Lessons on leadership by Pṛthu Mahārāja
In his historical address to the citizens, he tell us a great deal about the qualifications of a great leader.
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Pṛthu Mahārāja is the incarnation of the Lord, where He played the role of a perfect king, following the disasters of the reign of Vena. At a certain point, he addressed all the citizens during a great sacrifice. What kind of instructions did he give them?
Just as everything else in the Srimad Bhagavatam, these are important points that tell us a great deal about the qualifications of a great leader. Although we can’t be like Pṛthu Mahārāja, we can learn from his example and follow in his footsteps.
a) Pṛthu Maharaja had absolute power over the whole planetary system of Bhu-Mandala. Not even the demigods could challenge him. Being a pure devotee and an empowered incarnation, he was also above the four material defects. Still, he showed great humility in presenting his statements, addressing the great souls, sages, and saintly persons present there, and later asking for their consent (in text 4.21.26) and blessings (in text 4.21.43). Similarly, although Lord Rāma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he used to consult His ministers like Sugrīva before making important decisions. Thus, both Pṛthu and Rāma gave the perfect example of proper leadership.
b) What is the duty of the king apart from protecting the citizens? He should engage them according to their natural propensities and qualifications, according to the Varṇāśrama system, teaching them to follow religious systems and serve the Lord by properly performing their duties according to the divisions of work.
All societies end up following the Varṇāśrama system to some degree, with some acting as intellectuals, others in the military and state management, others doing business, and the remaining working for others. The difference is that in the Varṇāśrama system, people are properly trained to perform these functions. This organization results in a progressive society where everyone can gradually advance in spiritual understanding.
c) Why should a king take the trouble of training the citizens and organizing society? Why not just enjoy his kingdom by levying taxes and enjoying the profits? A king who properly performs his duty of elevating the citizens shares all their pious activities and thus accumulates a colossal wealth of pious merits and satisfies the Lord. On the other hand, a king who neglects this essential duty has all his pious merits taken by the citizens and, in exchange, shares in all sinful activities they commit under his reign. The same applies to gurus, parents, and other types of authorities. Alongside privileges come also duties.
d) A pious leader like Pṛthu Maharaja is naturally loved by his citizens, who become propense to follow his instructions and follow the example set by him. As Krsna explains in the Gita, “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”
By living according to the instructions he is giving, a saintly leader imparts faith in the process to others. More than that, by giving shelter and a good example, he becomes dear to his followers, and this is another factor in making them serious about following the spiritual process. This, in turn, benefits both the followers themselves and the leader, who imperceptibly shares their merits.
e) In autocracies, the king or dictator is often considered above the law, doing whatever he wants without being questioned or punished. However, in Vedic culture, the king is subordinate to the precepts of dharma, just like everyone else. In other words, although the king is considered higher than the citizens, he is still under the authority of the Lord. In texts 27 to 30, Pṛthu Maharaja speaks about this supreme authority that is over him and must be accepted by all sane men.
If there is no God in control, how is it that some people are unusually beautiful and powerful? Why is it that people obtain different results both in life and after death according to their actions? Vena refused to bow down to the authority of the Lord and faced a tragic end. Similarly, all materialists face death as the inevitable result of their sinful activities. Conversely, great personalities such as Manu, Uttānapāda, Dhruva, Priyavrata, Aṅga, Prahlāda, and Bali agree that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of everything and the only bestower of the benedictions. They thus follow the religious principles dictated by him. Everyone thus should perform their prescribed duties, not merely to attain material prosperity, but as an offering to the Lord. While we engage in different occupational duties, we must try to satisfy the Supreme Lord through the execution of such duties. This is the path to perfection. Just as Pṛthu personally follows these principles, he argues that all citizens should do the same, following the footsteps of such great personalities.
f) Service to the Lord starts by executing material duties as an offering to Him in the path of karma-yoga and culminates in pure devotional service. Regardless of which stage we are in, the process of serving the Lord cleanses our minds from all garbage accumulated over millions of births, and as the mind is cleansed, or Krsna consciousness increases, and when one finally comes to the stage of surrendering unto the Lord, all sinful reactions cease. Pṛthu Mahārāja recommends that everyone should take shelter of the Lord and become purified.
