Servant Leadership

Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s servant leadership was an outstanding attribute of his saintly life. Despite being the spiritual leader of countless devotees he always strived to serve all.

In 1970, American management consultant Robert Greenleaf coined the term “Servant Leadership” in his essay titled “Servant as Leader”. This ushered a new trend of working in corporate companies. This concept is still widely used in the corporate world with countless lectures and seminars on the topic. Numerous people still willingly adopt this method in their organizations. Bhagwan Swaminarayan, who is an exemplary example of such a servant-leader, said that it is a fact that no one likes an arrogant person. In the corporate world, the arrogant and conceited often seem to be the first to be replaced or eliminated. The corporate structure needs a low-profile and sensible leader. This is because such a leader creates a conducive environment in the office, which in turn results in the employees being productive many times over.

According to the Hindu shastras, Sage Durvasa had a temperamental nature and it was difficult for others to tolerate or adapt to his anger. Thus, no one invited him to their homes. Once, he arrived as a guest in Dwarika at Bhagwan Krishna’s palace. Krishna served him happily. During his stay at the palace, the sage would sometimes singlehandedly eat thousands of portions of food, and at other times he would eat very little. Sometimes, he would run away from the palace and at other times he would weep uncontrollably. Everyone was exasperated with his erratic and troublesome behavior. However, Bhagwan Krishna did not tire or get irritated. He continued to serve him with dedication and sincerity. One day, the sage said that he wished to eat kheer. Bhagwan Krishna offered him some delicious kheer. After eating the kheer, the sage asked Krishna to smear kheer on his own body, to which Krishna obliged. On seeing the smearings of kheer on Krishna’s body, Rukminiji laughed. The sage then told her to smear kheer on her body too. After this, Bhagwan Krishna and Rukminiji were harnessed to a chariot in which the sage then sat. Durvasa told them to pull the chariot and often struck them to pull harder. Bhagwan Krishna and Rukminiji did not get angry at the sage’s astringent behavior. Sage Durvasa, who was testing them, became extremely pleased on witnessing their humble devotion and blessed them for their service. He blessed Bhagwan Krishna with a boon that wherever he had applied kheer, those parts of his body would never get hurt or damaged. He then turned to Rukminiji and blessed her by saying that she would be the best and most famous among her husband’s queens. Since, Bhagwan Krishna had not applied kheer on the soles of his feet, he was later fatally shot by a hunter’s arrow.

In brief, a humble servant is dear to everyone. That is why Bhagwan Krishna was also such an able leader in the Mahabharat war.

Pramukh Swami Maharaj was always humble like a servant. From the very beginning, he exhibited the traits of a true servant-leader through his behavior. On the very day when Pramukh Swami was made the president of BAPS by guru Shastriji Maharaj, he washed the dishes of the devotees. Even prior to that, when he was appointed as the chief administrator (kothari) of Sarangpur mandir, he sincerely fulfilled all his duties and humbly served everyone. Whether it was cleaning and maintaining the gaushala, utensils, kitchen, pantry, etc., he took care of all these tasks with great devotion and humility. Despite his highranking position, he never had an iota of ego or arrogance. Seeing him, those around him became inspired to be a part of these services and that too by humbly doing their all.

In 1971, after Yogiji Maharaj left his mortal frame and returned to Akshardham, Pramukh Swami Maharaj became the spiritual master and beacon to thousands of devotees.

Later in the same year, devotees celebrated Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s 51st birthday in a village called Dharmaj, in Gujarat.

On the morning of his birthday, Swamishri was cleaning his teeth. He saw some chewed datan sticks used by devotees lying near the trash can. He collected all the chewed sticks and put them into the dustbin.

Performing seva was natural to him because he was a humble servant.

Once, Swamishri was paying a visit to the rooms of elderly sadhus in Bochasan mandir. Thereafter, while returning to his residence, he noticed that one of the bathrooms on the way needed cleaning. Without telling anyone about his intention, he pretended to visit the bathroom. The sadhus and devotees were left wondering why Swamishri took so long. After quarter of an hour, they inquired and found Pramukh Swami cleaning the dirty bathroom!

Through such service Pramukh Swami Maharaj demonstrated the true duty of a leader: leading by example.

In 1981, during the bicentenary celebrations of Bhagwan Swaminarayan in Ahmedabad, Pujya Bhadant Anand Kaushalyayan, a senior Buddhist saint, was taken aback after seeing BAPS swamis picking and cleaning the dirty dishes of the devotees. During the Delhi Akshardham festival in 2005, Chandubhai Patel had come to serve from Mehsana as a volunteer. At that time, the drainage pipes were blocked because of the massive waste flowing into it. When Chandubhai saw the swamis cleaning the blocked drainage, he joined them. He continued doing this tirelessy for seven days despite the stench and dirt.

Thus, Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s servant leadership inspired countless volunteers and devotees. In addition, thousands were inspired to wash dishes or do menial services even when they had never done them before. In addition to this, they even cleaned toilets, washrooms, etc. Even when the kitchen tasks were very heavy and demanding, no one hesitated to join in and help out. In the United States, Canada, England and other foreign countries, there is a system whereby volunteers wash the dishes and thoroughly clean the kitchen after their weekly assembly and meals. Dr. Rajiv Vyas, a well-to-do and respected doctor in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, had a staff of 800 and 38 doctors as his assistants, and was also the director of a renowned hospital in New Jersey. Yet, for years, he regularly cleaned the toilets and bathrooms of the BAPS mandir in Cherry Hill after praying to Thakorji every morning. All these and many more such examples are a testament to the glory of Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s unique servant-leadership. He set a gold standard for the entire world.

Sadhu Amrutvadandas
Swaminarayan Bliss | Nov — Dec 2022