Shubha Vilas's Blog - Posts Tagged "dasaratha"
A costly mistake
What are the characteristics of a good leader? What is good leadership all about? A
good leader is one who is inspiring, a decision maker, proactive, and so on. They also
possess the requisite foresight which prevents them from making a mistake. And if at
all a mistake is made, they quickly rectify and ensure that it is not repeated.
Let’s take Gaddafi for example, a Libyan revolutionary and politician. He was one leader
who never learnt from his mistakes arising out of autocratic leadership bordering on
terrorism; his behavior was unexpected from any dignified head of state. He was
ultimately humiliated and killed by his own people.
A leader making a mistake does not imply lack of intelligence but a lack of foresight.
But repeating the mistake indicates a lack of intelligence.
Surprisingly, timeless sagas like Ramayana can reveal a lot of lessons on leadership if
one makes the effort to understand them.
As a nonchalant passing comment it is mentioned in the Ramayana that Ayodhya’s
soldiers were skilled in all kinds of weapons and military tactics, including sonic
archery; and yet they did not practice it.
If left unscrutinized, this statement would also remain lost like countless other
statements in the scripture. But within this statement lies a deep lesson on leadership.
Dasaratha, in his youth, went on hunting expeditions where he loved using the powerful
method of sonic archery as often as possible. Sonic archery referred to the art of
shooting arrows without seeing the object but rather relying on hearing the objects
movements. On one such hunting expedition, he was in fact looking for an opportunity
to use this skill when he heard a sound, much like the rumbling of a tiger or like an
elephant drinking water from a river. He shot an eager arrow in that direction.
Acting without seeing the reality is a sign of overconfidence.
Little did he realize that the sound was that of a pot being dunked into the river; an
eager-to-serve son was filling water for his thirsty parents. The expert archer’s arrow hit
its mark followed by a blood-curdling, agonizing scream! It was the dying boy’s cry of
despair and misery. Almost simultaneously, reverberating through the forest was
Dasaratha’s scream; a scream emanating from sheer guilt!
Dasaratha’s pain was probably more excruciating than the pain the arrow caused the
boy. The pain of guilt is the toughest to deal with.
Before him was a young boy writhing in pain, an arrow pierced right through his chest.
The boy implored Dasaratha, begging to know what could possibly have been his fault to
have been fatally attacked this way.
The boy was the only child of his old, blind and invalid parents. His life was dedicated to
serving them, and they lived a life of gratitude, dependent on their only son. Even as he
was dying this very moment, further down the banks, the old couple was waiting with
parched throats for their son to bring them some water. As the boy began to inch closer
to death, his pain became more excruciating at the thought of who would look after his
parents after he was no more. No sooner than he told Dasaratha about his concern, he
passed away.
A heavy-hearted Dasaratha carried water in that pot to the eagerly waiting ill-fated
parents. He had to acknowledge the error in his judgment.
When the old couple heard the rustle of the footsteps of a stranger and not their son’s
approach them, inexplicable fear gripped them. When Dasaratha told the couple of his
dreadful mistake, their wounded hearts let out a curse: Dasaratha, too, would die of the
pain of separation from his son. Dasaratha fell at their feet, begging for forgiveness.
Alas, those were the old parents’ last words before they joined their son in his pyre.
One begs forgiveness for a mistake one commits. It is extremely important to think before
making that mistake. Passion makes reasoning difficult. Dasaratha’s passion for hunting
made him overconfident; before shooting the arrow, he did not use reason. Now that the
consequences of his action were waiting for him, he resorted to reasoning. If we allow
our passion to prevail over reasoning, we are in for a curse instead of a blessing.
A despondent Dasaratha returned to Ayodhya. He had learnt a very important lesson:
Never to let passion prevail over reason. He vowed that day never to practice sonic
archery, lest it bring upon him another painful curse. He banned the practice of sonic
archery in Ayodhya.
To lament for one’s mistake is important, but far more important is to learn from that
mistake. To make mistakes does not imply lack of intelligence but a lack of foresight. Not
repeating mistakes is a sign of intelligence.
By admitting a mistake, a leader sends a message of tolerance and accountability that
liberates people. It encourages them to take risks, it allows them to move from a
defensive crouch to a proactive posture, and it helps them explore and realize their
potential.
Exemplary leaders admit mistakes, learn from them, and move on.
DASARATHA’S LEARNING FROM MISTAKES CHECKLIST
Accepting responsibility makes learning possible.
You can’t change mistakes, but you can choose how to respond to them.
Growth starts when you can see room for improvement.
Work to understand why it happened and what the factors were.
What information could have avoided the mistake?
Are there alternatives you should have considered but did not?
What kinds of changes are required to avoid making this mistake again?
