Introduction
Ask people to list examples of individuals who demonstrated servant leadership, and many will cite a character in the Bible, such as Moses. While it is true that servant leadership is often associated with the Bible, a keen observer should notice that it transcends most religions, philosophies, and cultures (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2014). One religion that adopts servant leadership is Hinduism, where leaders are expected to guide and assist their followers rather than command them.
This leadership style differs from many others, such as transformational leadership, where the leader serves as a master and initiates change. A culture that has adopted religious servant principles is the Indian culture, partially due to their practice of Hinduism and partially due to their social conditioning. This paper examines how servant leadership principles are embodied in Hinduism and Indian cultures, as well as the philosophies and practices of these religions and cultures.
Selected Culture and Religion
It is impossible to analyze the characteristics of a particular religion without considering the underlying culture and practices of people who adhere to it. Therefore, in discussing the principles, philosophies, and practices of servant leadership prevalent in Hinduism, this paper will also not overlook the culture of Indians, where Hinduism is the dominant faith.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religious faiths, believed to have started between 2300 B.C. and 1500 B.C. (Ramachandran, 2018). For a religion that old, it would be challenging for scholars to determine whether the religion influenced the culture or vice versa. However, most people in India, even those who are not Hindus, have a culture that adopts servant leadership principles enshrined in Hindu religious texts.
Hinduism is one of the many religions that clearly depict servant leadership principles. One of the philosophies of servant leadership is listening, and Hinduism considers listening to be an essential component for its leaders. Like Christianity, Hindu leaders prioritize listening to their people when making decisions. Moreover, Hindu servant leaders take this practice further by ensuring that they connect with the inner feelings of their congregation.
Another servant leadership principle prevalent among Hindu leaders is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, and it relies heavily on active listening. It is deeply embedded in Hinduism’s culture and is widely displayed in the religion’s texts. During worship, Hindu religious leaders act as mediators between people and gods.
They must put themselves in their servants’ shoes (Zaman, 2021). This culture of showing great empathy for others is common in India, and therefore, Hinduism is a vast source from which to choose servant leaders. Just like in Christianity, Hindu leaders are expected to perform healing roles. The leaders of the religion under discussion believe that healing is essential for the community’s progress and development.
Persuasion is also a fundamental principle adopted by Hinduism, and leaders are expected to demonstrate it in the performance of their mandate. The religion’s believers adhere to a philosophy that holds religious leaders should use persuasion rather than pressure when attempting to convince people to do things. The religion also expects its followers to always be aware of the prevailing situation, an act that embodies the principle of servant leadership. The members are expected to be willing to give themselves or their family members.
Servant Leadership Philosophies and Hinduism Values
Similarities
It has been observed that Hinduism and servant leadership share several striking similarities. Hindus adhere to the principles that Hinduism has established to guide their lives according to the norms outlined in the religion. These principles encompass ethics and obligations, also referred to as Dharma (Zhang et al., 2021).
Consequently, alongside the principle of Karma, a Hindu will serve others in a manner characterized by servant leadership. This appreciation for all lives and all individuals exists regardless of their differences (Joo et al., 2018). It is also in keeping with the compassionate side of a servant leader, who strives to comprehend and empathize with others, knowing that everyone wants to be welcomed. Acknowledging the significance of every existence is also in line with this.
People who follow the Hindu religion believe there is no such thing as a hierarchy and everyone is on an equal footing. They also believe that by helping others in a manner consistent with Hinduism’s teachings, they will be rewarded for their good deeds in the future. This goes hand in hand with another characteristic of servant leaders known as foresight, which is the ability to draw lessons from one’s experiences in the past and predict the results of one’s actions that are most likely to occur in the future.
Differences
There are a few differences between the servant leadership philosophies that constitute servant leadership and the values held by Hinduism. One of the critical philosophies of servant leadership is that leaders should act with the people they serve. Hinduism, however, holds that leaders should act alone since they are the ones who have a direct connection with the gods. The leaders should, as their texts show, act alone, but they put themselves in the shoes of their servants.
