Personality Type of Historical Figures
Personality of Ashoka
Ashoka, meaning “without sorrow” is often used as a synonym of Dhamma, non-violence. The broad knowledge that the public holds about Ashoka is that he was a great ruler and an obedient person who gave up war to make way for peace. His trait includes a very leading means of personality and the qualities of a good leader. His greatness is highly attributed to the fact that he was the only emperor in Indian history who initiated and followed the path of dhamma.
There is however contradicting evidence of Ashoka’s personality which is not as popular. This portrays Ashoka as sending death threats to the forest-dwellers and that too for no apparent reason. Ashoka also ordered the expulsion of dissident monks from Buddhist monasteries. This behaviour showcases that Ashoka had an impulsive, arrogant, and angry side to his personality.
In the MBTI Personality Test, there are several categories of personality types available. According to what I have been able to know and gather information about Ashoka, I believe that he falls into the category of ENTJ or ‘commander’ personality type.
A person is said to have a commander personality when he or she has Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging traits.
“They see daily life as a kind of chessboard, upon which people, things, and entities are moved, removed, altered, and engaged — constantly for the organizational good.” — Otto Kroeger, Type Talk at Work
- Being extroverted means that the person is able to focus more on the external world and is able to energize in the company of others.
- Being intuitive means that the person is able to see possibilities and patterns instead of facts and details.
- Having a thinking personality refers to the person being logical and objective rather than taking decisions based on emotions.
- Having a judging orientation means that the person enjoys structure and is quite organized with things. He or she would like to plan the day or an event so as to know what to expect.
People with ENTJ personality are often found in leadership roles where they can bring quality change to an organization. They tend to be great strategists, consultants, judges, and lawyers. They are deeply motivated by success and are responsible, career-focused, and ambitious.
“ENTJ is one of the least common types in the population, and the rarest type among women (with INTJ). ENTJs make up:
2% of the general population, 3% of men, 1% of women”
King Ashoka possessed these personality traits which led him to be regarded as a great leader. Before the Kalinga war Ashoka was determined to expand his empire as much as possible and by whatever means possible, this shows another aspect of his personality that he was extremely independent and had an individualistic approach towards everything. Ashoka understood the need to stop conflict and bloodshed when he realized that his ideology of constant warfare leads to nothing but sorrow and misery which is a complete contrast to what his name stands for.
From thereon he undertook the path of dhamma which took him on the path of truthfulness, gratitude, respect, and honesty. His personality however will be categorized as having leadership qualities and being a powerful individual, who now uses his power to influence people to follow the rules of dhamma instead of conquering lands and spreading sadness and misery.
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