6 Attributes of A Good Leader - From ShriMad Bhagwat Geeta

Hanuman Ji

ॐ नमो नारायण ! जय श्री कृष्णा

While discussing the 3rd chapter of Shrimad Bahvat Geeta, Acharya Shri Shivender Nagar Ji explained the Attributes of a Good Leader. Following is a record of my learnings from yesterday evening.

The discussion is based on the 2 verses from ShriMad Bhagwat Geeta, both are mentioned after the following the 6 points.

1. Visionary or Prescience: A good leader should be able to see the change before it happens. He Should be able to predict any inevitable major-minor changes. If you cannot predict changes in the future due to signs in the present then you cannot lead people.
   Like right now, due to the Corona pandemic, the gathering of large crowds may not happen for at least a year or two. So, anyone in the business of organizing or supplying to big marriages, or someone who wants to have a huge gathering at his party should really start to think of alternatives.
   
   
2. People will follow you: Acharya Ji quoted "Culture Comes from top and revolution comes from the bottom". This quote is applicable to a small family, big organization, and countries as well. People follow superiors, they will do what their superiors are doing.
   When India got freedom in 1947, the zeal, zest, and enthusiasm were so great and pure that if someone was caught taking a bribe, then people use to gather to see the convict's faces. Because it was an anomaly. At that time people of India were following their leader to greatness. But as time passed. The corruption tricked down from top to bottom. Now, people considered bribes as a normal affair. यथा राजा तथा प्रजा
   SMBG Verse 21, Chapter 3, Bhagwan Ji says to Arjun that if a superior being like you leaves the biggest battle of his life and becomes a sage then people will follow you and renounce their obligated duties.
   Sidharta left his home to become Buddha. Then millions of people left their homes to become just like Buddha. But there is only one Buddha.
   A true leader should be aware of this fact that people will follow him, hence he should set higher standards and the right example for people to follow.
   
   
3. Knowledgeable: If someone is running a Software development company then the owner or the manager must be aware of the business. Otherwise, the workers will confuse, misuse, and take advantage of not knowing. Ideally, the owner should be a master of the trade, but if not then at least should be aware of how the business runs.
   Acharya Ji told us that big hoteliers send their family members to other hotels in foreign countries for an apprenticeship, the intention is to gain knowledge.
   
    
4. Plan: Well thought plan is half work done. A good leader should be able to plan where I will be in 2 years, where my company will be in 5 years and where my country will be in 10 years. Set goals and plan to achieve them
   
   
5. Silence: Moun(मॉन) The oath of secrecy. 2 Ministers of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and PV Narsimha Rao were able to rule our great nation only because they were silent. Bhagwan Shri Raam kept secrets from Lakshman and Bharat, which he proclaimed were part of him. Keeping secrets is the reason managers and leaders get separate rooms to work. Classified information for specific people only.
   Romans used to use alcohol to get the truth out of other leaders. Because by drinking alcohol people lose their restraints. Plato suggested that a leader should never drink.
   In simple words, if you have a tendency to speak your heart out with anyone, then you are not a leader.
   
   
6. Capacity to Punish: Irrespective of the fact that you may not and would not punish anyone, but a leader should have a capacity to punish. if you don't have the capacity to punish then people will not take you seriously. A manager who can give promotions can also terminate his employes. This capacity makes a leader.
   All Hindu Gods have a flower or a book in one hand and a weapon in another. Suggesting although I spread peace still I have the capacity to punish as well.

To conclude, people cannot be made leaders, the heir to a king or a big businessman can be made to sit on a seat of position. But he won't be able to lead. But people can learn to become a leader.


The discussion actually started while Acharya Ji was explaining Chapter 3 Verse 21 

यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जन: |
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥21॥

Translation:

Whatever a superior person does, another person does that very thing! Whatever he upholds as the authority, an ordinary person follows that.

