.
- Reason over authority: the Kalama Sutta warns against accepting a claim merely on report, tradition or scripture: a ready rule against fake news and blind faith.
- Equality and dignity: his rejection of birth-based hierarchy still speaks against caste discrimination; Ambedkar, leader of the anti-caste movement, adopted Buddhism in 1956 with thousands of followers.
In 1999 the UN General Assembly recognised the Day of Vesak to acknowledge the contribution Buddhism 'continues to make to the spirituality of humanity'; the cure he taught for craving, hatred and blind belief still holds.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
Q3(b) 10 marks · 150 words · answered on its own
‘The will to power exists, but it can be tamed and be guided by rationality and principles of moral duty.’ Examine this statement in the context of international relations.
Approach · directive: “examine”
What it asks · Examine, in international relations, whether the will to power can be tamed and guided by rationality and moral duty: the realist claim, the restraints, their limits and a verdict.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain the will to power in international relations (the realist view)
- Examine how rationality and moral duty tame and guide it, with examples
- Assess the limits and give a reasoned verdict
Open with · The realist premise: Morgenthau traced conflict to animus dominandi, an insatiable desire to dominate; the statement grants the drive but holds that reason and duty can tame it.
Cover
- A table sets out three restraints, how each tames power, and an example: rationality, moral duty and rules.
- Rationality: deterrence, arms control and trade interdependence; Kant's argument that citizens who pay for a war make republics very hesitant to fight.
- Moral duty: Asoka's repentance after the Kalinga war and his turn to Dhamma; Panchsheel (1954) and India's no-first-use doctrine.
- Rules: Article 2(4) of the UN Charter against the threat or use of force.
- Limits and verdict: the Melian Dialogue's might-is-right, veto politics and selective enforcement; restraint works when built into institutions and reciprocity.
Close with · UNESCO's founding insight that since wars begin in the minds of men, the defences of peace must be constructed there.
Add value (verified)
- Hans Morgenthau located the cause of conflict in animus dominandi, the insatiable desire to dominate: the realist form of the 'will to power'.Political Realism in International Relations — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“The insatiable human lust for power, timeless and universal, which he identifies with animus dominandi , the desire to dominate, is for him the main cause of conflict.”
- Kant, 'Toward Perpetual Peace': in a republic those who decide on war bear its cost, so republics are hesitant to go to war.Kant's Social and Political Philosophy — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“In a republican constitution, the people who decide whether there will be a war are the same people who would pay the price for the war, both in monetary terms (taxes and other financial burdens) and in flesh and blood. Republican states will therefore be very hesitant to go to war”
- UN Charter, Article 2(4): members must refrain from the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence.Charter of the United Nations, Chapter I — United Nations ↗“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”
- UNESCO Constitution (Preamble): since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — UNESCO ↗“The Governments of the States Parties to this Constitution on behalf of their peoples declare: That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 221words · Minimalist IAS
Realists place the will to power at the centre of world politics: Morgenthau traced conflict to animus dominandi, an insatiable desire to dominate. The statement grants the drive but holds that reason and duty can tame it.
| Restraint | How it tames power | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Rationality | Makes aggression too costly | Deterrence, arms control |
| Moral duty | Limits ends and means | Asoka's Dhamma, Panchsheel |
|---|---|---|
| Rules | Binds every state | UN Charter, Article 2(4) |
- Tamed by rationality: deterrence, arms control and trade interdependence exist because unlimited power-seeking defeats itself; Kant argued that where citizens who would pay for a war decide on it, republics grow 'very hesitant to go to war'.
- Guided by moral duty: after the Kalinga war, in which 'a hundred thousand were killed', Asoka recorded his repentance and turned to Dhamma; Panchsheel (1954) and India's no-first-use doctrine carry it forward.
- Bound by rules: the UN Charter's Article 2(4) bars 'the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state'.
- The limits: the Melian Dialogue's might-is-right still echoes in veto politics, selective enforcement and power asymmetry. Verdict: the statement holds where reason and duty are built into institutions and reciprocity.
UNESCO's Constitution names the deeper task: 'since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed'.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
