Leaders possess many qualities but the one which stands out and makes a difference is that ‘Great Leaders makes Great Leaders!’. In order to have a lasting impact and to carry forward the good work and legacy it is important to create and nurture followers into great leaders . If we trace mass movements which have impacted Nations , trace origins and proliferation of new religions and reforms , assess organizations which have lasted centuries we would realize and agree that this was possible because of successive good leadership wherein the ’baton’ was passed to a worthy successor .
Successor who was nurtured and tested to carry forward the legacy. One thing stands out in such studies and that is that in all such cases the chosen leader was not out of hereditary considerations and was selected on merit and competence and qualities they possessed .
In Armed forces the leadership is nominated and all officers are trained to lead and many rise to higher ranks and lead larger formations . However what holds them is the contribution of successive leaders who had held the battalions together and a certain ideology binding them . Once I met a senior retired Rajput officer and during the discussions he stated that some battalions are more than 400 years old and have been led by many brilliant leaders whose contribution have made such battalions formidable and even if a relatively weak leader is in command the other officers and men compensate for it and the battalion pulls along . Such should be the contribution of all leaders that their legacy stands as benchmark. However the socio-political leadership is more challenging and critical for Nations.
The earliest example which comes to mind is that of Adi Shankaracharya who in 8th century AD reestablished ‘Hinduism’ . As history states that ‘Buddhism’ spread far and wide and the influence of Buddhism was so strong that many Hindu religious centres in India converted to Buddhism . At a very young age Shankaracharya became a sanyasi and travelled from Kaladi near Kochi through uncharted paths and dense and dangerous jungles to Omkareshwar a Hindu pilgrimage place on the banks of Narmada south of Indore . He came all the way to imbibe the teachings of ‘Advait’ ( non dualism ) and was accepted as disciple of ‘Govindpada’.
After a few years of learning he travelled to Varanasi where he stayed for many years and visited other pilgrim centres such as Prayag where he met Kurmil Bhatt a great Sanskrit scholar who was about to self immolate as he had deceived his Guru but before dying advised Shankaracharya to meet Mandan Mishra his Shishya. There is a ‘ Shastrarth’ ( debate) between the two which lasts for more than a month and finally Shankaracharya wins . Mandan Mishra and his wife become his disciples. In order to reestablish ‘Hinduism’ both at philosophical and a way of life / ritual level he established four ‘Dhams/ Shakti peeths’ and instituted the seat of ‘Shankaracharya’ at each place which exists till now -about 2000 year old system created on merit.
He did it for the longevity of ‘Hinduism’ , he not only wrote many original documents and scriptures , songs, but also wrote commentary on ‘Brahma Sutra’ and ‘Upanishads’ . The first ‘Math’ was established by Adi Shankaracharya in Shringeri in Karnataka and made Mandan Mishra ( Sureshvarcharya ) as the Head and later in Dwarka, Puri and Joshimath. He further nominated his most competent disciples as Head of other Maths , encouraged them to write commentaries on ‘Advait’ and his own ‘Brahma Sutra Bhashya’. His other disciple Padmapadacharya who wrote commentary on his Bhashya was Head of Dwarka Peeth. Similarly the first Mathadheesh of Puri ( Orissa) and Badrikashrama ( Uttarakhand ) were Sri Hastamalakacharya and Sri Totakacharya nurtured and measured for competence.
Sikh religion was established by Guru Nanakji in 15th century . A total of 10 Gurus carried the Banner. Each of the successive Guru was selected on merit and competence and nurtured accordingly . It was strictly merit based till the third Guru but after that it was hereditary but also merit based and not always the eldest son was made the Guru. Many of the Gurus starting from Guru Nanak ji contributed toward the compilation of ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ .
Guru Govind Singh ji was the last of the Gurus and he proclaimed the Sikh religious book ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ as the permanent Guru, it was placed in all ‘Guru Dwaras’ recited and worshipped since . Guru Govind Singh ji also established the ‘Khalsa Panth’ after the execution of his father , the ninth Guru Teg Bahadur by Aurangzeb and thus made the community more ‘warrior’ like . Such was the rise and impact of the community since that time crystalised in the power and glory of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who annexed many territories from Kashmir to Peshawar and made the Sikh empire a formidable one against which the British were always cautious .
He established the Sikh Army which exists till date as one of the proud Regiments of the Indian Army . In addition there is also ‘ Sikh Light Infantry’ Regiment . Therefore sacrifices of many Gurus( leaders) and formalising of their ideology and principles in ‘Guru Granth Sahib’ has added a sense of permanency and power to the community . The contribution, confidence and charisma of the community is seen in all walks of life.
Coming to the Modern times and the period of our freedom struggle of 20th century a new and integrated Nation emerged from the trauma of partition and oppressions of the Raj. The Nation still stands on those principles even when the political canvas has much changed . The Indian constitution emerged as the fruit and promise of a new Nation based on the ideology and principles with which the battle was fought. However this was only possible by a successive remarkable leadership . Leadership which nurtured new Leaders pan India.
The first ‘Guru-Shishya’ relationship which comes to mind was that of Gopal Krishna Gokhale a liberal leader and member of the Governor General’s council and also President of the Indian National Congress and Mahatma Gandhi the prime mover of the freedom struggle . Gandhi first met Gokhale in England in 1899 and kept in touch, he then invited him to visit South Africa which he did in 1912 . On his return to India in 1915 Gandhiji visited Gokhale sought his advise and also travelled around the country. He wanted to be part of his ‘Servants of India Society’ and all members also helped him . When he revealed his desire to set – up an Ashram in Gujrat on the lines of his Phoenix farm of South Africa , Gokhale was very pleased and accorded him financial help from his society’s funds. Gandhiji acknowledges Gokhale as his political Guru and Gokhale also nurtured him for he had observed his successes in South Africa and considered him competent to lead the Indian movement.
What is significant is that how Gandhiji steered the National movement after careful observing the potential leaders and then convincing them to join the struggle . The list is long but here I shall discuss few important and key leaders of the movement. Vallabbhai Patel was a leading Barrister of Ahmedabad a self made man with ambition to make money but Gandhiji convinced him to join the National movement similar is the case of Rajendra Prasad who was a leading Lawyer of Bhagalpur , he too joined Gandhiji . Rajagopalachari was another stalwart from Tamil Nadu whom Gandhi nurtured as leader , Pattabhi Sitaramyya was from Andhra Pradesh whom Gandhiji identified and trained . The most important leader who was moulded by Gandhi to lead the country was Jawaharlal Nehru , though he was son of the illustrious Motilal Nehru it was under the leadership and training of Gandhi he flourished .
Therefore Gandhiji had an all India perspective and he spotted and guided leaders from all corners of the country and in turn these leaders followed the footstep of Gandhiji and created a network of leaders at all levels which served the nation for about 20 years after the independence ; thereafter things changed.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
