What is renunciation?
How is it related to Leadership?
According to the Bhagavad Gita, renunciation states that an ideal leader must strive for the common good and practice selfless giving. This concept is paradoxical in today’s world. Today, we rarely know leaders who sacrifice their authority, position, and incentives to benefit their people. Many leaders lure their followers with false promises, only to be forgotten later.
We all know servant leadership as a popular leadership concept. It is similar to the idea of leadership renunciation.
How can one practice renunciation?
Practicing renunciation requires serving people and demonstrating compassion toward them.
Lord Krishna defined the meaning of true renunciation in the epic Bhagavad Gita; he says true renunciation is undertaken with courage and without selfish attachments. A person performs a true renunciation by acknowledging one’s responsibilities and doing everything in their capacity to fulfil those responsibilities. When leaders recognize their duties, they do not worry about the fruits and nature of the work.
Lord Krishna also explains that not all renunciations are genuine and meaningful. According to him, to abstain from one’s responsibilities is called a deceptive renunciation. Shying away from one’s duties over apprehension and anxiety is not a significant renunciation.
The 18th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita culminates with an essential lesson for practical leadership renunciation. It states renunciation as abstaining from selfish acts (sannyasa in Sanskrit) and detaching from the results of an action (tyaga in Sanskrit). Krishna mentions specific areas where one must practice true renunciation; here are a few:
Discard inequality and promote equality
Discard negative thoughts, words, and actions
Discard dishonesty, indiscipline, and lazy attitude; and exercise integrity and proactiveness
Discard selfish desires and exercise selfless service
Discard momentary happiness derived from selfish behaviours
Discard arrogance and ignorance, and be open-minded
One must try to seek happiness that is long-lasting and beneficial to all.
If we look at the lives of influential leaders, they have demonstrated these traits. Dr King dedicated his life to advocating racial harmony. Mother Teresa left her motherland to serve the poor people of India. Albert Schweitzer, Henry Dunant, and Nelson Mandela left their good life and wealth to help the poor people in Africa. Dalai Lama became the messenger of harmony and world peace while remaining in exile away from his homeland Tibet.
But is this possible in the business world?
A few exemplary leaders have also demonstrated leadership renunciation. A large fire in the year 1995 destroyed the Malden Mills – a privately held fabric mill based in Massachusetts. Aaron Feuerstein, the Malden Mills owner, had the option to lavishly retire with the money he received from the insurance payout. But he chose to build up the factory to keep all employees on the payroll. The former CEO of Chrysler – Lee Iacocca – cut his salary to $1 per year to minimize the financial burdens of his company. Recently, Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway and Bill Gates of Microsoft gave away billions of dollars of their wealth to help those in need.
The leadership lessons of Krishna are still applicable to businesses and organizations today, and we can learn a lot from them.