Seven Leadership TraitsCurrent series of #MondayMusings is on positive learnings from Valmiki Ramayan and we have reached near the end of the motivation from #ValmikiRamayan. Last episode of Monday Musings is about an incident in Yudh Kand of Valmiki Ramayan. But allow me to rewind a little to the earlier kand ie #SundaraKand. There is a very interesting and insightful reference about Lord Ram’s leadership qualities in Sundara Kand. I skipped this interesting quote because this was covered in detail in the earlier episodes of Monday Musings. However, this is worth repeating, especially for this special 300th episode of Monday Musings.
Lord Ram lived a maryada purushothaman, possessed and practiced all the right leadership qualities all through the Ramayan. But this one sloka in Sundara Kand of Valmiki Ramayan, 5.37.13, captures very nicely the essence of leadership qualities of Shri Ram. The list of essential leadership qualities included in this sloka comes to 7. Thus, I call them ‘7 habits of highly effective leaders.
My treatise on ‘7 traits of leadership qualities’ is neither a sequel nor an imitation of Stephen Covey’s ‘7 habits of highly effective people’. My commentaries are not inspiration from his book but interpretation of what has already been said two yugas before our yuga. It is only incidental that the number in both the works comes to the same 7. Moreover, Stephen Covey’s work is ‘7 habits’ whereas the reference in Valmiki Ramayan is about ‘7 leadership traits. Of course, Lord Ram made these traits his habits and each one of us can do as well.
Two slokas in Sundara Kand capture the essence of most sought-after leadership qualities. They are 5.35.21 and 5.37.13. The first one is the description of Lord Ram’s ‘sense of purpose’ by Hanuman to Sita and the second one is the description of Ram’s traits by Sita to Hanuman.
Hanuman describes how the ‘#SenseOfPurpose’ guides Lord Ram in his life and Sita Mata describes 7 traits essential to develop and sustain the purpose in life. These are very important leadership lessons from Valmiki Ramayan. Let us see the meaning and commentary
Purpose - Acquiring and Distributing Wealth
सत्यधर्मपरश्श्रीमान् सङ्ग्रहानुग्रहे रतः। देशकालविभागज्ञस्सर्वलोकप्रियंवदः।।Valmiki Ramayan 5.35.21।।
The word sangrahaanugraha in this sloka is a sandhi (savarna dheerga sandhi) of two interesting words sangraha and anugraha. Sangraha means acquiring and anugraha would translate roughly to ‘donating’. Srimaan can be taken as wealth in the current context. ‘Sarva loka priyam vadaha’ means ‘lovable for everyone because of his kind words’
Translation of this sloka would be
"Raghava is ever established in truth and righteousness. He desires to accumulate wealth in order to shower favour on others. He knows the right use of time and place in discharging his duties. He has endeared himself to all by his kind words.
This is an interesting character analysis of Lord Ram. Contrary to popular belief that hindu scriptures encourage ‘Detachment to wealth’, Ram is described here as ‘desirous of acquiring wealth’ but not for luxurious lifestyle but for the purpose of ‘distributing to others’.
Here ‘purpose’ for Ram’s life is described as ‘accumulating wealth and favouring deserving people with the accumulated wealth’ and being kind and speaking kind words. Ram is described as one who can ensure right use of place and time.
If this is the purpose, what are the traits essential for realizing this purpose. Sita describes the attributes two saragas later.
#SevenHabitsOfHighlyEffectiveLeaders
उत्साहः पौरुषं सत्त्वमानृशंस्यं कृतज्ञता। विक्रमश्च प्रभावश्च सन्ति वानर राघवे।।Valmiki Ramayan 5.37.13।।
Sita Mata recalls lovingly the qualities of Lord Ram to Hanuman and they are Enthusiasm, Fearlessness, Goodness, Being Kind to everyone, Being Grateful, Gaining Competence & Confidence and Power.
These are the seven traits of highly effective leaders as pronounced by Valmiki two yugas prior to our yuga. What a foresight, many of them are still relevant? I had already covered these traits in the earlier episodes of Monday Musings and hence will give only passing mentions now.
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Taken from https://thebetterindia.com/
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#DarpanInani lost his vision at the age of three. With his parents' support and his own determination, he went on to defeat sighted opponents at the international level, became a CA, and won two gold medals at the Para Asian Games — all while balancing chess and his career.
The philosophy that has driven Darpan Inani’s life is simple. “Chess and life are about vision, not visibility,” says the 30-year-old.
Darpan had defeated sighted players at the Creon Open International Chess Tournament in France in 2018. This made him the only, and first-ever, visually impaired chess player from India to secure the top position in a sighted tournament at the international level!
When he was just three years old, tragedy struck. He was afflicted with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a rare, life-threatening condition, and lost his eyesight completely.
Never used Braille, thanks to technology
When doctors gave up hope, Darpan’s parents decided to focus on his education. His parents wanted him to study in a mainstream school. Many schools refused admission, but his father kept trying. Finally, Darpan was admitted to Baroda High School in Class 3. “It was a life-changing experience to study in a mainstream school. An exceptionally bright student, he never needed tuition classes. He would either top his class or secure second rank.
But what truly distinguished Darpan was his inspiring learning method. He never used Braille read, write or take exams. “I stayed mainstream, enabled by technology. The school authorities would scan question papers, and I would answer them using a talking software called JAWS,” he shares. JAWS (Job Access With Speech) is a computer screen reader programme that allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen with a text-to-speech output.
Darpan’s father, Satish Inani, taught him the basics of chess. While chess became a central part of his life, Darpan also focused on his academics. He joined a BCom programme at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and simultaneously qualified for CA.
Currently, he is self-employed and almost as passionate about studying the equity markets as he is about chess. Despite his professional commitments, Darpan ensures that chess holds a significant place in his routine.
Though Darpan does not remember his parents’ faces, their support has played a huge role in his success. His mother, Vimla Inani, travels with him for national and international tournaments. “It was a very proud moment for us when he won two medals for the country at the Para Asian Games in 2023,” she said. Satish, Darpan’s father added, “We cannot express how happy we feel when our child achieves something. If we are known today because of our son, it is the biggest source of joy for us.”
His current FIDE (World Chess Federation) Elo rating stands at 1939, but he once reached a peak rating of 2135 — the highest ever achieved by a visually impaired player from India.
Darpan has delivered several talks, including a much-appreciated TEDxYouth talk in Lucknow. He usually discusses his challenges and how he overcame them, emphasising the mindset people should adopt: “Resilience is vital, whatever challenges come your way,” he insists. In his TEDx talk, he said, “‘I can’ is more important than IQ!”