Leadership Ethos derived from Vedic Thought
KEY WORDS
Key Words: Leader, Dharma, Danda, Purohita, Kshatriya, Inner Sage, Rta
Indian knowledge tradition provides several concepts from which we can draw insights regarding leadership practice and governance. Drawn primarily from the wisdom of Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita the research paper presents the Vedic ethos of Leadership which is characterized by three conjoint principles : dharma- danda, Purohita-Kshatriya and Inner Sage- Outer King. The three conjoint principles emphasize that right knowledge should precede leadership action, where former represents dharma and latter is danda. Purohita who are learned sources or wise mentors and ritualistic ceremonies like abhishekha play a significant and profound transformational role in making a leader, who is the doer (kshatriya) able and effective. The concept of Inner Sage – Outer King which is the third conjoint principle of leadership reflect on the ideal mental state leaders must possess, where the inner self is free of narrowness and destructive emotions and aligned with an outer self that is energized and motivated to act. The importance of the three conjoint principles in effective leadership is illustrated by analyzing the leadership style of key characters from epic Mahabharata – Yudhisthira, Duryodhana, Bhisma and Vidura and others in the article. The Vedic ethos of leadership has relevance in the contemporary context because it integrates seemingly bipolar trajectories of life – individualism and collectivism without diluting the importance of any one of them. The model is embedded in the larger Indian Vedic vision of harmony and unity among diverse elements of universe and leaders work in a way that restore order (rta) from disordered (anyaratya) state.
Mala Sinha
The author is Associate Professor at Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India. She may be reached at mala.sinha@fms.edu or mala1.sinha@gmail.com