Inspirational Leadership

People have become cynical all over the world. What is worse, they have accepted hypocrisy and falsehood as the legitimate and only route to leadership not only in the political arena but in every aspect of human endeavor. As the subject of this blog is not politics, I eschew that topic and rather dwell on the implication of this apathy to the growth and sustained development of Corporates and other organizations.

During the “India Shining” phase of our recent economic history, we preferred to be blind to the “Value of Values” as Swami Dayananda Saraswathi calls it. The result was that we crowned people as highly value based who were paying no more than lip service to truly invaluable values.

Both Swami Vivekananda and Swami Aurobindo Maharishi are of the confirmed view that personal liberation invariably precedes public success. It is, therefore, essentialthat we liberate ourselves before we embark on our journey to attain greater heights in our chosen field of accomplishment.

Inspirational Leadership is not something that you have; it is something that you already are. Yes! You are already an Inspirational Leader! At least, the potential for becoming one is already in you.

Have you seen a temple tank or lotus pond? In the centre of the serene water-filled area you will notice lotus flowers sticking out from between the disc like leaves. In the rainy season the tank will be brimming with water and the lotus flower would ride high on the water! The heights that anyone can achieve in their life, similarly, depend, not on birth, wealth or even education, but on their own innate enthusiasm and energy. The Divine poet Thiruvalluvar says...“The spirit of a man is the measure of his fortunes…” .

If this spirit of pure positive energy can be accessed and unleashed, you can achieve anything you want!

Inspirational Leadership is the art and science of tapping into that extraordinary vein of potential in you and converting it into extraordinary results for yourself, your family, your organization and finally the whole world!

Insha Allah

I have often been asked as to why I keep repeating words like “Insha Allah” and “Bismillah” which are Islamic as well as quotations from the Psalms in the New Testament. This could, arguably, be a valid objection and a reminder that I claim to be a Hindu by religion. While it cannot be denied that my faith is rooted in the Vedic tenets, I have never claimed that I owe any allegiance to rituals and dogma, if any, of Hinduism. My conception of God and perception of a relationship with That Supreme Being is such that it is incapable of being confined within the dogma of any single religion, be it Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, or any other belief system. I have, therefore, endeavored to adopt the best practices in ALL religions and to adhere to them in the true spirit in which they were first propounded.

In this sense, Insha Allah, is an acceptance that the future is a closed book, the pages of which, only the Omniscient one could have seen. The last line of Alexander Dumas’ novel, “The Count of Monte Christo” clearly articulates our absolute lack of control over the future and total ignorance about it:

“Until the day, God deigns to reveal the future to mankind, the sum of all human wisdom is contained in these two words…Wait and Hope.”

Similarly, Bismillah is a surrender of ego before beginning anything. We dedicate the act to the Supreme and take away all expectations. We will be able to dedicate to Him only those acts that are worthy of Him. So every Act is examined for its suitability as an offering to God. Thereafter we perform action in His name and to His Glory.

This is quite similar to the concept of Nish Kaamya Karma that is extolled in the Bhagvad Gita.

The Goal of all religions should be to spread the need for

1. Surrender of Ego and submission to the divine will.
2. Cheerful Acceptance of the Divine Will.
3. Performing acts without concern or worry about the fruits or results.