In the previous episode, we had witnessed three important points being stressed upon by Bhagawan Krishna to Arjuna in the context of fighting the war against Duryodhana and Co. at Kurukshetra. Firstly, as a king (Leader), Arjuna should prove himself to be a role model for his people to follow. If he escapes from the battlefield without fighting, people will also take this as an example to shun their duties towards the country and also towards “Dharma”. This should never be allowed. Secondly, if the leader performs his duty meticulously, people will see this and follow the footsteps of the leader. Thirdly, if the leader shuns his duty towards his people, he will not only accumulate his sins more and more, but also the sins of his people upon him! With these three points, Bhagawan Krishna stresses the importance of performing one’s duty (“Karma”) meticulously without escaping from it.
To continue upon this point further, when we say that the leader should be a role model for others, Bhagawan Krishna explains that this person should do only those things that are socially and morally responsible and respectable in the society. Just because a leader should become a role model, this person should not start performing unwanted heroics and stunts which might potentially mislead people into wrong directions! Bhagawan Krishna says thus, “Oh Arjuna! You should be very careful with each and every action that you perform, when people start seeing you as a role model. Every action that you perform, will be watched very closely by your people. Hence, you should be extremely cautious with every move that you take! You’re telling me that you are not interested in fighting the war because all the people on the other side are your near and dear ones. If you put down your “Gaandeepa” and run away from here, do you know how your country’s people will see this action? Different people will form different perceptions from this one action of yours! Some people might think that Arjuna is very compassionate and he is not interested in killing anyone! Whereas, many other people might think that Arjuna is a coward! A few others might even go to the extent of thinking and concluding that since Arjuna himself is not interested in fighting wars and protecting our country, we will also follow his footsteps and shun our duty towards our country! Oh Arjuna! Isn’t this a dangerous trend that you’re setting here? Hence, as a leader, every step that you take should come out of a lot of thinking and analyzing, and not merely out of emotions! This is because people are watching every move that you are making here! Hence you’ve to be very careful!”
This is an extremely applicable point in today’s context as well. For instance, we might see some advertisements wherein certain celebrities might be doing some heroic stunts to promote a product or a brand. They might jump from the top of a cliff, trying to put up a brave fight against a lion or an elephant, etc. to show the significance of the brand that they are trying to promote! However, just because these people are performing such stunts on the advertisement, can we replicate those stunts in real life? Most of these stunts might be part of graphics, and perhaps, some of them might be duly trained to perform such stunts! However, are we trained to do so? The answer is “No”! Hence, we might see a line written on the bottom of these advertisements that people watching these visuals should not replicate these stunts that are displayed, isn’t it? Why is this so? The concept is exactly the same as what Bhagawan Krishna is explaining here – If people choose a leader as a role model, they will go to any extent of doing whatever their leader does in public life! This is why we see many children today replicating certain dialogues, actions, etc. performed by movie stars, isn’t it? Hence, people who have a public life should be extremely careful in the way they conduct themselves!
Thus, the concept is very simple here as summarised below:
- Leaders should perform their duty meticulously and ensure that they set themselves as role models to the society around.
- Upon doing so, leaders should perform meaningful activities, and not undoable heroics, which might potentially mislead people in a large scale towards a wrong direction!
- Especially for people who are celebrities and for those who have a mass appeal amongst people – Please be very careful with what you speak and perform in public! This is because there are high chances that people might blindly follow whatever you say and do in the public domain! You should be the ones who would guide people in the right direction towards the path of “Dharma”!
So for today, let us understand this important pointer that Bhagawan Krishna is stressing upon, and we shall continue this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 