Saturday, January 7th, 2012

Leadership Lesson

Toronto, Ontario

It was a glorious day for me to participate in two events. The first one was an appreciation dinner for the cast of, “Dhroova”, the story of a great prince who learned many lessons from his austerity in the forest. The actors in this production worked hard. Secondly, I attended another dinner, much later on in the day, to honour the weekend warriors of BBT book distribution. I sat to hear the stories of devotees who relished in the spiritual activity of approaching people at different venues – the street, homes, shops – about the value of taking the spiritual path. It was a delight to digest, not only the food but the stories of human interaction. To better digest it all, I took to an evening walk, trekking Yonge Street, up to the point where break dancers were whipping up incredible moves, including fast spins on their heads.

Upon my return from the walk I opened to a page of “Tales of Ancient India” based on the text Hitopadesh, which our guru, Srila Prabhupada, would quote from. A dear friend, Guy Tetreault, from Quebec, wrote/translated it. Here’s a story about heavy responsibility in leadership.

“A prince was sent to a school of a guru to pursue his studies. Once they were completed, their master informed the king that he could come and pick up his son. When the prince demonstrated his achievements, the king was very appreciative. Desiring to teach one final lesson to the prince, the guru asked the king to go on horseback to a distant tree and then to return.

As the king galloped away, the guru told the prince to try to catch the horse. Meanwhile, the king had reached the tree. It was on his way back when he saw his son running breathlessly toward him. Furiously, he asked the guru, why he had obliged the prince to run in this way.

The guru replied, ‘now his education is complete. With this last experience he will not show indifference to the suffering of his subjects, especially of those who must labour hard in the service of others.’”

The moral: Leaders who have not received an education based on the principles of wisdom, will inevitably be blinded by power, fame, and wealth. They may certainly make decisions that benefit their own wallets, but they’re likely to be disastrous for the people they are supposed to serve.

7 Km