Leadership has been described as “a process of social influence in which
one person can enlist the aid and support of others
in the accomplishment of a common task"
Leadership
is "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal". The
leader may or may not have any formal authority.
Studies of leadership have produced theories involving
traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others. Somebody whom people
follow or somebody who guides or directs others is called the Leader.
A leader is -
1. A person who rules, guides,
or inspires others (Head)
2. The person who is leading
in a race.
3. The best or the most
successful person of his kind.
The following are few
Leadership role Models in the Ramayana:
SRIRAMA
SriRamahad a firm mind to follow Dharma right from his
childhood. The following qualities of his
made him an exceptional leader:
1.
Character:
Character of the leader
always inspires his followers. SriRamastands
first in the list of the high-ranked persons on the basis of Character. He knew very well that he hailed from a great
family and he never let himself turn inferior to the standards set by his
ancestors in ruling the kingdom or honouring the eligible. In fact, he set some new standards and was praised
even by his enemies as रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः।
2.
Humble acceptance of the instructions
of the honourable and wise:
Recognizing the
well-wishers and following their right advice is a good quality of the
leaders. SriRamaalways used to receive the
advice of the wise positively.On the advice of his father, he followed Visvamitra
without any fear. On the advice of Visvamitra,
he killed Tataka by terminating his hesitation to kill a woman. Following the advice of Kabandha, he made
friends with Sugriva and gained life-long benefits. He had a high regard for Hanuman on whose
advice he gave shelter to Vibhishana.
3.
Self-discipline:
A leader who lacks
Self-discipline cannot instill discipline to his subordinates. SriRamawas always self-disciplined.He set his
way out of Ayodhyawhen he was demanded by Kaikeyi. He was so modest when he accepted only fruits
for him and grass for his horses from Guha in Srngiberapura. He had no tendency of developing any kind of
loathing against Kaikeyi, who caused his exile.
He even asked Bharata not to ill-treat her and honour her as
usully. Such qualities of his made his
brothers consider him the embodiment of Dharma.
4.
Rescuing the team members:
A leader who always expects
his subordinates to serve his cause but fails to rescue them is soon
deserted. Howerver,SriRamawas always kind
enough. He killed Tataka to save the
people of Malada and Karusha kingdoms.
He saved the sacrifice of Visvamitra by removing the problem of Subahu
and Maricha. He helped Sugriva in gaining
back his Kingdom by eliminating the threat of Vali. He did not hurl his arrow at Vali when he
could not identify Sugriva separately from Vali. He had a doubt that he could kill his own
friend Sugriva by mistake. He did not
even mind to receive the rebuke from Sugriva for doing so. Later, he killed Vali and made Sugriva king
of Kishkindha.
5.
Care:
Leader must be kind and
careful though not always as recommended by the experts. In fact, those qualities were integrally
present in SriRama. SriRama encouraged
Sugriva to invite Vali to fight. He
promised Sugriva that he would kill Vali with his arrow when Vali was engaged
in fighting with Sugriva. Yet, he did
not hurl his arrow at Valias he could not identify Sugriva separately from
Vali. He had a doubt that his arrow could
kill his own friend Sugriva by mistake. As
a result, Sugriva was severely beaten by Vali and somehow, survived. SriRamadid not mind to receive the rebuke
from Sugriva who was unaware of the mind of SriRama.Later, SriRama planned to
identify Sugriva discretely from Vali. Then, he killed Valiwithout any doubt
and made Sugriva king of Kishkindha.
6.
Generosity:
A Cruel leader is his own
enemy and a generous leader is acknowledged even by his opponents. The monkeys in the army of Rama caught the
spy of Ravana. Even Vibhishana caught
Suka and Sarana, the secret spies of Ravana.
However, SriRama was generous and did not wish to punish them. He instructed Vibhishana to allow them to
find everything they wanted and let them go and report to their master.Rama was
angry with Ravana but not with anyone of his poor servants.
7. Patience:
Patience is a tree with
bitter seed that always bears sweet fruit.
SriRama killed Vali and made Sugriva the King of Kishkindha. Then, the rainy season began. He knew that it was not the right time to
start search for Sita. So, he waited
patiently for two long months. Sugriva
was grateful and he sent his troops in search of Sita immediately after the
rainy season. SriRama wanted to know the
way of crossing the sea to reach Lanka.
He performed tapas for three days and later, he understood the way
building a bridge across the sea. These
are only few examples of his patience.
These and many
such other qualities make SriRama a leadership role model.Valmiki described 16
good qualities of SriRama in the very beginning of his composition of Ramayana.
