Thoughts on discipline

Discipline is the spine of any system. It prevents a system from folding around the corners of pain and pleasure. Daily routines, a reading habit, an erect posture, clarity of thought and speech, cleanliness and order: these are all hallmarks of personal discipline. But discipline extends beyond the personal. For example, a principal keeps his institution in discipline, interest rates keep money markets in discipline, a strong legal system keeps the society under discipline, and so on. All the ills and vices are attributable to a breach in discipline. The central illusion breeding such breach is the apparent ease with which indiscipline often gets away. This ease often arises because discipline is sought to be primarily enforced and secondarily inculcated, whereas the converse should be the norm.