In this dog eat dog, greed is good world, what is the role and relevance of righteousness & honour ? What behaviour should the leadership should emulate; is the behaviour of winning at any cost relevant or winning with the right cause ?
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
Self-Aware – (let maya / ego not diminish the accomplishments or cause distraction)
In the Bala Kand Lord Ram went to King Janaka’s kingdom along with Sage Parasurama. In Maa Sita’s Swayamvar, Lord Ram proceeds to string the divine bow by first bowing to his teacher and the bow paying his respects. This is a significant peep into Lord Ram’s character, one not of mere physical strength, but a humble one too. It is a sign of not getting carried away by glory & praise and perceiving one’s self-worth through the eyes of ego/maya. In another instance, in the Yuddha kand when Ravan was on his death bed, Lord Ram asked Lakshmana to seek knowledge/wisdom from Ravan as he was a great learned Scholar, Lakshmana went to Ravan and whispered in his ears and sat near his head to listen the same, Ravan refused to sharing and closed his eyes. When Lord Ram went to Ravan he folded his hands, saluted, and then sat at his feet to seek his teachings. It was then that Ravan opened his eyes and shared his pearls of wisdom with the humble Lord Ram.
As leaders and managers, we often fall into the trap and create an illusion of us being invincible and all mighty. This happens especially when we taste success on a continuous basis. The challenge that arises out of this is our ego/maya takes over our rational / logical self and often leads to distractions affecting the way we conduct ourselves as leaders. Humility is the hallmark of a great leader and this is amply displayed by Lord Ram in all avatars, ranging from a Prince of Ayodhya where he adhered to his Father’s wishes to being a Fellow Traveler in the Jungle to being a Warrior in Lanka to Finally triumphing in the war.
By Srini
