Many people today have a habit of delegating work. They themselves do nothing and expect others to do all the hard labor for them. Young people of today imagine that this quality of pushing work upon others, is what makes a person successful and climb up the corporate ladder. However as Maharshi Ramana demonstrated this is not the quality that makes one a successful leader.
A successful leader in fact does just the opposite. He/she goes down in the trenches and works just as hard if not harder than the rest of the team, shouldering many heavy responsibilities. In the following excerpt we see just this quality in Sri Ramana Maharshi.
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Even though devotees in Maharshi’s Ashram worshiped him as God, and were ready to do the smallest work as a seva to their Guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi did not let them. He readily partook in the Ashram’s labor and shouldered many responsibilities upon himself. Whats more he did all this despite taking on uncountable burdens of others – such as absorbing devotee’s bad Karmas and giving his Tap Shakti (spiritual force of penance) to alleviate their suffering. Maharshi’s devotee Viswanatha Swami, narrates the following two incidents:
Once Sri Ramana Maharshi developed blisters on his hands due to grinding chutney everyday. He refused to heed to the request of Viswanatha Swami, to not undertake the job. Failing to convince Maharshi, Swami went to the kitchen early and did all the work Maharshi used to do.
When Maharshi came, he asked Swami why had he done his work in the morning.
When Swami said that he could not bear to see the Maharshi grinding chutney with blisters on his hands.
Maharshi replied, “In the early days I used to go for bhiksha (begging of alms). Now I am getting free food in the Ashram. That is why I do some work or the other in the kitchen. Today you have done my work. Please give me your dhoti. I will wash it for you.”
When Swami heard this he was moved to tears. Another time when the Mathrubhuteswara Temple was being constructed, Sri Ramana used to lift the bricks and offer them to the mason. Such was his tremendous leadership, full of humility.
Source: Face to Face With Sri Ramana Maharshi (page 68)
#2 Leadership Trait – Overcome the Ego and Care for Your Team | Mother and Sri Aurobindo – Often good work is ruined when the leader or team members turn egoistic. Co-operation stops & clashes for who gets the credit & who the blame begin.
