Inspired Leadership in Times of Crisis: Gandhi’s Secret

Yoga is really nothing but ceasing to think that you are different from the Self or Reality ⁶ 

Part 3 – The secret key to successful action ⁷

If you further contemplate verse 2.48 of the Bhagavad Gītā, you will discover that taking action from a deep point of stillness, which is your true Self or true nature is, in essence, the secret key to opening the gate to successful action. Indeed, the Gītā says yoga is skill in action. In the story of Arjuna, the archer, drawing a bow provides an appropriate metaphor. If the arrow is pulled back weakly, it will not reach its goal and the action may not be called skilful. If you want to successfully shoot an arrow you must first pull it back deeply to transfer all of the energy to the arrow. From this deep point of stillness where all potential energy is concentrated, you let go and allow the laws of nature to take over. Your action will be skillful if you are centred in your deepest core, let everything go, including any thoughts about ‘the fruits of your action’, and surrender yourself completely to the power of the cosmic order, which, in fact, does all the work. A beautiful and timeless description of this ‘actionless action’ can be found in a booklet by Eugen Herrigel, a German philosopher. While teaching in Japan, he learned to experience the zen of the ‘artless art’ of archery, a laborious training of the mind ‘to bring it into contact with the ultimate Reality’ ⁸.

This comparison is more than symbolic. In the first sacred book of the ancient Ṛgveda is a well-known saying that reminds us of the story of Arjuna and Krishna, the doubtful actor and his divine charioteer.This saying in Sanskrit is: yatīnām brahmā bhavati sārathiḥ; loosely translated: for those who follow the path of Yoga (yatīnām) is (bhavati) brahmā, the creator, the charioteer (sārathiḥ) of all their actions ⁹

The God Brahmā poses here as the expression of the creative intelligence of Brahman. When you are established in your true Self, all desires for worldly business will dissolve, you no longer have to worry about the results of your actions and you can concentrate your energy on the desireless action itself. Yoga is pulling the arrow back fully – according to Herrigel: the ‘spiritual’ drawing of the bow – karma (action) is the releasing of the arrow. Wise in the skill of action, says verse 2.50 of the Gītā, are those who first pull the arrow fully back before shooting it off.  He or she is then a karma yogi.

The Indian-American meditation teacher, Eknath Easwaran (1910-1999) has written an extensive commentary on the Gītā, called The Bhagavad Gītā for Daily Living, to emphasize its application in daily life. He knew Gandhi personally and even wrote a booklet about him. In his commentary on verse 2.48, Easwaran suggests that ‘Gandhi’s secret’ was that, in fact, he was a karma yogi, someone who embodies the ideal of karma yoga. Gandhi wrote his own commentary on the Gītā and in his later years meditated daily on its verses ¹⁰. Easwaran maintains that Gandhi had learned from these verses that from your centre of stillness you can throw all of your energy into any useful action, without concerning yourself with the results of those actions. Also, the Gītā makes it clear that if you act out of your true Self, your action will not only achieve its goal but, successful or not, you will develop a balanced and calm mind. Yoga, says the Gītā in the same verse 2.48, is also equanimity (samatvam).
Gandhi had tried to make this more than clear throughout his life. He saw himself as a ‘seeker of Truth’, yet he was also a man of action, acting from a deep sense of Being. He regarded his actions as ‘experiments with Truth’ as the subtitle of his autobiography reads. It is generally believed that Gandhi’s political (karma) and spiritual (yoga) life made him an iconic karma yogi, the basis of his deep leadership. He was therefore often referred to as ‘the soul of India’¹¹. Notably however, he always regarded his own Self-realization and liberation (mokṣa) as his supreme personal mission. From this inspiration originated his mission and effective action on the societal level: an independent India. Moreover, in accordance with the doctrine of karma yoga, his mission also became the internal renewal of India to give her the power to prove her independence and to become a shining example to the world. In 1947, liberation from the yoke of British rule was realized, but what followed, the bloody division of Muslim Pakistan and the mainly Hindu India, was not what Gandhi had envisioned.

