Mains Practice Questions

1. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will.

Quotes to Enrich Your Essay:

• Swami Vivekananda: “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it, think of it, live on that idea.”
• Abdul Kalam: “Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”
• Buddha: “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.”

Theoretical and Philosophical Dimensions:

• Law of Attraction & Visualization: Human imagination shapes intention, and sustained willpower converts it into reality.
• Philosophy of Karma (Bhagavad Gita): Focused action with clarity of purpose leads to outcomes. Desire → Determination → Creation.
• Existentialist Thought: Sartre’s notion that humans define themselves through chosen projects; imagination fuels freedom.
• Psychological Dimension: Positive visualization enhances motivation and resilience. Athletes and leaders use imagination as a performance tool.
• Indian Philosophy- Sankalpa Shakti (Power of Will): Desire becomes destiny when pursued with dedication and dharma.

Policy and Historical Examples:

• India’s Freedom Struggle: From the dream of Swaraj (Tilak, Gandhi) → sustained will of masses → creation of independent India.
• Space Missions (ISRO): From imagining moon/planetary missions (Vikram Sarabhai, Kalam) → willful pursuit → Chandrayaan & Mangalyaan.
• US Civil Rights Movement: King’s “I have a dream” → mass mobilization → legislative change (Civil Rights Act, 1964).
• Constitution of India: Imagination of justice, liberty, equality → will of Constituent Assembly → creation of living document.

Contemporary Examples:

• Start-up Ecosystem: Founders imagine innovative ideas (e.g., Flipkart, UPI, Paytm), persist through challenges, and build new industries.
• Climate Action Goals: Global imagination of a carbon-neutral future → policy will (Paris Agreement) → renewable energy expansion.
• Digital India: Vision of inclusive governance → political will + tech innovation → UPI, Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile (JAM trinity).
• Sports Inspiration: Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra or Mirabai Chanu turned dreams into historic Olympic achievements.
• Personal Transformation Stories: From Malala Yousafzai’s dream of education to her Nobel-winning advocacy.

2. You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.

Quotes to Enrich Your Essay:

• Rabindranath Tagore: “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”
• Thomas Edison: “Vision without execution is hallucination.”
• Chanakya: “Man is great by deeds, not by birth.”
• Bruce Lee: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

Theoretical and Philosophical Dimensions:

• Action-Oriented Philosophy: Dreams without effort remain fantasies. Karma Yoga stresses action as the path to fulfillment.
• Pragmatism (William James, John Dewey): Value of ideas lies in their practical consequences.
• Buddhism – Right Effort: Liberation requires not passive contemplation, but disciplined practice.
• Existentialist Emphasis: Responsibility lies in action; to delay is to deny freedom.
• Psychology of Procrastination: Fear, comfort, and inaction create barriers to success.

Policy and Historical Examples:

• Indian Independence: Passive desire would not suffice; movements like Dandi March and Quit India translated vision into decisive action.
• Green Revolution: Mere concern over food shortage was ineffective until bold agricultural reforms were executed.
• Women’s Suffrage Movement: Rights won through persistent activism, not silent hope.
• Abolition of Apartheid: Mandela’s struggle showed liberation required relentless action, not contemplation.

Contemporary Examples:

• Start-up India: Entrepreneurs succeed not by ideas alone, but by execution, resilience, and market adaptability.
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Cleanliness vision turned real only through mass participation and ground-level execution.
• Climate Crisis: Mere acknowledgment of climate change achieves nothing; action through renewable energy, lifestyle change, and policies matters.
• Personal Level: Students preparing for UPSC cannot succeed by planning or staring at books, they must write, revise, and practice daily.