Moral Thinkers & Philosophers — UPSC Mains GS-IV Questions (2013–2025)

What are the major teachings of Mahavir? Explain their relevance in the contemporary world.

“Learn everything that is good from others, but bring it in, and in your own way absorb it, do not become others.” – Swami Vivekananda

“Faith is of no avail in the absence of strength. Faith and strength, both are essential to accomplish any great work.” – Sardar Patel

“In law, a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics, he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.” – Immanuel Kant

“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves.” — Jawaharlal Nehru

“Do not hate anybody, because that hatred that comes out from you must, in the long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle.” — Swami Vivekananda

What does each of the following quotations mean to you? (a) "Every work has got to pass through hundreds of difficulties before succeeding. Those that persevere will see the light, sooner or later." — Swami Vivekananda

"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until and unless we obtain peace within ourselves." – Dalai Lama

"Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, it is better for us all." - Erik Erikson

What teachings of Buddha are most relevant today and why? Discuss.

What do each of the following quotations mean to you? (a) "Condemn none : if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If not, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way." – Swami Vivekanand

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." - Mahatma Gandhi

"A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true." – Socrates.

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

“A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.” – M. K. Gandhi

“Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

"The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more evil than good. There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded." — Abraham Lincoln

"Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding." – Mahatma Gandhi.

"Falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good." – Tirukkural