Lord Rama as a Leader in Ramayana

schoolmaster Rama as a Leader in RamayanaLORD RAMA AS MARYADA PURSHOTTAM- A LEADER IN fight AND PEACE, AS NARRATED IN RAMAYANAIsraelmore Ayivor has said, True leaders ar like statues, whether it rains or it shines, they never bend their necks to look backwards They never run away from challenges1 maestro Rama is one such(prenominal) leader who is also kn confess to be the avatar, incarnation of master Vishnu. Swami Vivekananda has described the immortal character of lord Rama in these words, Rama, the ancient divinity of the heroic ages, the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal world power, this Rama has been presented by the great sage, Valmiki.2 Shri Ramchandra exhibits majestic qualities of religious behaviour and therefore is fondly termed as maryada purushottam. Maryada content the inner moral principles, ethics, customs or rules and Purushottam relates to being the best amongst all men. He personifies the highest of human values, never deviating from the virtuous path in thought, or action, unconstipated in the intimately critical situations. He has denominaten many qualities of a correcteous king and a noble human being. His ensample behaviour and conduct make him a leader par excellence and that is why he is popularly termed as Maryada Purushottam (perfect man).Transformational leadership and lord Rama. The transformational leadership has been long demonstrated by schoolmaster Rama thousands of years ago before the introduction of this concept and model by Burns (1978)3 and latter by Bass and Avoilio (1994)4. Burns emphasized on the vernacular process between a leader and a follower, wherein each one makes an effort to increase the early(a)s take aim of motivation. In the first bind (Bala Kand) itself, the qualities and characteristics of Rama as a true leader have been dealt with in detail, which resulted in acquiring love, admiration, respect, and trust of all the people of Ay odhya. He as a transformational leader inspired his pursual to imbibe his values and connect with his ideologies. There can be quite a few other valuableleadership lessonsfrom the ideal man and the warrior prince Lord Rama, which can be imbibed by the array leaders of all the three wings of any defence organisation.Lord Rama as a leader was exceptional and led the way. The best way to create a positive work atmosphere is by leading through example and by ensuring that the team is highly motivated. This is exactly what Rama did with his threebrothers. As the eldest, he set an example for theyounger ones by always being fair and courteous yet stern when required. The whole of Ramayana is full of such examples, especially during the last leg of the Ramayana troth, Rama inspired his army to inculcate virtues like intelligence, skill, commitment, strategy to succeed.Lord Rama as leader was a participative leader and didnt strong suit his decisions upon others. Rama being a participa tive leader knew how to tackle situations with a cool-headed attitude and listen to others to encourage frank and open discussion on every aspect. Rama gives a forbearing hearing to advice from his allies while preparing for war against Ravana and therefore, managed to extract valuable clues of Sitas where nears. It is evident in Ramayana that Lord Rama inspired his army to fight an epic battle and be jubilant He never forced his decision of leaving the palace for exile, not even on his own wife Sita and brother Laxman. Instead, he dissuaded both of them to stay in Ayodhya and let him proceed.Rama was a humiliated leader and followed ethics and a code of conduct. Lord Rama was a solicitous and a humble man. In fact, Rama decl ard his dedication to dharma when he offered Ravana a final chance to make peace on the battleground.5 When Ravana walked to battle on the first daytime imputable to inadequate preparations and was rendered weaponless, Rama being a leader by ethics followe d the code of chivalry during war and stipulated that an unarmed enemy should not be attacked. Humility was Ramas most outstanding virtue, which made him so popular. He had no hesitation in eating the tasted fruits offered by Shabri during his exile. When Lord Rama finally reached Lanka, he welcomed Vibishana, the brother of his own enemy King Ravana to his side and embraced him like a brother. In spite of knowing that Vibishana was the brother of the demon King Ravana, he identified true and beautiful devotion and love. He welcomed him warmly and made him his best friend instantly in spite of some differences and arguments against this in his camp.Lord Rama being a humble leader, smiled and helped everyone to show genuine concern, and managed to fight a war on his own terms and conditions and finally win it.Rama was an unbiased leader. A leader has a personalised run of view which is exhibited in his own unique way. In Ramayana, Lord Rama shared his views and thought processes an d opinions with Lakshmana, Hanumana, Sugriva and Vibheeshana. But that doesnt do any harm to anyone else. There was no prepossess against anyone as far as the king-subject relationship was concerned. It is a well-known fact that the Vanara sena (monkey army), proved to be one of the most essential links to win the epic battle. A leader also creates more leaders. Rama as a true leader in war believed in his armys abilities and hence fortify them as per the overall objective. Lord Rama helped Sugriva and Vibheeshana to establish their own kingdoms, similarly able armed forces leaders should create and inspire effective potential leaders for the future.Rama was a leader having a clear vision. The mission of the army led by Lord Rama had a clear vision to rescue his wife Sita from the clutches of the Lanka king Ravana. This clarity of thoughts enabled the army to put their best to win the battle and finally achieve the positive desired outcome.Rama was a leader full of integrity. Lor d Rama, despite his immense hardships and misfortune, never stepped aside from his chosen path. He always maintained a certain yardstick for himself and his team, thereby gaining big dividends in terms of achieving his net goal.Rama was a learning leader. Rama kept himself under the guidance of the learned sages and ascetics, and frequently learned much about the