Two great Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato were once having a conversation. Plato wanted to find the meaning of good life and how to achieve it. To satisfy his hunger, his teachers Socrates answers that the primary aim of a good life is to give man satisfaction. But to leads a good life, a person must first develop character.

On further enquiry by Plato, Socrates answer that to develop a character one must make a habit and this habit would come when one develops an attitude.

The Indian Vedic thought too has emphasised on building character. This is evident through the Sanskrit Shloka- “Sheelam param Bhughanam” meaning character is the supreme virtue.

Hence the aim of this essay is to probe what is an attitude, what is a habit and how attitude forms habit. It would then answer how habit forms character and how character makes man.

The Building Blocs

Attitude is at the core of character building. It means an inner predisposition of a person to external object [living or non-living], for example if a person has a problem solving attitude, he would be able to deliver even in harshest of circumstances.

This attitude when repeated again and again develops into a habit for example APJ Abdul Kalam’s attitude towards finding solutions to scientific problems as head of DRDO, became a habit during his term as president of India wherein he could solve complex political issues.

This habit when ingrained and internalised forms the character of a man. for example Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s habit of speaking slowly after deep thinking built his character as someone who is serious in his thoughts, speech and action. This made Shree Vajpayee as a man of integrity and a statesman.

Hence, the trinity of attitude, habit and character makes people great.

Examples across the spectrum

During historical times, Akbar had a tolerant attitude towards Non-Muslims. This made him celebrate festivals like Diwali, Holi being his favourite. He married Hindu princess. All this build an accepting and accommodating character in him and her emerged as greatest Mughal king ever.

Social reformers during the British era had sympathetic attitude towards plight of the women, children. Ishwar Chandra Yidya Sagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Jyotiba Phule because of their attitude, made a habit of raising women issues like san, child marriage, etc., in the society. This eventually built their characters as great social reformers who left an imprint on Indian society.

Mahatma Gandhi’s attitude towards religion was rational. Hence he denied discrimination based on caste system, against dalits. He made a habit to engage with dalits, eat with them and associate with them. It built Bapn’s character as someone who thought of the most oppressed and the downtrodden in Indian system.

Subhash Chandra Bose’s attitude towards the British was filled with rage and aggression. He made it a habit to directly challenge the British state wherever possible. This habit of his led him to found the Indian National Army and built his character as a leader of the masses.

Similarly Rani Laxmi Bai’s attitude towards the people of Jhansi was one of a protector. She fought for her people against the British and sacrificed herself. Her character as Iron Lady is still part of Indian folklore.

post-Independence examples include that of Pandit Nehru. He had a rational and scientific attitude. This attitude got converted into a habit of establishing premier institutes like IIT, IIM, DRDO, ISRO, etc. All this built the character of statesman in Pt. Neharu.

Lal Bahadur Shastri’s attitude towards the post of PM was of accountability and not of arrogance. He had a habit of paying for whatever government services he used, ever for a car. This built him a man of integrity, honesty and probity.

In the sports field, MS Dhoni’s attitude is to play by the rules. He leaves the pitch when he knows he’s out, even if for some reason the Umpire has given a not-out. This has made him India’s greatest cricket captain.

The social sphere has examples like Kailash Satyarthi. His empathetic and compassionate attitude towards children created a habit of freeing children from the clutches of child labour. His character got recognition as he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Medha Patkar’s attitude towards environment and rights of tribals has made a habit to reach at every place where such rights are being violated and the environment being harmed. This has built a character of tribal rights crusades in her.

Internationally, we have examples of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Junior whose antiracist attitude and habit of opposing apartheid and racism built the character of leader in them that gave freedom and liberty to millions of Black people across the world.

The other side of the win

We have example of how negative attitude makes people devoid of character.

Hitler had a negative attitude towards the fews. His habit of genocide, concentration camps stripped him of his character and made him the most despised person of all time.

Similarly in Indian context people having patriarchal and Brahmin cal attitude have a habit of discriminating against women and lower castes. This leads to logs of character, social capital and a degeneration of society.

Building characters: The way Ahead

Attitude and habit forms the two pillars on which a character rests. People must be encouraged to develop a positive, compassionate and tolerant attitude towards life and to the fellow human being. This can be done through education, teaching of social values at home. Good habits like helping the poor must be encouraged and highlighted. Because a nation’s character is dependent on the character of its people.

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost, when health is lost, something is lost. But when character is lost, every this is lost.”

– Mahatma Gandhi