In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s accord on “Raaja-Dharma”. Specifically within this accord, we’ve been witnessing thirty-six important qualities of a leader one after the other. So far we’ve covered around nineteen of them, and in yesterday’s episode we’ve spoken about how “trust” is a very important factor in leadership. If a person has performed any kind of an “Apakaaram” (Hinderance), the leader should never trust him / her for anything. Similarly, while talking about performing “Dhaanam” yet again, Bhishmachaarya explains that there is no point in giving something to a person who is an epitome of greed. This is because it is next to impossible to satisfy a greedy person as his needs and wants will always be on the rise with whatever we do. Hence, while performing “Dhaanam”, Bhishmachaarya once again reiterates that we should know to whom we are giving something. Wealth going into wrong hands will create disaster, and in the pretext of “Dhaanam” if we’re doing it, we are inviting danger for ourselves!
Moving on further thus, Bhishmachaarya now shifts his focus towards the leader’s personal family life. He says to Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! While you take care of your kingdom effectively, it is also important that you take care of your family with equal effectiveness. You should take care of Draupati and your children with equal love and care. As a leader, you should not become jealous of your wife and children leading a luxurious life. In turn, they also should not feel jealous that you are leading a luxurious life. Thus, your family should be united at all times in whatever challenges life might present to you!” This is yet again a very important point that Bhishmachaarya is highlighting here. Of course in those days, wives weren’t working anywhere, but in today’s context, the relevance of this point is even more as women have started working in high positions. This is where jealousy can creep in within a family. While both the husband and wife might be working to earn a living, it is important for both of them to complement each other, rather than engaging in egoistic fights between them. This is where we are seeing in the present day, many families breaking down without this basic understanding. We should understand the fact that earning money is just one part of life. There is another beautiful part of life wherein we should experience the togetherness and love of being in a family. This will come only if we are ready to mutually cooperate with each other within the four walls of the house.
Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Cleanliness is very important for a leader to be successful. As a king, you should be orderly, systematic and clean. Only then you will be able to be organized in your decision-making as well. However, at the same time, just because you are an orderly and a clean person, you cannot expect others to be like that. Just because others aren’t as clean as you are, it doesn’t mean that you would completely reject and hate them. You should strike a fine balance here too!” This is yet another important point that Bhishmachaarya is highlighting here. We would have seen this in our daily lives too – Some people might be extremely neat and tidy and even if there is a speck of dust or dirt in their homes, they would always be with the mop to clean it then and there. If such people see those who are exactly opposite to them, they would get extremely irritated! For instance, if we go to some people’s houses, everything would be haphazardly strewn here and there! There will absolutely be zero orderliness in the way in which things are kept. Upon seeing this, we would feel as if we’ve entered into a haunted house! 🙂 If we’ve to get something from their house, we would never be able to find it, as it requires an extensive search operation! Even they wouldn’t be able to find it because they themselves might not know where they’ve kept what! However, the point here is that we should not hate such people! We should develop that maturity to understand different ways of people’s approach towards life. Some people might be extremely orderly and organized, while some might not be. But that doesn’t mean that they lack in intelligence or capability to perform well in the job! So we’ve to respect all people equally, irrespective of whether they are conscientious or not.
So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 