Another leadership philosophy Hinduism does not adopt is making people develop and mature so that they can act without the help of anyone. Hindu leaders do not give their followers this power. Instead, they aim to make the religion’s followers dependent on them.
Indian Culture Principles
Culture refers to an organization or group’s shared values, attitudes, practices, and beliefs. People in the same culture have common characteristics governed by specific beliefs. Hinduism is most prevalent in the Republic of India, a South Asian country, where 80 percent of the population is followers (Zhang et al., 2021). Since this leadership approach stresses the wants and desires of their followers rather than only the leader’s interests, servant leadership is prevalent in Western culture clusters (Shameerudeen, 2021). Someone would rarely stay dedicated to an organization where the leader was unaware of their needs. However, this leadership style fits well with Indian culture.
Hinduism does not have a founder; instead, it was gradually developed by the Indian culture, which views all individuals as valuable and deserving of kindness. People of Indian culture demonstrate servant leadership principles of healing, with Ayurveda being the most common. This form of healing typically involves the patient or the possessed individual consuming water, minerals, and herbs, usually administered by a servant leader.
Some leaders given the authority to perform such tasks are religious leaders, particularly Hindu leaders. Indians adopt a very religious culture, and secular leaders often refer to religious texts while performing their mandate. This, in turn, makes them feel compelled to follow the persuasion principle rather than using force.
Servant Leadership Philosophies and Indian Values
Similarities
Indian culture maintains its modesty and humility by emphasizing the wants and needs of others. This culture complements the servant leadership philosophy of being selfless and demonstrates the principle of selflessness. Shamerudeen (2021) states that the people of India have adopted a delayed gratification form of culture, which agrees with the principle of foresight.
The Indian people also demonstrate emotions and empathy towards others’ virtues philosophically associated with servant leadership. Indians frequently spend more time being kind and performing random acts of generosity for the benefit of others than for their immediate advantage. These cultures make the Indian people and their culture act as role models when it comes to servant leadership. An excellent example of a servant leader from this community would be Mahatma Gandhi, a servant leader who fought for the freedom of his people without using violence.
Differences
Indian culture is a combination of many different cultures, and therefore, it differs from the philosophies of servant leadership in some aspects. India has a sizeable Muslim community whose culture is different and who believe in the transformative leadership principles associated with Islam from the time of the Sultans in the Ottoman Empire. The Indian culture does not abide by the servant leadership philosophies regarding marriages and family structure. The Indian values hold that the man is the head of the family and, therefore, should make decisions that the rest of the family, including the wife, must follow.
Conclusion
Servant leadership is quite prevalent in the Hindu faith and Indian culture. Servant leadership is appealing because leaders truly consider their followers’ requests, opinions, and thoughts before making snap judgments. As power-based leaders typically do, increased productivity, diversity, and pleasure result from broadening ideas to benefit the organization rather than simply the leaders themselves. No matter the faith, culture, or organization involved, excellent leaders who prioritize the needs of others will ultimately lead to great success.
References
Dierendonck, D. V., & Patterson, K. (2014). Servant leadership developments in theory and research. Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York, NY, Palgrave Macmillan.
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Shameerudeen, C. L. (2021). A Mentoring Model: A leadership style for Seventh-day Adventists in Southern Asia. Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, 17(1), 71-88. Web.
Ramachandran, R. (2018). A History of Hinduism: The Past, Present, and Future. SAGE Publishing India.
Zaman, A. (2021). A study on religion, religious specialists, and place of worship among the Tengapania Deoris of Assam, India. Intercom: Online Journal of Anthropology, 17(2). Web.
Zhang, Y., Zheng, Y., Zhang, L., Xu, S., Liu, X., & Chen, W. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the consequences of servant leadership: The moderating roles of cultural factors. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 38(1), 371–400. Web.