g) Devotional service is the ultimate goal of all other processes offered in the Vedas. The only reason karma, jñāna, yoga, and even the varṇāśrama system in itself are offered is to create a path by which one may come one day to the platform of devotional service. When disconnected from bhakti, however, both karma and jñāna are very limited processes that lead to misunderstandings. Karma without bhakti leads to petty materialism, while jñāna without bhakti leads to simple mental speculation, culminating in impersonalism. Only when combined with bhakti do these processes lead to genuine spiritual realization and ultimate liberation.
The practice of bhakti-yoga leads one to become free from all mental contaminations and misunderstandings. Disgusted with the shortcomings of materialistic life, one develops vijñāna, scientific knowledge of his eternal relationship with the Lord, which in turn leads to vairāgya, renunciation. This type of renunciation is, however, different from the dry renunciation of the impersonalist, being based on a higher taste. If one refuses to eat bread just out of asceticism, his renunciation will be very troublesome, but if one gets a pizza, renouncing the bread is natural. When a devotee comes in contact with the spiritual platform, he automatically loses interest in stale material things. Situated in this platform of true spiritual realization, a devotee attains the personal association of Krsna and never returns to this material world.
h) Previously, Pṛthu Maharaja had recommended that the citizens perform their duties in the varṇāśrama system. Now he reveals the ultimate goal of this instruction: to gradually develop pure devotional service to the Lord. The rules of the varṇāśrama system are not an end in themselves, but a way to create a suitable platform for the development of devotional service. Pṛthu Maharaja thus urged the citizens:
“Engaging your minds, your words, your bodies and the results of your occupational duties, and being always open-minded, you should all render devotional service to the Lord. According to your abilities and the occupations in which you are situated, you should engage your service at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full confidence and without reservation. Then you will surely be successful in achieving the final objective in your lives.” (SB 4.21.33)
Different persons may manifest different natures and different capacities to perform activities, but the beauty of the process of Krsna consciousness is that this ultimately doesn’t matter. Any sincere person can become successful in devotional service by serving the Lord according to his or her capacity. One just needs to the frank and open-minded, serving the Lord without reservation (amāyinaḥ).
i) Having explained the process of devotional service, starting from text 34, Pṛthu Maharaja describes the glories of the Lord.
The Lord is completely transcendental to this material world, but He manifests here to accept the offerings of different classes of devotees. He personally accepts the offerings of pure devotees, and He accepts the offerings of karmis performing fruitive sacrifices through the demigods. He is also present in all bodies, which are developed by the combination of material energy and time, with the desires of the conditioned souls. Everybody thus has a certain nature, which should be engaged through the appropriate occupational duties. In this way, although the soul is always the same, the consciousness manifests in different forms, just as fire manifests according to the size and dimensions of the firewood.
j) How is the Lord served? The best way is through service to the brāhmaṇas and Vaishnavas. Service to the brāhmaṇas is superior to any kind of fruitive performances, and service to Vaishnavas is even better, since becoming a Vaishnava is the ultimate goal of the brāhminical platform. By regularly serving them, one can clean all the dirt accumulated in the heart. The Lord can eat through the fire in Vedic yajñas, but He is much more satisfied in eating through the mouths of great sages and devotees. Offering food and gifts to them is the best form of sacrifice.
Any society where the injunctions of the scriptures are respected will flourish due to respect for the brāhmaṇas and Vaishnavas. From them, the other members can learn the transcendental science, which can illuminate the path for the ultimate goal of life, just as one’s face is reflected by a clear mirror.
Pṛthu Maharaja is himself a pure devotee, but in sign of humility, and also to give the proper example, he asks for blessings to perpetually carry on his crown the dust of the lotus feet of the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas until the end of his life. Why does he desire to do so? Because one who can carry such dust on his head is very soon relieved of all the reactions which arise from sinful life, and eventually develops all good and desirable qualities.
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