Proutist Economic Development

Ideal Leadership Dada Maheshvarananda

Good LeadershipThe understanding of the nature of leadership has greatly developed during the last few decades. A position of leadership gives one an unusual degree of influence over others.Ones influence may be either positive or negative. Studies in capitalist enterprises show that the actions of the leader account for up to 70 percent of employees perceptions of the climate of their organization.

Emotional IntelligenceDr. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence (1995)sold 5 million copies in 30 languages.Asserts that self-awareness, self-discipline, persistence and empathy are of greater consequence than traditional IQ intelligence.This concept explains how some people may be brilliant intellectuals, with vast knowledge and skills, yet still be unable to understand or be sensitive to the impact of their actions on others.

Commanding LeadersThis traditional style of leadership is very useful in a life-and-death emergency.When time is precious, you want someone who is trained to take command and give orders to save lives. Fire fighters, medical personnel, police officers, the military are trained to do this and wear uniforms so that they are easily recognizable. But no one likes to follow orders every day, so this style of leadership should be used very rarely.

Emotionally Intelligent LeadersIn his book, Primal Leadership, Dr. Goleman explains about three different styles of leadership:Visionary: Innovative, trend-setting, stimulating new ideas and approaches, forward-looking, encouraging new creative ideas. Coaching: Training and advising, empowering, motivating, encouraging team-building and cooperation.Democratic: Inclusive, participative, giving equal opportunity to all, listening to all voices, encouraging synthesis and consensus.Ideal leaders use all of these styles.

Model to Develop Emotional Intelligence

How to Become an Emotionally Intelligent Leader?The first step is to envision your ideal.Who do you want to be?What do you want to achieve in life?What do you want to achieve in your work?What do you want to give to the world?

What is a Hero?One who is admired for doing something extremely brave. National heroes: Simon Bolivar. Religious heroes, saints: Mother Teresa of Calcutta.Local folk heroes, famous in a particular area. Unsung heroes, whose bravery was not noticed or recognized.

The Qualities of a HeroAre these the same qualities of an ideal leader? Are these the same qualities that you would like to have?Which do you have and which are you lacking?

Prouts Definition of ClassRadically different than sociology or Marxism.Model based on how humans relate to their natural and social environments mental colors.Archetypes; useful in identifying the powerful forces which influence societies, more than for understanding individual psychology.Not based on income or property levels.

Shudra (Worker)Guided by basic instincts and by the material and social environment. Primarily preoccupied with mundane pleasures and survival.Reflects mass psychology, who have not been politicized. Mentality of working people changes when their consciousness is raised, when they begin to struggle for their rights and the rights of others.

Ksattriya (Warrior)Those with warrior mentality confront the environment with physical force, fighting spirit, and bravery. Embrace challenge and struggle.A warrior-dominated society gives great importance to honor, discipline, and self-sacrifice for others.Negative qualities: blind adherence to authority, cruelty, and ruthless competition.Many people with this mentality enter athletics, martial arts,, military, police, firefighting, rescue work. Dominated ancient tribes and societies until the Middle Ages.

Vipra (Intellectual)Developed intellect, try to mentally influence society.Lead scientific, religious and cultural advancements. Create social rules and politics. Enter academia, the clergy, NGOs. Dominated monarchies in the Middle Ages until Imperialist Era.

Vaeshya (Merchant)Business or entrepreneurial class that excels in administration and accumulation of resources. Capitalists dominate almost all societies in modern history.Business leaders and rich corporate directors are depicted as heroes.

Workers(shudra)Warriors (ksattriya)Intellectuals(vipra)Capitalists(vaeshya)The Social Cycle

Ideal LeadershipThe world needs leaders with moral force, spiritual vision and courage to fight injustice and exploitation. Prout calls such leaders sadvipras, a Sanskrit term which literally means those with subtle mind.Have developed the positive qualities of all four classes (worker, warrior, intellectual, merchant). Anyone can become an ideal leader by setting a personal example of honesty, self-discipline, sacrificing spirit and dedication to the welfare of humanity.

Our LimitationsTo change the world requires great struggle to overcome tremendous obstacles.

Yet the greatest obstacles we will face are within: our own limitations and bondages;our mental complexes and weaknesses.

What are our inner limitations?

