Ramkkasturi's Values, Roots and Leadership

I have made an effort to draw the distinction between the Social leaders and Corporate leaders. Both certainly have some common qualities in them. Deeply hidden in them are the basic qualities of leaders that take shape as they grow and may undergo some transformation as well. The transformation may be attributed to the influence of their ecosystem which is very distinct for Corporate Leaders as opposed to Social Leaders. It is important to draw this difference for the simple reason that Corporate Leaders have perhaps more defined ecosystem, or atleast traceable boundaries with varying degrees of influence on them. On the contrary the Social leaders ecosystem is infinitely large diffuse and highly heterogeneous. Thus corporate leaders get spotted within the ecosystem, shaped to meet a prescribed behaviour in the limits of the organization's goals, values, mission and universe.

Social leaders do not get spotted and have no grooming mechanism nor a set of values defined. They need to trace their way define their goals and values and make an evaluation  of what fits the ecosystem in which they function. This is challenging task; the ecosystem being diffuse and undefined. Consequently, it is imperative that the Social leaders must have firm roots to their values, which often get challenged and have no boundaries defined by any organization. The transformation of their goals therefore is a slow process, constantly subject  to self-evaluation and social acceptance.

Mahatma Gandhi being a social leader was some one who through his own adoption has constantly set a challenge infront of the social leaders to constantly define their values and test them on themselves before they expect their ecosystem to follow their path. The ecosystem, of course, has a free and fair choice to make a voluntary decision on their own.

This makes us want to ask the basic question whether the social leaders like Mahatma Gandhi have inherited or acquired their values on their path to leadership?. An equally important issue is to ask ourselves is ,if they screen, evaluate and transform the values to make them relevant to the ecosystem and finally how they prefer to communicate the values to the ecosystem.

Mahatma's childhood was a challenging one, he was born to the fourth wife of his father. Gandhi's grand father also was married more than once.Gandhi's father Karamchand Gandhi alias Kaba Gandhi was lover of his clan, truthful, brave and generous. He was an incorruptible man and impartial. He was kept under detention for a few hours as he refused to apologize to a politcal agent for standing upto him when he insulted Rajkot . Gandhi's father had no ambition did not leave any property and had very little or no education but had the character, will power and self respect that may have laid the foundation to the freedom of India- setting an example to Mahatma, the man that was to liberate Indians and set free the untouchables.

Mahatma's mother, Putalibhai, the fourth wife of his father was a very religious woman that had left saintliness on Gandhi. She was deeply religious and would take the hardest vows and keep them without flinching. Illness was no excuse to her and to keep two or three fasts was nothing to her. She had common sense and was well informed about all matters of state.

Gandhi had his early schooling at Porbander and then at Rajkot. He was a mediocre student, shy and always hidden in books.In school he took an oath not to copy, never to lie (though he admits that he did lie later) and had strong natural respect to elders especially towards his parents.He was influenced by Shravana Pitrubakthi as he witnessed a play about Shravana's devotion to his parents. Similarly a play on Harischandra (the king that gave up everyhting to stick to truth) had a strong influnece on him ..

Gandhi was married very early in his life( as was the tradition) and seems to admit that he was no exception to the male ego and had prevented his wife Kasturbha from going out. He experimented with many of the vices of youth and soon began to realize that they were not in the best interest. He admitted his guilt and sometimes even when he revealed the truth he was still suspected. Soon it dawned on him that man of truth must also be a man of care, and freedom was a valuble gift to life in general. He realized his mistake in trying to prevent kasturbha from going out (kasurbha did go out though Gandhi tried to stop her).

He struggled with cowardice and fear of thieves and ghosts that very soon made him want that his country men must be bold, strong and courageous. His writings reveal that deep inside he admired Kasturbha's courage and her conviction for freedom to go out depsite his control.

Thus one can find in Gandhi the roots of values taking shape, and he was constantly subjecting himslef to an evaluation and scrutiny. To him remorse and realization were important and there is a lesson in almost every experiment he did on himself. What he could not practice he did not suggest to others. Relegion practiced in blindenss made no sense and the human dignity has always been considered supreme. His influnece of Ramayana and Tulsidas has stayed with him till the last minute that he uttered the final word "Hey Ram" in his last breath.

One always wondered about the affinity between Gandhi and Nehru. Nehru admired and respected his father Motilal whose abhorence to violence in the youth ,Nehru may have been critical about in his Cambridge days, has finally transformed to a non-violent path. Nehru's childhood had more freedom. affluent society around him, and perhaps lacks the depth of personal humiliation Gandhi tolerated, though we see the pain of discrimination expressed by Nehru in many instances. Nehru too was a timid person and uncommunicative. He paid fines at the "Mag Pie and Stump" the Cambridge debating soceity for not speaking. There is no evidence of Saintliness in Nehru and he admits that the aesthetic side of life appealed to him, the idea of going through life worthily, not indulging it in the vulgar way, but still making the most of it and living the full and many sided life attracted him. like his father, he was a bit of gambler, risk and adventure fascinated him. Among the books that influneced him politically at Cambridge was Meredith Townsends "Asia and Europe". Like his father, Nehru too seems to have transfomed into a moderate, yet like his father relegious nationlism was alien to his nature.

What is interesting is what appears to be diversity in the Gandhian and Nehru upbringing, which fails to explian their affinity and bondage held by the urge for freedom and human dignity not haunted by any slavery . One can , after a deep search find the similarity of modelling after the parents, subjection to self evaluation, balancing with fairness and above all the deep desire to cooperate to free the country submerged under humiliation and communicating the most powerful message by two silent shy men !!