Interesting read: Valuable Leadership Lessons from Hanuman
Kumar Raghavan
A great leader must not only have a good knowledge base, but must be constantly ready to learn with attention and humility. Hanuman sought knowledge from the sun itself. Nature is the best of teachers.Hanuman walked backwards, constantly facing the sun, to gain knowledge and inspiration from the mighty inspirer who shines in the skies without stopping for a moment.
A leader should also have his own source of inspiration. Hanuman chose Lord Rama as his role model. He never tried to compare himself or stand at par with this mightiest of leaders. Instead, with his dedication and devotion and his ever readiness to serve the cause of Rama, Hanuman made a niche for himself as a leader par excellence.
A leader must motivate people and bring out the best in them, not try and show his own supremacy. When all the vaanars left to find Sita, they were all very enthusiastic and ran in the forefront. Every minor demonic challenge they saw on the way, they would run to destroy it. Hanuman, despite his great strength and capabilities, remained in the background – silently watching over the vaanars. But whenever major difficulties arose, they all turned to him and he was ever ready to solve the problems. When the vaanars, while trying to find Sita, were afraid to enter the cave of Swayamprabha, it was Hanuman who entered the mysterious and apparently dangerous cave, first.
Hanuman displayed exemplary leadership with his confidence, patience and perseverance. Look how he managed the impossible task of crossing 800 miles of ocean. When the mountain in the sea, Mainaka, tempted him with a paradise-like resting place, Hanuman said, “Till I finish my Lord’s work, I will not rest”.
On the way to Lanka, when differences in opinion arose with the serpent demoness, Surasa, Hanuman did not get bogged down with ego issues and arguments. There was a battle of wits with the snake opening her mouth wider and Hanuman growing bigger. It was leading to no solution – only delaying Hanuman. So he cleverly became very small, without making it a prestige issue, and slipped out of the situation.
On the path to success, there is another tendency that can pull us down. This is jealousy – within our own bosom or invoked in others. While flying towards Lanka, Hanuman’s shadow was caught by the fierce Sinhika, who represents jealousy, and she tried to drag Hanuman down. But he instantly overcame her.
In a challenging situation, a clever leader tries to turn every adversity into opportunity. When Ravana’s men captured Hanuman and dragged him through Lanka, Hanuman took the opportunity to observe all the military stations and posts in Lanka. Later, when he stood before Ravana, he even tried to counsel him. But when it did not work and they burnt his tail, he again turned adversity into opportunity to instil fear in the opponents by burning Lanka.
Finally, a good leader is quick to share credit for success. On his return from Lanka, everybody acknowledged Hanuman’s achievements. But Hanuman himself humbly gave credit to the whole team, not forgetting the Grace of Rama.(Swamiji is director, Chinmaya International Residential School, Coimbatore, and regional head, Chinmaya Mission Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, UK and Africa).