To Overcome our Limitations Self-analysis The spirit of struggle

Inner change: superimpose jealousy with friendliness hatred with compassion, forgiveness envy with praise, encouragement pride, arrogance with humility

Meditation

Collective LeadershipThe world does not need more individual dictators. Sadvipras serve on collective social boards.They direct and help guide the progress of society in a holistic and progressive way. Their only goal is to serve.They will be held accountable as to whether they are truly working for the peoples welfare.

An Example of Universal Outlook and Humility"To those who think for all ... Who offer others seats of honor and respect ... Who venerate others, instead of waiting to be venerated - To them I dedicate this book with humble esteem and deepest salutations."- P. R. Sarkar In the dedication of his book:Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism

Neo-HumanismThe Liberation of Intellect: Neo-humanism

This revolutionary book explains the root causes of forces that threaten society and the planet, and offers a unique solution.

Neo-humanism is a world-view that safeguards and enhances the development of one's inner spiritual assets.

It is characterised by love for the Supreme, and this finally overflows onto all objects, animate and inanimate, created by the Supreme.

http://www.shop.anandamarga.org/books/sarkar/nh.htm

106 pp.ISBN: 81-7252-168-5

There is something which is stronger than all the armies of the world, and that is an idea whose time has come."

- Vctor Hugo, French writer

Circle of ConcernCircle of InfluenceThinkGloballyActLocally

Ideal Leaders in VenezuelaP. R. Sarkar, founder of Prout, visited Venezuela in 1979. When he was leaving he gave a message of encouragement and hope: Venezuela needs good spiritual political leaders. If Venezuela can produce spiritual political leaders, it will be not only the leader of Latin America, but also the leader of the planet. Venezuela is a blessed country. It is your duty to accelerate the process to create spiritual political leaders.

For More Information About Prout: Progressive Utilization Theorywww.prout.org

www.proutworld.org

Email of Dada: maheshvarananda@prout.org

Email of Michael: michaeltowsey@hotmail.com

The understanding of the nature of leadership has greatly developed during the last few decades, both in activist circles and, especially, in the business world. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Effective leaders should develop what Dr. Daniel Goleman calls emotional intelligence. His book, (1995) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half, with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide and was translated into nearly 30 languages. He asserts that human competencies like self-awareness, self-discipline, persistence and empathy are of greater consequence than traditional IQ intelligence in much of life, that we ignore the decline in these competencies at our peril. He also asserts that children canand shouldbe taught these abilities. This concept explains how some people may be brilliant intellectuals, with vast knowledge and skills, yet still be unable to understand or be sensitive to the impact of their actions on others. Those who lack emotional intelligence are unaware of how others feel. Commanding Leaders: This traditional style of leadership is very useful in a life-and-death emergency. During a fire or after a terrible accident, when time is precious, you dont want a democratic committee to discuss alternatives, you someone who is trained to take command and give orders to save lives. Fire fighters, medical personnel, police officers, the military are trained to do this and wear uniforms so that they are easily recognizable. But no one likes to follow orders every day. Because most of us rarely experience such physical danger, this type of commanding leadership should be used very rarely.

