Discipline
Discipline is implicit obedience to the commands of a superior authority, and acceptance with a smile of punishment awarded for breach thereof. If there is no discipline in life, there is anarchy, life is disordered work would not go in its desired way and no one action is related to another, thus nothing reaches its logical conclusion.
A little observation will show that from heaven above to earth below, everywhere, discipline reigns supreme. For instance, the earth, the moon and the stars move round the sun or on their axes, according to certain specific rules. Even animals are disciplined under their
leader. The life of bees in a hive is a model of disciplined life. Coming down to men, the various organs of his body cooperate with one another and are disciplined for the maintenance, growth and development of the whole body. A savage in the primitive state of society obeyed the laws of his clan. The civilised man obeys the head of his family.
The home is the nursery where we receive our first lessons of discipline through obedience to parents and elders. As we pass out of the nursery and enter the portals of an educational institution, discipline becomes a matter of vital importance. This is because student life is a period of preparation for the battle of life. No less is the need for the discipline in the playground. A disciplined team, though weak, has a greater advantage over its rival, strong but ill-organised.
In society also there is a greater need for discipline. If its individual members are permitted to do whatever they like, society will break up and the onward march of civilsation and progress will be arrested. Lack of discipline among the youth of a country may endanger national security.
Nowhere else perhaps is discipline more necessary than in the army. Here a moment’s hesitation may mean defeat and death. Difficulty, danger, nay, death itself should not prevent a soldier from carrying out the orders of his commander, even if they are unjust or wrong.
There are, however, men who are opposed to discipline. They think that it kills originality and takes away initiative. Disciplined people, they say, are just like parts of machinery. A man is not a machine. He, therefore, should not be expected to be an obedient orderly.
This is a very wrong view of discipline. It is the extreme of authoritarianism. Discipline does not mean that. It allows originality. There is no objection to people taking to any work and any thought. The only demand that discipline makes is that you should have a plan and an order.
Discipline is a precious asset. Life without discipline is like a ship without a rudder. It is a rod to check the erring, a brake to control the thoughtless actions of man. Its purpose is to see that liberty does not degenerate into licence.
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