The Justice of Lord Rama
The great Indian texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata are called “itihasa”. This loosely translates to “it so happened.” The word itihasa represents the work of an author who witnessed various events mentioned in the texts. Ramayana is the work of the legendary saint Valmiki. It describes the life of Sri Ram, an incarnation of the god Vishnu born in the Treta Yuga. I am stating all of this upfront because post the colonization of India, we have started referring to our Itihasa as myths. This is a great disservice to our ancient culture and events predating Western history and philosophy. The details of the Yuga or age are also important because each Yuga coincides with a particular way of life.
The story of Sri Ram happens in the Treta Yuga, the silver age of humanity. Human beings had a very long lifespan, and animals and birds had ways of communicating with people. The Ramayana includes several instances of birds, monkeys, and bears assisting Sri Ram in defeating the demon king Ravana and rescuing his wife, Sita.
Our story begins with Lakshman, the brother of Sri Ram, asking him a question. Lakshman accompanied Sri Ram to the jungle for 14 years and helped him defeat Ravana.
You praise our brother Bharat by calling him a saint. You also call Hanuman a saint, but you never call me a saint? Why is that, my lord?
Sri Ram smiled and told Lakshman that since he was in the jungle with him, detachment was the only possible outcome. When you have nothing, there is nothing to get attached to anyway. This was not the case with Bharat. He had all the right to rule the kingdom. However, he chose to stay outside the city, in a cave, and wait for Sri Rama to come back and rule the kingdom. That’s why Bharat is regarded so highly by Sri Ram.
Another story in the Ananda Ramayana shows how power corrupts people. Sri Ram was a very just king and spent a lot of time daily conducting an open court to moderate disputes in his kingdom and pass judgment. One day a dog approached him in the court and said he wanted justice. The dog stated that he was running around in the street when he saw some food. As he started eating the food, he suddenly felt a jolt of pain in his body. He raised his head to see a saint raining blows on him with a stick. Writhing in pain, he had come to Sri Ram’s court to seek justice. Rama summoned the saint and quizzed him about the crime. The saint accepted his mistake and said he had been begging for food every day and was hungry. People had been complaining about stray dogs, and when he saw this dog enjoying food, he could not stop himself and whacked it.
Rama said he could not decide the punishment because he could never understand a dog’s feelings. Hence, the dog himself should decide the saint’s punishment. The dog immediately said he knew the perfect punishment for the saint. He ordered that the saint should be made the head of a nearby monastery for five years. Lord Rama gave him a quizzical look, so the dog explained his decision. He said in his previous lifetime, he was the head of that monastery. The power and fame got to his head, and he committed all kinds of evil acts, including lying, cheating, tax evasion, and fraud. He said when the saint kicked him, he felt he was receiving the consequences of all his selfish actions. Hence, there was no greater punishment for the saint.
Applying Lessons at Work
The biggest lesson I took from this story was Bharat’s ability to resist the temptation of power. How do you do that in corporate life when you are handed power with a designation? Let me share a personal story. When I became a manager, it took me a long time to figure out my leadership style. Many books discussed how a manager should wear different hats and transition between styles, but most of the advice felt academic. Finally, I chanced upon Servant Leadership and dug deeper into that. I understood how leaders are in a position of power. If they can display humility, courage, and insight to admit they can benefit from the expertise of their employees, they can gain significantly from them. Before practicing servant leadership, I was a typical top-down leader. I would understand the organization’s vision and figure out how my team can help the organization reach its goals. I would also discuss every employee’s strengths and weaknesses without asking them if they had input. This approach was proving challenging because it was difficult for some people to improve on weaknesses versus getting an opportunity to demonstrate their strengths.
As I started practicing servant leadership, I started asking people what they would like to do to help the organization. Our graphic designer stepped up and said he would like to develop a virtual-reality application to tell the organization’s story. This was a pleasant surprise because I had been giving him feedback on different areas and made minimal impact over the past few months.
He took up the challenge of building the VR app with gusto and learned a host of new technologies. Meanwhile, the team learned how to support him. We acquired skills in storyboarding VR workspaces, figuring out deployment models, and working out how to measure analytics.
The VR app was a smash hit, and this single act of servant leadership had many consequences. This single act of trust had so many consequences.
- The innovation we demonstrated helped me with an internal movement in the organization.
- When my previous team was impacted due to an acquisition, every team member went on to get a better job because we did industry-leading work thanks to the servant leadership approach we all followed.
- I learned how to collaborate with global stakeholders and deliver value without stepping on people’s toes.
One of the most significant consequences of power is that most people never challenge you. If you can practice servant leadership, you can take your career and your team’s career to incredible heights.
Esoteric Meaning of the Story
I first heard this story from my dearest Guru Om Swami in the following video about the life of Lord Rama.
He goes on to explain a beautiful insight into spiritual life. Lakshman asks Sri Ram how does one identify a saint? Lord Rama gives the example of an axe and a sandalwood tree. When an axe cuts a sandalwood tree, the tree does not stop giving out its beautiful scent. Neither does it try to become hard like the axe. Instead, the axe starts smelling like sandalwood. A saint is like sandalwood. Even when attacked, they never abandon their virtues. A person who is not a saint is like a matchstick. It has a head but no brain. Hence, the slight friction means it flares up.
Lakshman was not satisfied with the answer. He tells Sri Ram that this was grossly unfair to the sandalwood. The axe is mercilessly chopping it off with no consequence. Rama smiled and told Lakshman to remember that the sandalwood becomes the paste rubbed on the divine for their abhishekam. Meanwhile, the axe is sent back to the iron smith, who beats it with a hammer, pushes it into the fire, and sharpens it with metal.
The goodness of a saint can never go unrewarded. It may seem like a difficult life, but if they continue walking the path, the progress is astounding.
