COMPETENCIES

EXAMPLE
Clarity of Purpose
(Or how Arjuna saw only the bird’s eye
to the exclusion of everything else.)
 Guru Dronacharya was training his pupils testing their
powers of concentration. Each of the tiny tots was aiming
their arrows at a distant target. “What exactly do you
see?” he asks a pupil. “The sky.” replies the pupil, “and
the tree, and the branch, and the leaves, and the bird
sitting in between.” The Guru moves on. “And what do you
see, Arjuna?” “The bird’s eye, Gurudev.” “And nothing
else?” “Nothing else.” At a very early age, Arjuna
displayed an understanding of the big picture and yet
zeroed in on a single focal point, seeing clearly what
needed to be done and the means to achieving it. Qualities
he would put to invaluable use later in his life.
Developing Others
(Or how a clever brahmin changed a weak king into a strong
one)
When he met Chanakya the clever brahmin, Chandragupta
was a weak king. Chanakya showed him how to be strong.
He taught the king the tactics of war, and gave him insights
on how to expand his empire. Chanakya’s strategies were
put into practice by Chandragupta and soon his kingdom
expanded. Under Chanakya’s guidance, the king
established his kingdom and increased his influence.
Chanakya built – and nurtured – Chandragupta’s
competencies and even created oppurtunities for the
latter’s development.
Influencing Others
(Or how a docait was transformed into a revered sage)
Once Narad Muni, the heavenly seer, was waylaid by a dacoit. “Why
are you doing this?” Narad asked him. “For my family, of course.”
Replied the dacoit. “But,” countered Narad, “don’t you know that this
is sin?” “Yes,” said the dacoit, “but how else do I raise my family?”
“Okay, but will they share your sin with you?” “Of course they will,
“replied the dacoit.” After all, I’m sinning for them.” The dacoit went
back to his family and asked them but to his surprise, his wife and
children refused to share his sin. “Well, what happened?” asked
Narad on the dacoit’s return. The dacoit recounted his conversation
with his family. With just one relevant question and without revealing
himself, Narad influenced the dacoit to change his way of life. The
dacoit went on to become the great sage Valmiki. Later he wrote the
epic Ramayan.
Market Orientation
(Or how a king became popular by
adapting himself to the culture of his
people)
Emperor Akbar, probably the greatest Mughul ruler of India, had
a ticklish issue to solve. All Muslim rulers were looked upon as
foreigners by the people, the majority of whom were Hindus.
Akbar understood that this reality, though external to him,
impacted his popularity. He anticipated the needs of his people
and wanted to deliver them. The solution, Akbar realised, was to
integrated himself with the majority. So he appointed local Rajputs
as his high ranking ministers, even married a Rajputs as his high
ranking ministers, even married a Rajput princess, who bore him
his successor, Jehangir. Akbar successfully oriented himself to the
changing scenario and emerged the most popular Mughul king of
India.
Leading Others
(Or how Krishna inspired a reluctant Arjuna to victory)
 Arjuna, the greatest archer of all time was confused. He
had to fight against his own Guru and cousins, something
which made him very uncomfortable. Lord Krishna, a born
leader, came to his side and encouraged him to fight with a
historical speech. He said “To a hero of fame like you,
dishonour is worse than death. Stand up and do your duty
without desiring anything at all”. That was all Arjuna
needed and he not only fought but won the battle for
Pandavas. Krishna knew exactly how to inspire people, get
the best out of them and spur them on to higher
achievements.
Objective Analytical Power
(Or how a young prince assessed a
complex situation and acted to uphold
the dignity of his warrior father)
 Abhimanyu, the teenager son Arjuna, was recognised as
his father’s equal in battle. On a day when Arjuna was
away, he was lured into battle. He was asked to penetrate
the Chakravyooh, the dangerous lotus formation on the
battleground from which no warrior bar Arjuna could
emerge alive. Abhimanyu did a realistic assessment of the
situation. He knew that he could not come out of it alive.
But objectively assessing the situation he realised that he
had to put aside his self-interest and lead the army, as that
was the only way victory could achieved. Even at the point
of being weaponless, his fight was undaunted. His end was
heroic.
Practical Creativity
(Or how a thirsty crow quenched his
thirst with stones)
 A thirsty crow faced a peculiar problem:
The water level in the jug he found was too low for his
beak. What could he do? Stretch himself, dive in and risk
his life? Or tilt the jug, risk it falling and the water
spilling? To quench his thirst, he needed to create a new
insight which could become a realistic plan. The crow
looked around and found some pebbles. He picked them up
one by one, and began to drop them in the jug to add
volume to the water. Gradually the water level rose, the
crow had his fill and a valuable lesson was learnt.
Self Confident Integrity
(Or how the brother of a villain king rebelled against
injustice and won)
Vibheeshan, the younger brother of Ravana, the demon king
of Lanka who abducted Sita, knew that his brother was in the
wrong. Over Sita’s abduction. Lord Rama waged war with
Ravana. Vibheeshan wanted to be on the right side of justice,
even against the odds, Which meant going against the mighty
Ravana, his own brother. Which was proposition littered
with danger. Integrety was the hallmark of Vibheeshan, so
he stuck to his convictions and took the tough decision to
stand up to his big brother.
Self Confident Integrity
(Or how the brother of a villain king rebelled against
injustice and won)
Vibheeshan, the younger brother of Ravana, the demon king
of Lanka who abducted Sita, knew that his brother was in the
wrong. Over Sita’s abduction. Lord Rama waged war with
Ravana. Vibheeshan wanted to be on the right side of justice,
even against the odds, Which meant going against the mighty
Ravana, his own brother. Which was proposition littered
with danger. Integrety was the hallmark of Vibheeshan, so
he stuck to his convictions and took the tough decision to
stand up to his big brother.