Leaders to Shun Ahankar and Observe Maryāda

Recently, Mr Mohan Bhagwat, Chief of Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS), delivered a statesman-like address at a periodic training program for RSS workers: “Jo vaastavik sevak hai …who maryada se chalta hai. Us maryada ka paalan karke jo chalta hai, who karm karta hai lekin Karmon mein lipt nahi hota. Usme ahankara nahin aata ki maine kiya” (He, who is a true worker, conducts himself with dignity. Whoever maintains propriety of conduct, he simply performs his duties; never gets attached to them; will not be overtaken by arrogance to claim the credit for the work done). Intriguingly, he also condemned the “bitterness” that was witnessed in the recent election campaign, which in his opinion can jeopardise social harmony.

In this address, which is sounding more as a sermon compelling us to ponder over, there are two keywords the import of which is far-reaching. They are: “ahankar” (arrogance) and “maryāda” (propriety of conduct), for they sound more like a model code of conduct for leaders—be they political or business leaders. 

There is, of course, ample evidence indicating that humble leaders outperform arrogant leaders, and yet we often see leaders having a hard time checking their egos at workplaces. Edgar Schein, Professor Emeritus at the Sloan School of Management, once asked a group of his students what a promotion to the rank of manager would mean to them. A pat reply was: “It means I can now tell others what to do”. It is perhaps, this “know-it-all style of leadership” that broods arrogance among leaders.

In his book, Humble Inquiry that he co-authored with Peter A Schein, Prof Edgar listed three different forms of humility. The first and the most basic form of expression that we generally adopt in social life is: “the humility that we feel around elders and dignitaries”. The second is “the humility that we feel in the presence of those who awe us with their achievements”, which indeed is a standard practice in our professional life. It is the third kind of humility, which he labeled as “here-and-now humility” that he considers as the most relevant for business leaders to achieve the mission of the organization but rarely observed. 

Now, the question is: why practicing “here-and-now humility” is so rare among leaders? Schein offers an explanation: A leader feels that his status turns inferior to the other when he asks him to perform some work for accomplishing his goal. He also feels that he is required to be humble in such situations. Hence, people often would rather prefer to give off the task than to admit their dependency on someone else. 

In Rāmāyana we come across a scene that is worth recalling here. Rāma, amidst the sound of kettle drums and couches, arrives in Lanka. Hearing the sounds, Rāvana summons his ministers to chalk out his further course of action. Malyavan, the maternal grandfather of Rāvana, a sagacious ogre, in an attempt to convince him about his folly, says: “That monarch, O King who is well-versed in the fourteen sciences and follows the path of prudence enjoys sovereignty for a long time and brings his enemies under subjection … our enemies who have embraced virtue and renounced evil are stronger than we …beholding dreadful portents, I foresee the extermination of all the ogres … Therefore, conclude peace, O Rāvana, with Rāma” (VR 6-35:7-37). 

But Rāvana, in his intoxication of power, abuses him thus: “This noxious and harsh utterance … has not caught my ears …I fear I have been told such harsh words by you either because of spitefulness to me, … or because of your predilection to the foe or because you were incited by the enemy to do so”. In that hubris, he goes on to claim, “Of whom will Rāvana entertain fear in an encounter”. Further, he proudly declares: dvidhā bhajyeyam apy evam na nameyam tu kasyacit / … (6-36:11)—I would fain break in two, but would never bend before anyone…” 

And, we all have seen how the fate of such leaders ends. It is thus evident that though ahankar gets attention, it is the modesty that gets results. Which is why, leaders in all walks of life may have to feel confident of themselves to be humble to admit that they don’t have all the answers and have to reach to people for right answers. 

It is from shunning the trait of ahankar, which emanates from self-belief, that Maryāda stems. Maryāda is a finely honed sense of rectitude in one’s behavior. This is an adjective that is often used by Vālmki to define the character of Lord Rāma and present him as the ideal role model. 

We come across a beautiful scene in Yuddhakānda that depicts the unimpeachable courtesy (Maryāda) for which Rāma is known. In the course of great fight with Rāvana, Rāma in his anxiety to stay focused on destroying Rāvana once for all, asks Mātali, the charioteer sent by Lord Indra, to advance the chariot swiftly towards the enemy’s chariot, without confusion and with steady heart and vision. Then suddenly, as if wondering how a mortal like himself could instruct Mātali, an immortal sent by Indra, lord of gods, he hurriedly says: “smāraye tvām—I am reminding you, na śikshaye—not teaching you” (6-106:13). As an occupant of the chariot, it is not wrong of Rāma to instruct the charioteer to operate the chariot in whatever way he wishes to gain advantage over the opponent. But Rāma, the Maryāda Purushottam, man embodied with a sense of honor, not mind to seek charioteer’s help humbly—“I am reminding you; not teaching you”—so that he gets the best of his attention in handling the chariot. That is the excellence of Rāma’s character. And indeed, Mātali, being extremely gratified with these words, drives the chariot as desired by Rāma (6-106:14). 

It is the maryāda sans ahankar that is the most effective and sustainable mindset which serves the leaders who aim at mighty goals in a world full of unknowns. 

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