LEADERSHIP – The Gandhi Way
By Arun Gandhi
Leadership in modern times is defined in many different ways but the common factor in each of the definitions is that a good leader must be aggressive, demanding, uncompromising and challenging. There is seldom any talk of a leader having morals and values and humility. The true story I am about to share is different and gives a very unique spin on what a good leader should be like.
The Late Shriman Narayan was a very prominent Congress Party leader in the last century and also served as the Governor of Gujarat in the late sixties and early nineteen seventies. He shared this experience with a private gathering during the Gandhi Birth Centenary Celebrations in October, 1969. Shrimanji was born into a wealthy Indian family and had the rare opportunity in those days to study for a doctorate in the London School of Economics. When he graduated he was understandably proud of his achievement. On his journey back home he spent long days on the steam ship dreaming about the profound economic changes he would make in India.
He could barely contain his enthusiasm when he got home. At the first opportunity he told his father: “Give me your blessings so I can put into action all that I learned in England.”
His father was a traditionalist so his response was: “First, you need to go and get the blessings of Bapuji (Gandhiji).” Then he added: “You know we don’t do anything in this house without his blessings.”
That is simple, Shrimanji thought, it just means a few extra days of waiting and traveling to Sewagram Ashram in Wardha. When he arrived at the ashram Shrimanji still could not contain his enthusiasm. After his obeisance to Bapuji Shrimanji said: “Bapu, I have come to get your blessings so that I can make good use of my education in England and transform our country. You know I have a doctorate from the London School of Economics.”
For several more minutes Shrimanji outlined his grandiose plans while Gandhiji listened patiently. In the end Gandhiji said: You will have to earn my blessings. I don’t give them lightly.”
“Yes, Bapu,” Shrimanji said with a smile. “Tell me what do you want me to do.”
“From tomorrow morning,” Gandhiji said. “I want you to join the team that cleans the toilets.”
Shrimanji was aghast. Still in shock he spluttered: “Clean the toilets? But I have a doctorate in economics?”
“Yes, I know” Gandhiji replied with a wisp of a smile on his lips.
Cleaning the toilets in Gandhiji’s ashram means more than one can imagine. These toilets were not the modern day water closets but primitive buckets – one to collect the liquid waste and another to collect the solid waste. These buckets had to be carried into the fields and emptied into compost pits, washed and replaced. Since the ashram was a busy place the toilets had to be cleaned twice a day. This is the kind of work that gave rise to untouchability in India and it is still the kind of work that people of higher castes refuse to do. Gandhiji was never a tyrant but once he expressed his wishes however unpleasant the work may be no one argued with him. Shrimanji did not like what he was asked to do but silently and reluctantly he joined the group early next morning and did his duty. Later that day he returned to Gandhiji and said:
“I have performed my duty now give me your blessings.”
“Not so quickly,” Gandhiji replied. “You still have a long way to go before you
get my blessings.”
“How long,” Shrimanji asked in distress.
“When I am convinced that you can clean the toilets with the same enthusiasm as your desire to change the economy of the nation, then I will give you my blessings.”
Shrimanji had to do this work every morning for almost two weeks before he earned Gandhiji’s blessings.
Why did Gandhiji make Shrimanji do this? Like Shrimanji all of us achieve great things in life which results in pride. Pride leads to arrogance, arrogance to aggressiveness and a sense of superiority. We become so selfish and self-centered that we have little or no respect for others, especially for those who are below us. When a leader has no respect, understanding, acceptance, compassion and appreciation of those in the lower rung he or she is unlikely to receive these attributes and emotions from fellow workers. Leadership then turns to dictatorship where people follow you because you have the means to destroy their careers and not because they respect you.
Gandhiji noticed that Shrimanji had a great deal of pride and arrogance and he wanted to replace that with humility, simplicity and respect. Gandhiji also tried to break-down the caste system that divides people between high and low. It is this pernicious form of master-servant relationship that cause strife in our country.
Gandhiji’s nonviolence was not just about abstaining from violence but also about how do we build relationships between people that are based on positive principles of respect, understanding, acceptance and appreciation. The success of Gandhiji’s mission was based, primarily, on the positive principles of respect, love, compassion and appreciation of all people whether they were poor and ignorant or rich and educated. A good leader is one who encourages people to discover their potential and not one who leads a team on a leash. Materialism and morality, Gandhiji said, have an inverse relationship. When one increases the other decreases. Unfortunately in today’s world people are dispensable, profits are not. In our rush to make big money we think a good leader is one who can lead us to material gains at the expense morality.