HANUMAN
Hanuman was physically very robust and a scholar of high
standards as well. He excelled everybody
in the skills of achieving the given assignment.He was a faithful servant of his
master and mastered the art of being sensible.Yet, he was very humble. The following qualities of Hanuman make him
an adorable leader:
1.
Faith and Confidence:
Faith and Confidence in Self
is the foremost quality of a leader. Hanuman
was always the choice of Sugriva for getting any work done. Even Jambavan knew that none other than
Hanuman would achieve the all that is necessary for SriRama. Hanuman had these qualities filled in
him. Once, before leaping the sea to
reach Lanka, he declared his strength like this – “I can beat Vainateya and the
Sun in speed. I can make the sea
dry. I can tear the earth to slices. My mind obeys my decision. I can pull out Amrta even from the hands of Vasava,
who always bears Vajra-weapon. So, I
will definitely find Sita and make you all happy”.
2.
Determination and Effort:
A leader without an objective directs his team to devastation. However, Hanuman had a firm determination not
to return to SriRama without finding Sita.So, on his way, he had no time to receiveMainaka’s
hospitality. He overpowered all the hindrances
such as Simhika and Sarama with his might and intelligence.With fearless mind,
he intruded into the fort and palaces of the enemies. He negotiated with his confusions. He rose above his frustrations. Finally, his“never
give-up” attitude made him the achiever of the toughest success!
3. Compassion:
In the modern management, the quality of “compassion” may sound
strange but, it is worth-possessing and fetching as well. Sugriva gave the time of one month to the
troop of Angada to find Sita and come back.
Hanuman, one of the troop members succeeded in finding Sita. While the troop was coming back, the members of
that troop noticed the Madhuvana (a garden) and wanted some refreshmentthere. Hanuman advised Angada to allow them to enjoy
themselves as they tasted success after many tense moments. Even Sugriva did not mind that. Sugriva was considered very generous and
later, all the soldiers turned loyal to him.
4.
Fearlessness:
A leader is supposed to accept the challenges and overcome them with
ease or with struggle. Hanumanhad no
fear in facing the challenges at any level.
He encountered the challenge of Angaraparna and made him fall on his
knees. After winning the hand of
Draupadi in the svayamvara, he withstood the challenge of the entire cluster of
the kings including the Kauravas and Karna at once.Once, to help the God of
Fire,he did not put his step back to fight even against Indra, the king of
Gods.His pluckiness knew no bounds when he alone slaughtered Paulomas,
Kalikeyas and Nivatakavachas to help Gods.
His indisputable boldness was demonstrated when he alone overpowered the
constellation of the Kauravas that included great warriors like Bhishma, Drona,
Krpa, Asvatthama, Karna, Duryodhana and Dussasana. His audaciousness was evidenced when he
thrived in realizing his vow to take revenge on Jayadradha; who was under the protection
of the entire army of the Kauravas that was being led by none other than Drona,
by slaying him by the next evening.
5.
Duty-mindedness:
A Leader should be always ready to attend the problems. Hanuman was never negligent in performing his
duty.He was highly loyal and never spared any effort in achieving the desired
benefit for his masters. He never
considered his status illustrious and never considered any kind of work mean or
unpleasant. He never refused any assignment
given and he was never proud for he was considered as the most competent among all by his
masters. As a King, it was his duty to
protect the people and their property as well.
Even SriRama felt that he could never pay back the debt of Hanuman.
6. Expertise in various Arts:
A good leader must be a good learner always. Hanuman was valiant. His talents were multi-faceted.He was a
student of the Sun and an expert in the nine-fold grammar. His proficiency in prosody was
matchless. He was an expert
musician. He was a scholar in manySastras. He was a great penance maker as well.
7. Crisis Manager:
A leader must be well-acquainted to the difficult situations as a
part of his duty and should be able to cleverly tackle them Hanuman noticed some qualities of rebellion
in Angada. So, he impeded the debate and
made Angada understand that his thoughts were wrong and dangerous as well. Hanuman’s timely action was good enough for
both Sugriva and Angada. He could
deliberately avoid an internal-war in the race of Vanaras..
8.
Altruistic team member:
The true leader is originated from the crust of an obedient
servant. Hanuman was never disinclined
in obeying the orders of his masters. Hanuman
was mightier that anybody in the race of Vanaras. Yet, he submissively accepted the instruction
of his teacher (the Sun) to be the minister of Sugriva. He made SriRama and Sugriva friends. He leapt over the sea. He found the whereabouts of Sita. He played a major role in the war against
demons. He saved Rama and Lakshmana by
bringing SanjiviniMountain. Yet, he
remained as silently as he used to be like an innocent person.
These and many
such other qualities make Hanuman a leadership role model.
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