Muralidhar Devdas Amte, fondly
called Baba Amte, was born in a wealthy family and educated to be an advocate
in Warora. When the sweepers of Warora challenged
him to clean the gutters, he did so facing his worst fears. But the same Baba
who was named ‘Abhay Sadhak’, the fearless student by Gandhiji, quivered in
fright when he saw the living corpse of Tulshiram, no fingers, no clothes, with
maggots all over. He went on to say, “I took up leprosy work not to help
anyone, but to overcome that fear in my life. That it worked out good for
others was a by-product. But the fact is I did it to overcome fear.”
Baba Amte’s life is a paragon of
excellence in social service. A guiding light for those seeking purity of life
filled with empathy and compassion. But more importantly, his life story brings
to fore the moral courage that is very rarely found and highlighted in our
world which is inundated with success stories in business, entertainment,
sports and politics.
The story of CNN Hero of the year
2010, Anuradha Koirala, whose group ‘Maiti Nepal’ has rescued more than 12,000
women and girls from sex slavery, immediately reminded me of Baba Amte. Her
life is also a shining example of moral courage and mental fortitude. It is
commendable that CNN has taken the initiative to identify and honor such acts
of selfless social service. In a world where success is mostly measured by
monetary and positional achievement and leadership is lionized in fields like
business, sports and politics it is indeed heartening to see recognition of
leaders like Anuradha, who are working tirelessly and anonymously for social
change.
The two stories of exceptional
public service also raise fundamental questions on what is DNA of exceptional
leadership and at what level should young Indians bring about change in their
societies?
I have always struggled to
articulate my own theory of leadership. What does it mean to be a leader? Is it
measured on scales of success in your professional field? Is it measured by
your standing on the leadership competency models in your organization? How do
we then calibrate the leadership of all the freedom fighters whose virtues of
service and sacrifice hardly fit into the consulting models?
After much thought and reflection
of the stories of Baba Amte and Anuradha Koirala, I would define leadership as
having a strong sense of integrity to do the right thing with no personal
attachment to the end result. There is no dearth of avoidable suffering and
unfulfilled potential in the world around us. But very few of us possess the
rare virtue, the moral courage to be true to the feeling which calls us to act
in the service of those suffering and lacking opportunities to fulfill their
potential.
Secondly, to everyone out there
like me wondering about the nature of impact you want to make – micro or macro,
take time to reflect on the life stories of Baba Amte and Anuradha Koirala. Our
life will not be evaluated by the bank balances or the press coverage we
accumulate. Instead, it will be evaluated by the power of eulogy written for
you by those nameless and voiceless brothers and sisters you have served
through your work.
I will end by quoting Baba Amte
himself on his search for truth,
“I sought my soul, but my soul I could not
see;
I sought my god, but my god eluded me;
And then I sought my sisters and brothers, and
in then I found all three”
And I am asking myself the
question, “Do I have the moral courage to stand up and act for others?”
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