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Ideal Leader and Noah's Ark

Date April 9, 2013



Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji, provided a brilliant answer to a question at the recently concluded seminar "Management Principles from the Bhagavad Gita" in Singapore. Enjoy.

Question: According to the Geeta who would be the ideal manager and what would be his qualities?

Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji:

मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योर्निर्विकारः कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ||१८-२६||

muktasaṅgonahaṁvādī dhṛtyutsāhasamanvitaḥ
siddhyasiddhyor nirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika ucyate 18.26

The best worker, leader, manager is one who is free from egoism and he has no attachment to any power, position, pleasure, etc. He is prepared to act according to the situation and what is required, he is prepared to do it. If he has to give up his position, he will do it, he is not attached to anything. muktasaṅgaḥ-anahaṁvādī - free from attachment & ego. dhṛti-utsāha-samanvitaḥ - endowed with great fortitude and enthusiasm. To achieve great ideas, he has the fortitude to hold on to that idea. Many challenges, obstacles, problems and difficulties may come in the way but he does not get bogged down by that. utsaaha - the enthusiasm is there. Sometimes when someone succeeds, some people say 'he was destined to succeed', but the other man says, 'he was determined to succeed'. That 'utsaaha' is there. If I fail, so what - again you start.

siddhyasiddhyor nirvikāraḥ - In the process, sometimes there will be success, sometimes there will be failure, but he is the one who remains equipoised. Not that once success has come and it goes to your head. Or some failure has happened, so you become depressed. No such thing. Sometimes in business there is recession, it happens often, but some people go into depression - "I want to die" & they commit suicide. When such a thing was happening, someone was feeling this way, someone told him, "learn from Noah, you know Noah's ark. He floated his company when the world was in liquidation!" [laughter].

siddhyasiddhyor nirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika ucyate - he is the best worker, leader or manager. That is the definition in the Bhagavad Geeta.



PS: The above post on Pujya Guruji's facebook page, did provoke a very healthy discussion. Do click to follow.

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post

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