How do you think your behavior should/would change in you were in a similar
situation again?
good leader is one who is inspiring, a decision maker, proactive, and so on. They also
possess the requisite foresight which prevents them from making a mistake. And if at
all a mistake is made, they quickly rectify and ensure that it is not repeated.
Let’s take Gaddafi for example, a Libyan revolutionary and politician. He was one leader
who never learnt from his mistakes arising out of autocratic leadership bordering on
terrorism; his behavior was unexpected from any dignified head of state. He was
ultimately humiliated and killed by his own people.
A leader making a mistake does not imply lack of intelligence but a lack of foresight.
But repeating the mistake indicates a lack of intelligence.
Surprisingly, timeless sagas like Ramayana can reveal a lot of lessons on leadership if
one makes the effort to understand them.
As a nonchalant passing comment it is mentioned in the Ramayana that Ayodhya’s
soldiers were skilled in all kinds of weapons and military tactics, including sonic
archery; and yet they did not practice it.
If left unscrutinized, this statement would also remain lost like countless other
statements in the scripture. But within this statement lies a deep lesson on leadership.
Dasaratha, in his youth, went on hunting expeditions where he loved using the powerful
method of sonic archery as often as possible. Sonic archery referred to the art of
shooting arrows without seeing the object but rather relying on hearing the objects
movements. On one such hunting expedition, he was in fact looking for an opportunity
to use this skill when he heard a sound, much like the rumbling of a tiger or like an
elephant drinking water from a river. He shot an eager arrow in that direction.
Acting without seeing the reality is a sign of overconfidence.
Little did he realize that the sound was that of a pot being dunked into the river; an
eager-to-serve son was filling water for his thirsty parents. The expert archer’s arrow hit
its mark followed by a blood-curdling, agonizing scream! It was the dying boy’s cry of
despair and misery. Almost simultaneously, reverberating through the forest was
Dasaratha’s scream; a scream emanating from sheer guilt!
Dasaratha’s pain was probably more excruciating than the pain the arrow caused the
boy. The pain of guilt is the toughest to deal with.
Before him was a young boy writhing in pain, an arrow pierced right through his chest.
The boy implored Dasaratha, begging to know what could possibly have been his fault to
have been fatally attacked this way.
The boy was the only child of his old, blind and invalid parents. His life was dedicated to
serving them, and they lived a life of gratitude, dependent on their only son. Even as he
was dying this very moment, further down the banks, the old couple was waiting with
parched throats for their son to bring them some water. As the boy began to inch closer
to death, his pain became more excruciating at the thought of who would look after his
parents after he was no more. No sooner than he told Dasaratha about his concern, he
passed away.
A heavy-hearted Dasaratha carried water in that pot to the eagerly waiting ill-fated
parents. He had to acknowledge the error in his judgment.
When the old couple heard the rustle of the footsteps of a stranger and not their son’s
approach them, inexplicable fear gripped them. When Dasaratha told the couple of his
dreadful mistake, their wounded hearts let out a curse: Dasaratha, too, would die of the
pain of separation from his son. Dasaratha fell at their feet, begging for forgiveness.
Alas, those were the old parents’ last words before they joined their son in his pyre.
One begs forgiveness for a mistake one commits. It is extremely important to think before
making that mistake. Passion makes reasoning difficult. Dasaratha’s passion for hunting
made him overconfident; before shooting the arrow, he did not use reason. Now that the
consequences of his action were waiting for him, he resorted to reasoning. If we allow
our passion to prevail over reasoning, we are in for a curse instead of a blessing.
A despondent Dasaratha returned to Ayodhya. He had learnt a very important lesson:
Never to let passion prevail over reason. He vowed that day never to practice sonic
archery, lest it bring upon him another painful curse. He banned the practice of sonic
archery in Ayodhya.
To lament for one’s mistake is important, but far more important is to learn from that
mistake. To make mistakes does not imply lack of intelligence but a lack of foresight. Not
repeating mistakes is a sign of intelligence.
By admitting a mistake, a leader sends a message of tolerance and accountability that
liberates people. It encourages them to take risks, it allows them to move from a
defensive crouch to a proactive posture, and it helps them explore and realize their
potential.
Exemplary leaders admit mistakes, learn from them, and move on.
DASARATHA’S LEARNING FROM MISTAKES CHECKLIST
Accepting responsibility makes learning possible.
You can’t change mistakes, but you can choose how to respond to them.
Growth starts when you can see room for improvement.
Work to understand why it happened and what the factors were.
What information could have avoided the mistake?
Are there alternatives you should have considered but did not?
What kinds of changes are required to avoid making this mistake again?
How do you think your behavior should/would change in you were in a similar
situation again?
