What Hanuman Can Teach Us About Choosing Leaders.
This 2,000-year story has a lesson that’s still relevant today.
The Ramayana is one of the most important epics in Hinduism. With its 24,000 verses, it tells us the story of Lord Ram who kills the evil king Ravana after he abducts Ram’s wife, Sita. This story is not just a story, but it has lessons for anyone who reads them and one of the most important stories is the one when Hanuman, the learned Sanskrit speaking monkey god, meets Ram the very first time and immediately dedicates his life to Ram’s service.
Hanuman does not become a devotee of Ram simply because he’s the prince of Ayodhya, or because he has heard so much about him, but he decides to be a devotee after observing him for a very long time, understanding his value system and realising that Ram stands for what he believes in: humanity.
It starts when Hanuman sees Ram and his brother Lakshman the first time while they’re searching for Sita after her abduction. They are in a jungle and Hanuman seeing the two from a distance, turns into a bee and follows them thinking they’re 2 sages dressed in holy robes.
Ram starts asking every tree and animals about the whereabouts of Sita but no one knows where she is. Soon, the news spreads like wildfire through the jungle and all many people including sages and their wives rush to console Ram. But he tells them to not touch him “Only my dear wife shall touch me”.
Hanuman is impressed that this person is so dedicated towards his wife and loves her so much.
From there Ram and Lakshman move further into the jungle and Hanuman still disguised as a bee follows them.
They find Jatayu, the bird that was attacked by Ravan while it was trying to save Sita from him. Jatayu is bleeding and tells Ram that it is Ravan that has abducted Sita and apologises for not having been able to save her and dies after a while.
Ram tells Lakshman “This bird has made the supreme sacrifice while trying to protect & save my wife. We shall cremate him. We were unlucky to not have been able to cremate our beloved father but we can at least cremate this bird who’s given his life for me”. And then they both cremate Jatayu.
Hanuman then finds out how brave Ram is.
Based on the story told by Jatayu they move ahead. Not eating or drinking and not worrying about wild animals. They come face to face with a rakshasa (demon) called “Kabandha”.
Kabandha tries to eat them but is killed by Ram and while dying tells Ram that Ravana has taken Sita to Lanka. Lord Ram and Lakshman cremate the rakshas too.
Ram tells Lakshman “Even our enemies deserve to be cremated. Cremation gives everyone a chance to be reborn and be better humans in their next birth.
Hanuman then finds out how compassionate Lord Ram is.
Moving ahead in the jungle still hungry, they meet a poor tribal woman named Shabari, who forces them to eat something before they move ahead in their search.
She’s a poor woman with nothing but a few berries to offer them. She tastes every berry, biting half of it and then offering the other half to the princes. Lakshman gets angry and tells her, “We’re royals, the princes of Ayodhya, we can’t eat these berries”.
But Ram understands that Shabari is giving whatever she has to feed them and he happily accepts and eats the half-bitten berries and thanks her.
After watching all this Hanuman turns into a sage and meets them.
He offers a mango to Ram and Lakshman and tells them to tell him their identities. Ram tells him they’re the princes of Ayodhya and are looking for Sita. They then ask him to introduce himself.
Hanuman tells them “I have seen you cremate birds and your enemies with respect and love. All human beings I know chase, grab and hoard food, but you were happy eating whatever the poor Shabari offered you. And I’ve heard humans fight over the property but you’ve given up your kingdom to make your father happy. To me, you reveal a possibility of hope for humanity that I’ve never seen before. I’m Hanuman and I bow down to you lord Ram.” and he turns into his real self, a Vanara (monkey).
Hanuman then stays devoted to Ram not only till he finds Sita, helps him kill Ravan and see Ram become the king of Ayodhya, but throughout his life.
It is from this story of their first meeting, that Lord Hanuman gives us an important lesson. To observe people, believe in only what we see and making sure the other person not only stands for the right things but also brings the best in us.
While we grow up, we unknowingly start looking for people we wish to look up to. They can be friends, colleagues or even our bosses. But it becomes really important when it comes to our professional lives and workplaces. Now even though most of us may not have the freedom to choose a boss, but we always have the freedom to accept someone as a leader. And more often than not, we make choices not because of the kind of people they are, but because of how powerful they are in any group/ corporate dynamics and what they can do for us.
Instead of that, what we should rather be doing is observe them, see what they stand for, how they treat others and ask ourselves if they can bring the best out of us.
Lord Ram not only brings the best in everyone around him but also Hanuman himself. Meeting Lord Ram makes him have faith in humanity even more in and he remains dedicated to him forever.
If only we learn from Hanuman, and choose leaders or people we can learn from, we can learn faster and become better at not only what we do, but also at the work we do. Similarly, if we choose friends and even partners that bring out the best in us, we can learn to believe a lot more in humanity, empathy and compassion a lot more, which can ultimately lead to believing in ourselves a lot more and thus living a meaningful life.