Also, Acharya Ji mentioned Chapter 10 Verse 38

दण्डो दमयतामस्मि नीतिरस्मि जिगीषताम् |
मौनं चैवास्मि गुह्यानां ज्ञानं ज्ञानवतामहम् ॥38॥

Translation

Of the punishers I am the rod; I am the righteous policy of those who desire to conquer. And of things secret, I am verily silenced; I am the knowledge of the men of knowledge.

ॐ नमो नारायण ! जय श्री कृष्णा

Short Story - The King's Challenge

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ॐ नमो नारायण ! जय श्री कृष्णा

While teaching and explaining Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, Acharya Shri Shivender Nagar Ji tells beautiful and knowledgable short stories. These short stories are instrumental in explaining a point in the discussion. The following is one such short story.


Once lived a noble King. He didn't have any heir to the throne. He decided that he will name someone king, but that someone has to be capable and superior to others. So, he decided that he will create a challenge for all the young people below the age of 30 in his kingdom to contest. The winner shall be named heir to the throne.

He asked his servants to make announcements to everyone in the kingdom that the King is looking for his heir. And who so ever fulfill the king's challenge will be named heir to the throne after the King.

The challenge was simple, on a specific day, the King will invite all the participants to a gathering. In this gathering, the king will be hiding and who so ever finds the King first will be named the heir to the throne. Task has to completed before sunset.

As the task was very simple, find the kind and become king. Hence, everyone eligible in the kingdom decided to participate. A huge crowd gathered in front of the palace on the event day. When the gates to challenge were opened, people found that King has actually organized a grand carnival for all the participants. 

The word grand was small in comparison to the arrangements that King has made, there were different tents for specific enjoyments and entertainments. The first tent was full of delicious food and snacks from different parts of the world. All these foods were made live and available for free. Such amazing foods were available that no one has ever heard of.

The second tent was full of entertainment, live dancers were performing and hundreds of plays were going on. Comfortable sofa and beds were lying for everyone to eat food and enjoy the visual delights. 

The third tent was full of Weapons. Get any kind of weapon you like and that too free of cost. The next tent was for testing the free weapons. The next tent offered free chariots and horses. And then the next one offered free servents. Things even got rediculous when the after few tents free gold coins and jewelry were offered. Furthermore, free homes and villas were offered, and finally authentic educational degrees in your name. 

The entire carnival consisted of hundreds of such tents, offering free gifts and visual delights to all participants. The temptations were such that no one can resists. 

Youngsters, who came for the challenge got engaged in one or the other the fabulous attractions at the carnival, few who got passed from food, got stuck at weapons. Some got pass free horses. And finally, no one got passed the free jewelry section. No one passed the section of free homes and education. Inevitably, everyone was wasting time and forgot about the challenge. The day was about to get over, but everyone was forgetting about the purpose of the challenge in the wake of temptations.

But one young man was very focused on the goal. He was only thinking about the challenge. He avoided all the temptations although he wanted them. 
Towards the end of the carnival, he found a very simple temple. In the temple, a persist was offering evening prayers. The young man bowed to the priest and when he saw the priest's face he recognized the king. As the challenge was fulfilled, the king found his victor and he named the young man as heir to the throne.

Moral of the story: Our life is similar to a carnival organized by God. Our purpose in life is to seek and be with him. But in life, we follow temptations like home, car, jewelry, and trying to get them. In the end, we do become maters of one material thing or another. But like in the story the boy who avoided all the temptations and become king, also became the owner of all the temptations he left behind. Similarly, we should seek God and other material benefits will follow it's the course.

  

Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta free PDF download

Krishan Arjun

ॐ नमो नारायण ! जय श्री कृष्णा

Online links are no longer valid, Kindly visit the below website for an online copy:

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CHAPTER 2, VERSE 47 - Your Karma Will Decide the Result

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||

 

Transliteration: 

karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana

mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi

Translation

Your right is for action alone, never for the results. Do not become the agent of the results of action. May you not have any inclination for inaction.