What is a Hero? The dictionary tells us it means one who is admired for doing something extremely brave. There are famous national heroes, like Simon Bolivar. There are religious heroes, saints, like Mother Teresa of Calcutta. There are local folk heroes, who are famous in a particular area. And there are unsung heroes, whose bravery was not noticed or recognized.Heroes inspire us. The stories of their lives are a positive example of ideal leadership. Prouts Definition of Class: P. R. Sarkar presents a radically different perspective on social classes than any found in either mainstream sociology or Marxism. Basing his model on how humans relate to their natural and social environments, he identifies four basic categories of the human mind. In Sanskrit, these groups are known as varnas, or mental colors. The concept of varnas is a valuable model for analysis of class dynamics. Like archetypes, these classifications are useful in identifying the powerful forces which influence societies, more so than for understanding individual psychology, where other complex factors apply. This concept of varnas generates a model of social dynamics and historical analysis unique to Prout. The theory holds that at any given time a society is dominated by the psychology and administration of a particular varna. It further proposes that social change occurs in cycles. Together these ideas are referred to as the Theory of the Social Cycle, which describes the change which takes place in society as dominant values and power bases shift from one varna to the next in a cyclic manner. The four varnas are: shudras, workers; ksattriyas, warriors; vipras, intellectuals; and vaeshyas, merchants.Prouts theory of class is quite different to the caste system of India, which uses the same terms, but locks people into a caste structure by birth due to their family. According to Sarkar, varna is a psychological tendency which manifests in a particular style of survival and development in a given environment. The varnas also differ to a grouping of social classes based on income or property levels.On an individual level, every person possesses a mixture of and potential for all the four varnas, although usually one psychology tends to be dominant. If a person develops his or her mind, he or she can develop any of these tendencies, or even all four simultaneously.The people require leadership, guidance and inspiration from those who can awaken and mobilize their tremendous potential. Societys leaders may come from any social class or culture. Shudra (Worker): The first class displays the characteristics of a human mind that is simpler than that of the other classes, guided by basic instincts and by the material and social environment. Mundane pleasures and survival are the preoccupations of this class. The shudra mind lacks higher aspirations and dynamism. Of course, the shudra mind of today is more developed than that of the past. Shudras live according to the trends of the collective psychology. This class essentially reflects mass psychology.We can observe that common people who have not been politicized and who have not entered into a struggle for social justice, exhibit these characteristics in general. However the mentality of working people changes when their consciousness is raised, when they begin to struggle for their rights and the rights of others. Their minds expand, they acquire new skills and perspectives, and thus their varna begins to shift. They become warriors, or may develop into intellectuals. Ksattriya (Warrior): The second varna comprises those with a warrior mentality, who confront the environment with physical force, fighting spirit, and bravery. Those who embrace challenge and struggle are called ksattriyas. A warrior-dominated society gives great importance to social values such as honor, discipline, and self-sacrifice for others. However, they may also tend to emphasize blind adherence to authority, cruelty, and ruthless competition. The societies of ancient history and various military and communist dictatorships of the modern age are examples of warrior-dominated societies. Today people with this mentality gravitate towards athletics and martial arts, the military, police, firefighting, and rescue work. Vipra (Intellectual): Those with a developed intellect, who seek to influence society by virtue of their mental faculties, constitute this third class. A vipra-dominated era sees many scientific, religious and cultural advancements. Vipra eras are characterized by social rules and politics. Depending on whether the society is a monarchy, democracy or theocracy, the most influential and powerful people in the government will be ministers, advisors, or the clergy. The collective psychology is dominated by religious, cultural, and intellectual pursuits. The pre-colonial Hindu and Buddhist societies of Asia, the Catholic Church-dominated Europe of the Middle Ages, and some of the present fundamentalist Islamic states are essentially vipra societies. Vaeshya (Merchants): The fourth varna or social class is that of the vaeshyas, a mercantile or entrepreneurial class which excels in the administration and accumulation of resources. Just as warriors dominated ancient history and intellectuals dominated the Middle Ages, so the values of the merchants dominate modern history. In capitalist eras, business leaders and rich corporate directors are depicted as heroes. Wealth and power are considered qualities of human greatness. The social cycle progresses in a natural sequence of historical eras from shudra (laborer) society to ksattriya (warrior), followed by vipra (intellectual) and then vaeshya (merchant). Subsequently, a new social cycle ensues. History does not move in circles, but like a spiral, progressing towards greater expansion of consciousness. IDEAL LEADERS: Strong individuals can positively guide and inspire society. To change the world, we need social leaders with moral force, spiritual vision and courage to fight injustice and exploitation. Prout calls such leaders Sadvipras, a Sanskrit term which literally means those with subtle mind; moral and spiritual leaders who have developed the positive qualities of all four classes (worker, warrior, intellectual, merchant). They represent the greatest ideal that one could aspire to become. Anyone can become an ideal leader by setting a personal example of honesty, self-discipline, sacrificing spirit and dedication to the welfare of humanity. Brainstorm: What are our inner limitations? fear, indecisiveness, doubt, mental complexes, pride, ego, groupist mentality, desire for wealth and power, hatred, etc. Sarkar visited only one country in Latin America, Venezuela, from September 27-29, 1979. When he was leaving he gave a message of encouragement and hope to the people there. Throughout his life, whenever meeting with followers from different parts of Central and South America, he repeated the basic idea, urging each one to transform his or her country. He said, Venezuela needs good spiritual political leaders. If Venezuela can produce spiritual political leaders, it will be not only the leader of Latin America, but also the leader of the planet. Venezuela is a blessed country. My sons and daughters, it is your duty to accelerate the process to create spiritual political leaders. I depend on you.