5 Leadership Lessons From 'The Destroyer', Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva, also known by many other names and forms is

one of most influential denominations as per Hindu
mythology. Often termed to be ‘The Transformer’ or ‘The
Destroyer’, Shiva is also a part of the ‘Trimurthis’, one
among the three primary figures of God. Various historical
and mythical researches prove that he was an ‘outstanding’
character, as he always chose to be one among all his
creations and thus it is recorded that this Hindu God lived
in the dark cold mountains, thereby depriving himself from
the materialistic world.In every entrepreneur’s life at one
point in time, they would play the role of Lord Shiva.
Especially in the current context where the startup eco
system is booming every entrepreneur must observe and
inculcate certain qualities from the ‘Supreme God’. Unlike
being a ‘Shiva entrepreneur’ who moves on to start
something new after realizing that his startup is not
profitable. Here are few lessons that an entrepreneur must
learn from Lord Shiva along with few quotes from few Vedic
literatures, apart from always chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’.
The Fearsome ‘Rudra’
“If a man is doing something but has not the firmness of
determination within his mind, then he will never be
successful.”
Lord Shiva often considered to be the God of Gods also has
a very fearsome form which is known ‘The Rudra’. An
entrepreneur must have traits of the ‘Rudra’ as it is the
only form that has the courage to face any situation
fearlessly. While running an enterprise or a startup the
front runner of the company must possess bold qualities
which will help in the quicker establishment of the
business. In terms of employee relationship an
entrepreneur must closely follow Lord Shiva as he is known
to be a ‘Shipra Kobi’ one who does not tolerate nuisance
and ‘Shipra Prasadi’ one who loves and enjoys fun along
with being kind and good to employees. For an
entrepreneur there must be no looking back and he must
quickly fire unproductive human resources while still
retaining and safeguarding the best ones in business.
Maha Yogi and a Householder
“One must have self-restraint. Eating too much, sleeping
too much, drinking too much – these weaknesses will not
help the aspirant. One must have a balanced life and one
must have restraint.”

It is true and undeniable that an entrepreneur must have

good multitasking skills. He must know how to maintain a
proper balance with the personal and the professional life.
Though Lord Shiva is known to be a ‘Maha Yogi’ an ascetic
sage who meditates and prays for the well being of the
entire creation, and though he secludes himself from
materialistic world; Shiva, also has a family that consists of
his wife Parvati and his children Ganesha and Skandha.
Amidst great responsibilities that include saving the world
from evils, he also makes time for his family. When a person
gets smitten by an entrepreneur bug the zeal and
enthusiasm would increase dramatically which would end up
in him having a broken personal life. An entrepreneur must
have a balanced life and must know how to tackle and
navigate between his career and family to ensure both have
fruitful results.
Ardhanarishvara
“One must have respect for one’s goal; one must have respect
for one’s path.”
One of key ways to gain quick success is by treating every
individual equally. It is quite surprising to know that women in our
country are still not given the right respect and status. Biased
thoughts still exist in our society and it is still believed that only a
man can run a business successfully. This notion is total junk
because if we look back at the past our very own Gods have
believed in the concept of giving a partner the right respect and
status and ‘Ardhanarishvar’, a composite androgynous form of
Lord Shiva and his better half Parvati, is still an example that
stands tall.
It is always recommended not to get your business to the bed
room but if an entrepreneur has an educated partner then taking
his or her assistance can reduce a little stress. Also with this
concept one can understand that an entrepreneur must not have
a biased mind set and must willingly treat everybody that includes
all his employees equally. When an employee is treated with great
respect his morale increases which in turn increases well being of
the business.
An artistic creator
“One must have reverence for the guru.”
It is widely seen and heard that Lord Shiva smokes
marijuana. This is a talk that has been there for
sometime but gained quick publicity in the modern
times. Though there are many clarifications on that
part it is also said that Lord Shiva is the creator of
‘weed’ and this happened while the Devas and
Rakshasas were churning the ocean of milk. It is
stated in the Vedas that Shiva, the supreme creator
created cannabis from his body to purify the elixir.

An entrepreneur must be an artist in creations and

inventions. He must always keep in mind that, with
every creation there must be something that is
either useful or something that would help an
individual in his self development. An entrepreneur
must never be self centered and must also use his
creations for recreational purposes like what the
Lord himself does.
HariHara Avatara
Patience and then destruction
This incarnation of Lord Shiva is a combination of
two Gods, Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). Vishnu
is considered to be a calm and quiet God who
sustains life on earth and Shiva is infamously
known to be the destroyer. HariHara avatar is
combination of these traits. While one looks at
sustaining life on the planet the other focuses on
cleaning up the unwanted and beasty to start up
something new.
An entrepreneur must adopt these lessons from
Lord Shiva because at any point if there is a crisis
an entrepreneur must not kill his company but
face and deal with all the consequences and
ensure that his startup or company is still safe.
However, when things go beyond control he
must not flinch and step back but must have the
courage to kill his startup and begin with a new
one to continue the cycle.
‘Har Har Mahadev