My Understanding:

ॐ नमो नारायण ! जय श्री कृष्णा 

I listened to Acharya Shri Shivender Nagar's lecture yesterday through online meeting and the following are my understandings. My intention is to record and share it with any other seeker (साधक) to read understand and share it further.

According to Acharya Ji, the following 7 are basic teachings which one can learn from this shalok:

1. You already got the result (फल): Nature (प्रकृति ), your society, your city, your community, and your county has already given you the result in the form of knowledge, health, education, etc while you are growing up. So, we should consider ourselves as someone who has already received gifts.
   Now the karma(कर्म) or duties which is assigned to you, like raising a family, running a business which provides employment to others, educating others, etc are duties given to you by nature as a payback for all those gifts that nature has given you. Nature has placed you in certain special circumstances, based on your own desires and especially due to your capabilities.
   So instead of complaining about how busy you are with work, we should perform the obligated or assigned duties considering God or nature has given some work to me and I should do perform them with a full heart.
   And most importantly, God and nature have no shortage of people, so if we deny or pass on some work. The work will be passed and done through someone more or equally capable.
2. Focus Lost: If you are focused on the result then you will lose the required focus one needs to do the action correctly. So, while doing your karma aim at the completion, but not what we get after the completion. Emphasis is on the action, not the result. The result is anyways dependent on how well was the execution, so it should not jeopardize that.
   Like, in cricket, if a bowler is thinking only about how he will celebrate after taking the wicket, then he can never succeed. The bowler should only think about what kind of delivery I need to bowl in so that the batsman makes a mistake and gets out.
3. The journey is more Enjoyable: If we are climbing a great mountain, then during the journey we will enjoy the most. The struggles, the pain, and the sense of achievement after every step are something we can only enjoy while climbing.  When we reached the summit then we do enjoy the view but it will be way less than what we have already experienced.
   If we have read about great people, they always talk about their struggles, how they became great. Like, winning a Noble or Oscar, the recipient always talks about how he achieved it. When asked how he feels after achieving the award, then the answer normally is: "It feels good".
4. Desires Fulfilled: When we have achieved one goal to reach the desired destination, our minds created new goals or a new destination that next in line to be achieved. That's normal human behavior.
   Like, a newlywed couple will not only wish for a son but also they will wish for a son who is beautiful, healthy, well behaved, fair, good in sports, A+ in all studies, etc.
5. Relaxed: If we achieve which we aimed for we become relaxed and lazy. That's too is normal human behavior.
6. We don't know what we want: If we only knew, what is our ultimate desire, what we will wish for after which we do not require anything. So, it's normal human behavior to move towards one goal, and after reaching it, we realize that we don't really need this but something else.
   Like, Like a rich young man, was facing some problems in getting married so he requested Bhagwan Ji to get married, and Bhagwan Ji said Done
   Then, he was facing problems in becoming a parent, so he requested Bhagwan Ji for a son, and Bhagwan Ji said Done
   A Son was born to the man. But the baby was deaf. He again requested Bhagwan Ji that his problem gets resolved. Bhagwan Ji said Done.
   But then the Son got very sick with some disease, the man's wife suggested that we should pray to Bhagwan Ji again. This time the man said no. Because he isn't aware of what he should really pray for.
7. Agitated and Angry: If our desires are not fulfilled, or the result isn't as we want it to be, we get angry and agitated. The consequences of the same are the worst. This will be covered in detail in Chapter 2, Verse 63, 64. Please read them here.

To summarize,  there are several core & complex meanings of this shlok, few are following

• Lethargy and procrastination are the real enemies that obstruct performing karma or the duties of everyone. Acarya Ji suggests picking up a higher goal, which can and will infuse new energy to complete it.
• Focus on the result will cause loss of required concentration on the required action.
• Bhagwan Ji has given us our karma or duty as per our capabilities.  

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