Gandhi was fully aware that, at a personal level, one must become the change one wants to achieve at the level of society. In his political life he was guided foremostly by the spirit of the Gītā. He also had a clear opinion about the essence of the Gītā’s teachings – and here is the real ‘secret’ of Gandhi: ‘The only ambition worth having [is] realization of your true Self. This Self-realization is the subject of the Gītā, as it is of all scriptures’. And, significantly, this goes further than the mere practise of karma-yoga: ‘The Gītā does not teach the path of action, nor of knowledge, nor of devotion. No matter how diligent one is performing good actions or what measure of bhakti [devotion] one practices, one can attain Self-realization only if one sheds his attachment to the ego’¹². Ramana Maharishi agrees with Gandhi’s ideas by stating: ‘a Self-realized sage alone can be a good karma yogī’¹³.Contrary to what is often maintained, Gandhi says, ‘The Gītā, then, does not advocate any one of the three paths [action, knowledge, or devotion]. I have come to the conclusion that it was composed to teach this one truth which I have explained: we can follow truth only in the measure that we shed our attachment to the ego. It is to teach this that Shri Krishna advanced the beautiful argument of the Gītā’¹⁴. Ramana Maharshi also said that early on in the Gītā [Ch. 2, verses 11-39]. Krishna revealed this truth to Arjuna, but ‘it was only because of the latter’s bewilderment and inability to grasp the Truth, that other doctrines were then taught in the remaining sixteen chapters.’ Ramana Maharishi’s words also allow no room for doubt that firstly ‘the might of the ego’ must be broken: ‘Only when the ego is destroyed does one become a real bhakta or jnani or karma yogi, etc.’ And, ‘Since, when the ego is destroyed, the Self-sun shines as the sole Reality, putting an end to this dream, which is false [meaning: the present waking state], and bringing about the true awakening – the mere destruction of the ego, through Self-enquiry, is the attainment of the Self [or Self-realization]’¹⁵. What we currently see is an increasingly narcissistic society in crisis, misled by an illusory ego cult, that is dominated by the egocentric mindsets of (political) managers who lean heavily on ‘experts’ and bookkeepers. The result is a culture of fear and distrust. Inspired vision, human values and skilled action are then hard to come by. What we desperately need are inspired leaders who are not led by their fake egos but by a true sense of Self-awareness, and who are therefore not misled by the fallacies of the day. Deep leadership naturally generates balance-restoring (= Dhārmika) action which creates a culture of hope and trust.

Because it resonates with the true nature of all human beings, it will inspire us to look inwards and ask ourselves the crucial questions: ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I actually doing?’ and ‘Is this where I want us to go?’ This is needed now more than ever.

References

• Gandhi, Mahatma (2009) The Bhagavad-Gita According to Gandhi (Berkeley, North Atlantic Books).
• Herrigel, Eugen (1953, 1971) Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Vintage Books).
• Rig-Veda, Boek 1, hymne 158, laatste deel van regel 6.
• Schenkel, G. (1961) Gandhi: Leven en Werk (Zeist: de Haan), p. 1.
• Sri Ramana Maharshi (2001) Talks with Ramana Maharshi (Carlsbad, CA: Inner Directions Publ.), p. 165.
• Sri Muruganar (2013) Guru Vachaka Kovai (Tiruvannamalai: Arunachala Ramana Book Trust), resp. verzen 161 en 444.

This ends the third part of a series on Gandhi’s secret of Leadership.

Mahatma Gandhi has been and still is a great inspiration for many.

Footnotes

6.  Sri Ramana Maharishi.

7.  This article appears in three parts. In this issue we present the third part.

8.  Herrigel, Eugen (1953, 1971) Zen in the Art of Archery (New York: Vintage Books).

9.  Rig-Veda, Boek 1, hymne 158, laatste deel van regel 6.

10.   Gandhi, Mahatma (2009) The Bhagavad-Gita According to Gandhi (Berkeley, North Atlantic Books).

11.    Schenkel, G. (1961) Gandhi: Leven en Werk (Zeist: de Haan), p. 1. 

12.  Gandhi (2009) Ibid. p. xviii. 

13.  Sri Ramana Maharshi (2001) Talks with Ramana Maharshi (Carlsbad, CA: Inner Directions Publ.), p. 165.

14. Gandhi (2009) Ibid. p.14-5.

15 . Sri Muruganar (2013) Guru Vachaka Kovai (Tiruvannamalai: Arunachala Ramana Book Trust), resp. verzen 161 en 444.