Following the Followers

I must follow my followers, for I need to know where it is that they want me to lead them.

- Gurvinder Singh    (untitled work)

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A leader is someone who leads. Conversely leaders need followers. 

People however need to be motivated, to follow. Leaders resort to two primal motivating forces, fear and greed.

Nothing moves people better and faster than fear. Fear is born out of our need for survival. Fear in most cases is manufactured and induced by leaders.

Greed is fed by inducement or some sort of rewards, we could even call it a bribe. Rewards could include money, property, sex, rank, power, even heaven and paradise in the after-life.

Military, political, social, religious, business, philosophical, fashion, etc, Leaders can be of all types. Whatever the field, leadership is a lonely job, with the leader inevitably setting the agenda and getting people to follow.

Politicians in democracies make possibly the worst leaders. The followers are whimsical and opportunistic. Politicians have be even more opportunistic than the electorate, because the time window to act is extremely short. They see which way the wind blows and then they move in that direction. They are compelled to lead the mobs by following them. 

Following the followers benefits only a small group of the people, and achieves little for the vast majority, hence the frustration with democracies. Three thousand years of history reveal, that every democracy continuously decays and eventually descends into a dictatorship.

If a people are fortunate, there emerges amongst them a breed of politicians called 'statesmen', they look at the next generation not at the next election. 

Winston Churchill said "I have nothing to offer you but blood, sweat and tears", and the people of Great Britain rallied behind him. In spite of his numerous shortcomings and his cruel treatment of the people of the British colonies especially India he is considered a great leader if you consider the British view point.

There are many types of leaders but how do we judge them?

* A poor leader is someone who has to draw on rank, title, position etc to keep on announcing that he is the leader. People are always dismissive of such a leader.

* A leader is worst when his people despise him. 

* The best leader is one who the people do not even notice he is there. He or she creates an environment that makes people move as if it is their own agenda. They work on principles, beliefs and often through a self regulating constantly improving system. 

Beware of the leader who follows the followers.

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Adapted from the quote by Mahatma Gandhi

“There goes my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.”

Mr. Khushwant Singh's 8 clues for happiness.

Khushwant Singh an intellectual, writer, historian, and a man for all seasons is one of India's most wellknown authors. Serious and yet extremely witty, love him or hate him, you just cannot ignore him.

A friend sent me this in the mail I wish to share it with you.

EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS by- KHUSHWANT SINGH

Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I put forward for the readers'appraisal.

1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.

2. Second, a HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores for rupees or millions of dollars but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.

3. Third, a HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.

4. Fourth, an UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.

5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others.

6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup (chit-chat). By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.

7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of time.

8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to do.


Nathaniel Cotton (1721-1788) summed up my views on the subject in one verse:

If solid happiness we prize
Within our breast this jewel lies
and they are fools who roam
The world has nothing to bestow
From our own selves our joys must flow
And that dear hut, our home.


I am grateful to my friend Shashidhar Shenoy for sharing this with us