Ramaswamy Thanu

Spirituality And Leadership Ramaswamy Thanu

Inspiration for writing this volume came largely from the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ranganathananda whose words have been profusely quoted and to whom the author is deeply indebted. The theme of this book is the dynamism of the Indian leadership in facing the odds and making the best out of the worst situations. By timely decisions and action it minimized the impact of the damage to the nation and earned for itself a position of global leadership which was acknowledged by many countries. The approach and actions of the national leadership in the time of crisis reflected the presence of principles which were the offshoot of the ancient wisdom of this country. To mention a few of them these related to problem analysis, marshalling facts, clear mind, clarity of thought, positive thinking, clear objectives, considering alternatives, assigning priorities, quick decisions, choice of action, preparing several minds, implementation and compliance. Never in the history of health care had a virus created so much impact on so many in so few weeks. Countries and people everywhere are reeling under the blow of the giant Medical science with the best brains has not been able to invent a vaccine to cure this malady, the incidence of illness increasing by leaps and bounds with causalities soaring. Caught in the cobweb of confusion many nations could not take timely decisions and initiate action to arrest the onset of the disease. In the absence of ready availability of an effective vaccine the only alternative was prevention by social distancing and by ensuring citizens stayed at home and did not meet in open places in clusters. This success of containment was not by administering any effective vaccine or medicine but by the intangible weapon of inspiring leadership which reflected in government's decisions. Of course a few countries had worked hard to contain the area, depth and extent of damage in their territory with a great degree of success. In India the national leadership, displaying considerable cohesion and confidence, sent strong messages all over the hierarchy. The top leadership, implicitly, derived inspiration from the great spiritual masters of the country. The underlying principles behind this inspiration are expounded in the appendices given at the end of the book. India could manage the virus fight with minimum casualties considering its large population. It also gives out lessons for the world particularly in tapping the great potential of spiritual energy.