nature of life. Significantly, he also learnt advanced techniques of archery and other techniques of warfare, which served him well during his final battle with the evil king Ravana.Rama was a role model and inspired everyone. Lakshmana, Ramas younger brother, constantly looked up to his elder brother, and thus was willing to help him through all the challenges life threw at him. So all the military leaders should motivate their teams and continuously reward victory and initiative.Rama was an taste leader. It is evident in Ramayana that Rama was a true leader, as he understood the problems faced by his team members and thereby helped them in whichever ways he could. give care for instance, during his time spent in the forest he met Sugreeva who was abandoned by his own brother Bali. He then went ahead and helped Sugreeva in regaining his throne. In addition, he was instrumental in killing the demons that used to often regularly trouble the sages in the forest.APPLICATION OF LEADERSHIP TRAITS OF LORD RAMAIN A army ORGANISATIONThe above-mentioned leadership lessons as exhibited by Lord Rama in the epic Ramayana, if applied and implemented properly can form the basis of advantage of all types of organizations especially the military organization (Army, Air Force, Navy). Leadership in military is not just restricted to some handful of seniors with high-sounding titles, alone permeates all across organizational levels managing personnel. It has been evident that a good leadership example like Lord Rama can enhance the overall motivational level and productivity in any military set-up. In the milita ry scenario, one can succeed and many a battles can be won, if there is relevant knowledge for the same. Like Rama, military leaders have to be confident and show no signs of desperation. Military leaders have to be on overhaul and keep a track of what is happening and gain full control of the war scenario. They should look confident and behave as one too, so that they are able to communicate to their subordinates that they are determined to extract positive outcomes for the benefit of their nation and their territory. The impact of an alert, agile and action-oriented leadership cannot be underestimated. A good military leader should ensure that his men give him a patient hearing and conduct themselves on the battleground to win the hardest of battles. This would allow his team to find a proper base ground and explore its full potential. Military Leadership believes in bearing the brunt most of the time and led the way through model behavior.Military leaders in particular are leade rs with a vision, and have the ability to see and put into perspective what others cannot. Communicating this vision to their followers and cause them to work towards fulfilling it, is an extended challenge for a military leader. The chief ingredients of good leadership as portrayed by Rama in Ramayana primarily are character, courage and competence, which undoubtedly form the essence of success for any military organization. Character, in military context, is understood as self-discipline, loyalty, readiness to accept responsibility, and willingness to sacrifice whenever required. These qualities of Lord Rama can help in minimizing fear and maximizing sound judgement in any critical military situation thereby bringing success from a seemingly hopeless situation. For a military leader humility is one of the most difficult trait to exhibit, especially during war time. However, there is no denying the fact that it is also one of the most fruitful traits if used in the correct directi on. Moreover, a foreseen vision will always be a motivating factor to focus on the goal and not be deviated. Every military leader needs to have a clear vision of what he is aiming for and what will it bear him in the future.6 He also must be in sync with his followers or team members in order to pull ahead his goals. A military leader should avoid cutting corners and everything, which makes him uncomfortable. This will ensure long-term organizational sincerity and loyalty. Todays world is all about dynamism and keeping pace with new developments, which surely is a tough challenge. In the current information age where knowledge is wealth, an informed upstart military leader should constantly strive to learn, and explore new subjects, deepen the understanding of old ones, and continuously upgrade him. Keeping abreast of the latest developments and advancements in modern means of warfare is the need of the hour and is expected of all contemporary military leaders.Contemporary milita ry environment requires leaders who can perceive what is right and know how to mobilize people and resources to accomplish mutual goals.7 Understanding individual team members and ensuring the requirements to keep each one ticking, is what is required in our present day defence organization too. Leaders of the armed forces should back their teams under all circumstances. They should know how to deal with their subordinates in order to make many of the followers, leaders in their own right thereby creating options and opportunities for their subordinates to inculcate self-confidence and optimism. In todays military world the one man show does not hollo success like the earlier days. Intelligently distributed responsibility and empowerment creates changes for good and more chances to win. So naturally it becomes quintessential for every department, every unit in the armed forces to create more and effective leaders than ever before. It surely would ensure more uniqueness more tasks c ompleted, more projects concluded, more missions accomplished, more promises achieved and most of all more trust build than ever before.1 The Great Hand Book of Quotes, Israelmore Ayivor2 Hinduism, By Hiro G. Badlani, pg 103, 01-Sep-20083 Transformational Leadership, Burns, J. M. (1978). New York Harper Row4 Improving Organizational effectuality Through Transformational Leadership, Bernard M. Bass,Bruce J. Avolio, SAGE Publications, 19945 https//www.sunzu.com/articles/building-leadership-skills-lessons-from-the-ramayana-226876 http//www.mensxp.com/work-life/leadership/20918-leadership-lessons-from-lord-rama.html7 http//www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/reflections_on_leadership.htm