I am a connoisseur of life. I find it fascinating, absorbing and so so entertaining. Events and experiences around me seem to be part of the mysterious drama of life. There is a place for everything and a role for everyone. Naturally for me, even ordinary sights, people, events and encounters narrate a story of life. They make me reflective about the magic of life. Some of these experiences and reflections, I share them through my blogs.

Enter this world of mine, ENJOY! 

Choose Trans-Formational Leaders!

Author Raja Krishnamoorthy / Kitty - Apr 16, 2014

Leader influences the minds of his followers. The followers look upon the leader for guidance, inspiration and achieving progress. The leader is expected to have ideas that can make the followers evolve in to a higher plane, resolve conflicts and provide answers to questions that they may be not able to find by themselves. Hence the leader is expected to be at a higher intellectual plane, with greater clarity about life and in a position of offering solutions and joy to his followers.

We see these patterns in history. Mahatma Gandhi was looked upon by the Indian masses as a person who could provide the guidance for becoming a free nation. Here was a population that was essentially non-aggressive, non-violent. The population had the characteristics of accommodating new people, accepting new ideas and essentially had an inclusive mindset.

They had welcomed the European traders, be it Dutch, Portuguese, French or the clever English. The Indians were never initiators of aggression, had never assaulted any other country for conquest or control thru many centuries. This population had been invaded by the Moghuls from across the Khyber Pass, had their temples destroyed, but had embraced Islam and Christianity as yet another part of its’ inclusive culture.

For such a population, a leader who was aggressive and violent could have been incongruent. Gandhi offered the meaningful alternative: “By all means be determined to fight. But wage such a fight that the aggression is on yourself: Satyagraha- Non-violent acts of defiance”. His style of leading, with he himself being the role model of non-violence, truthfulness and his passive resistance to the dominance of the English regime, combined well to present a highly inspirational leadership model to follow.

This is the quality expected of trans-formational leadership. The leader goes beyond the current known forms (including ideas, methods and styles) to achieve something very much required. In the process he displays great sensitivity or intelligence in understanding human minds, deep understanding of the human living process and is himself self-assured, and self fulfilled.

In the absence of these qualities, the leader would be only using his followers to fulfill his inadequacy, shortcomings and fears. He would be mis-representing, manipulating and building hopes that he cannot deliver. He would be dependent on the followers to feel secure, would require them to feel himself valued, will create conditions that will make the followers feel afraid and anxious.

Having done that, he will also promise to take care of the followers; and that too ONLY if they continued to trust him and follow him! He will do all that is needed to CONTROL their freethinking and CONTINUE his dominance over their mind.

This is the world of typical socio- political leaders and socio-religious leaders. They are inadequate in themselves and need the population to fulfill their personal insufficiency. They are deficit by themselves. The only weapon that they use is their faith or Ideology, which they successfully market by instilling fear & anxiety in the minds of the “captive followers” by propagating negativity.

They do not have anything to offer to the followers, other than fear, uncertainty and insecurity. And then they promise that only “we” can save you, and the “other” will destroy you.

Such has been the pattern of political leadership in India, by the pseudo –secular (actually communal), cast based, region based and any community-based leadership for the last many decades.

A vote is a chance to get rid of them and usher in a new possibility! Let’s vote to choose Transformational Leaders for a change; Leaders who can go beyond selling hate; Leaders who can go beyond region, cast, community issues; Leaders who can make economic, material and intellectual progress possible.

Choose such leaders who can trans-form pedestrian thoughts, who can transcend mediocrity!

Love, Jai-hind!

Rajaah

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