Real Leadership | Radhanath Swami | Radhanath Swami Articles

There are many books that teach you various leadership techniques to fatten your bank balance, to climb up the corporate ladder, to have more power, to control people’s lives and to inflate your ego accordingly. But what about a type of leadership by which we can make a very serious, significant contribution to people’s lives and to the world in general? Actual leadership means to be a leader who actually has a positive effect in people’s lives—and not simply leading in such a way that you make a lot of money. What really matters is the mark that one leaves in the world. If one does not have proper integrity, the world hates him. People despise hypocrisy.

When you become a leader, people open their hearts to trust you; they open their faith. In that state you can do the greatest benefit to those people’s lives, but you could also cause the greatest pain, anguish and devastation in those people’s lives. So leadership is not a post to enjoy. If that is your idea, then you will be a very exploitative person and a very miserable leader. Leadership is a very serious, significant responsibility of service to others. A real leader is in a spirit of service. And, in order to be a proper leader in that way, one must have knowledge of what is actually right and what is actually wrong.

Knowledge is power. The great thing is not about having power; the great thing is how you use your power. Are you using the power in such a way that you gain genuine inner fulfillment and enlightenment, and improve the physical, emotional and ethical quality of others? If you are just going through your life thinking about job, money and prestige, then will there be any depth to your life? Will there ever be fulfilment in your life? Are you just selling your consciousness out to the world of materialism, greed, envy and pride? Is your life superficial, or is it meaningful and real?These are the most important questions that you should be asking. A good leader is a person who attracts people’s confidence and enthuses people with loyalty and faithfulness because of their relationship, whether the relationship is immediate or extended.

– Radhanath Swami