The Nine Lessons from Maryada Purushottam
- Vulnerability is Strength
- Duty Bound / Dharma is Divine
- In the Present (Now & Here)
- Harnessing the Potential
- Beyond the Comfort Zone
- Compassion to Accommodate
- Devoted to Commitments
- Self-Aware
- Empathy over Equity
Duty Bound / Dharma is Divine
(It doesn’t matter how close / far emotionally connected / disconnected; personal / professional are the stakeholders in question)
One of the most controversial instances that is often misread/misinterpreted is the Agni Pariksha of Maa Sita in Uttar Kand. In fact, many scholars questioned the existence of Uttar Kand itself on the basis that it wasn’t the part of the original Ramayan and was only added after some 200 years later.
Whether it was the trial of asking Sita maa to go through Agni Pariksha or adhering to King Dasharatha’s (his father) request / order to sacrifice the claim to throne and be exiled instead, the outcome / behavior / reaction of Lord Ram was that of a duty-bound King who superseded his love as a Husband (Angi Pariksha) and that of a Son who superseded his rights as a Prince. In-fact King Dasharatha order Ram as a father and not as a King for which Lord Ram responded with dharma.
Another interesting tale which is often recited is of the Yuddha kand battle with Ravan. There was an instance in the battle when Ravan was rendered defenceless, weapon less and was all alone on the battlefield. At that moment, Lord Ram paused the fight and told Ravan that the battle can be resumed when he was armed again thus displaying the duty-bound role of an ideal warrior.
As a leader we have many stakeholders in our life and by the virtue of importance or sensitivity some take higher priority. Many a times our judgement of right and wrong or what/who is priority gets influenced by the stakeholder in question. If the stakeholder is closer/critical to the leader, his/her wishes and expectations becomes a priority by default.
As leaders we are duty bound by the role we pick and when we are playing that role it is imperative that the stakeholders and their expectations are respected irrespective of our personal opinions and preferences. We cannot cloud our judgement or decisions based on our whims & fancies and must ensure that we are ‘Righteous for All’.
By K.Srini