Ramayana, one of India’s greatest epics, teaches us the lesson of integrity through its hero, Lord Rama. Rama, the eldest son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was to be appointed as the prince regent. However by the wicked conspiracy of his step mother Kaikeyi, the king was bound to banish Rama to the forest for fourteen years and his younger brother, Bharata- Kaikeyi’s own son- was to be enthroned instead. She reminded Dasharatha his promise to her, made many years ago to fulfil any of her two wishes. Seizing this opportune moment she asked for these two boons- banishing of Rama and appointing of Bharata as the king. This was injustice; however Lord Rama accepted this sudden reversal gracefully, and without any hesitation, left the royal comforts of his palace to live the hard life of an ascetic in the forest.
Although all the citizens of Ayodhya begged Rama to return and accept the kingdom, he refused. Rama’s integrity is seen by his determination to live by his father’s vows to his mother and thereby protect the good name of his lineage. He not only happily gave up the kingdom that rightfully belonged to him, but also held no grudges towards Kaikeyi or his brother Bharat. Later Bharat came to the forest and begged Rama to return. The royal ministers of Ayodhya, and even mother Kaikeyi realizing her folly, begged Rama to return. Undaunted, and untempted by the royal life, he vowed to carry out his father’s order.
Integrity means to live by high moral, ethical, and spiritual principles at any cost. And for a practising spiritualist, this is not easy. Strong temptations will wage a daily battle in the mind and senses of any spiritual aspirant. To fight a daily battle in order to live a life of integrity may appear discouraging, but it’s not; on the contrary it’s a rewarding experience as we experience deep spiritual happiness and a tremendous sense of self-worth in living a life of integrity. A sincere spiritual practitioner may occasionally slip and struggle with his senses, but it’s our willingness to fight these daily battles, and our aspiration to live by these ideals that determines our integrity. It’s this integrity and commitment that also attracts the Lord’s grace, a power beyond our own, to profusely bless us in our spiritual sojourn. And especially for those in leadership positions, integrity tops the priority list of qualities to develop.
Lord Rama’s younger brother Bharat was no less in character and integrity. On failing to convince Rama to return to Ayodhya, Bharat agreed to render the service of ruling the kingdom but without accepting any benefits and facilities that are accrued to a king. He simply wanted to serve on behalf of his brother Rama and accepted an austere life to match his brother’s. He lived at Nandigram, on the outskirts of Ayodhya, and relinquishing the comforts of a palace, he resided in a small hut, eating only barley soaked in cow urine. This is exemplary renunciation because generally if one accepts responsibility, it’s natural to get attached to power and facilities associated with it. On the other hand if one is renounced, it’s natural to drift to the other extreme of being irresponsible. Bharat is an exemplary leader in that he accepted the complete responsibility of serving and assisting his brother, but without accepting any personal benefits.
Rama and Bharat are the guiding lights for every leader in all walks of life. Even millions of years later, the immortal scripture Ramayana continues to teach us invaluable lessons in principle centred leadership.
Biography
In 1970, at age nineteen, Radhanath Swami left his family’s home in America and traveled to India to live the life of a sadhu or wandering monk. After trekking across Europe for months, often barely escaping with his life, he reached the land of the Gods. Years later, he returned back to America in order to share what he had learned in India. It was an extraordinary choice, given what he had survived to get there: a journey filled with bizarre characters, mystical experiences, and dangerous adventures. The story is recounted in his recently published memoir The Journey Home (Reviewers have called Radhanath swami’s saga “at once an engaging yarn, a love story, and the evocation of a transcendent paradise in all its savagery, solitude, and splendor.”
Radhanath Swami emerged from his years of travel wanting to explain for others the beauty and rewards of a life devoted to God, and therein lay a dilemma. His many followers and friends describe him as completely selfless and consequently unwilling to take credit for his work and restless when a spotlight is focused on him. By choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , a spiritual activist, as his guru (after declining offers of initiation from several tyagis or renunciants in the Himalayas), Radhanath Swami cast his fate to the wind and entered back into the society. More than a symbolic gesture of moving away from the mindset of physically renouncing the world, these were first steps toward an engaged form of devotion. This contemporary strain of the Bhakti or devotional yoga tradition maintains that people who are aware of their spiritual identity share an imperative to reduce suffering in the world—a view no doubt implanted in the years prior to Radhanath Swami’s meeting with other teachers he had met including Ananda Mayi Ma, Swami Satcidananda, the Dalai Lama, and Mother Teresa.
Although he travels constantly, Radhanath Swami established headquarters at Radha Gopinath Temple in Chowpatty, Mumbai. For the past twenty years he has guided the community development and has initiated a number of acclaimed social action programs including Midday Meals, which feeds more than 175,000 plates of nutritious vegetarian food daily to indigent children; missionary hospitals and eye camps; eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams; and a number of emergency relief programs, value education, orphanage, cow protection, etc., throughout India.
“He sees life as a continuous blessing of God’s grace,” one follower says, “and yet he never loses his humanness. His accessibility leaves people feeling that, with a little sincere effort, they too will find the path to inner peace and God realization.”
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