Srila Prabhupada on Leadership
Quotes
So many people are suffering for want of good leader throughout the whole world.
Morning Talk — April 25, 1977, Bombay
Leader means authority. His instruction is followed, and actually it happens. That is leader.
December 16, 1973, Los Angeles
You can become perfect if you follow a perfect leader. That’s all.
Morning Walk — March 16, 1976, Mayapura
Qualified leaders. That is wanted.
Morning Walk — January 7, 1974, Los Angeles
Leader means better qualified man to lead others. That is leader.
Morning Walk — January 7, 1974, Los Angeles
A leader means one that if someone follows him, he’s benefited.
Morning Walk — July 9, 1974, Los Angeles
Yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah [Bg. 3.21]. If the srestha, the leader, is ideal, then others will follow.
Room Conversation with Mr. Tombe (M.L.A.) — December 25, 1976, Bombay
If the leader is not ideal, if he is not in the awareness of things, then people will be misguided.
Room Conversation with Mr. Tombe (M.L.A.) — December 25, 1976, Bombay
The four leaders of the human society, namely the sannyasis, the brahmana, the king and the public leader, must be tested crucially by their character and qualification. Before one can be accepted as a spiritual or material master of society, he must be tested by the above-mentioned criteria of character.
SB 1.17.41
Our leaders must be very good.
Conversation on Train to Allahabad — January 11, 1977, India
We must have a solid foundation of chanting and following the regulative principles. Then one is fit to lead others.
Letter to: Jagajivana — Vrindaban 6 September, 1974
He is leader. … One who is perfectly following …
Room Conversation — November 2, 1977, Vrndavana
Leader means one who has become first-class disciple.
Room Conversation — November 2, 1977, Vrndavana
To become leader is not very difficult, provided one is prepared to follow the instructions of a bona fide guru.
Room Conversation — November 2, 1977, Vrndavana
Real leader means who does not commit mistake, who is not illusioned, who does not cheat and who has no imperfect senses, who has, or, other words, one who has got perfect senses. So if you say, “How it is possible for the conditioned soul?” “Yes, it is possible if you follow the perfect.”
Morning Walk — December 12, 1973, Los Angeles
Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada, what are the qualifications of a perfect leader?
Prabhupada: No mistake, no illusion, no cheating, no imperfection.
Morning Walk — March 16, 1976, Mayapura
Leader means he must… He’s always busy how to make you happy, how to make without any cares, anxiety.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.16.21 — Hawaii, January 17, 1974
Those who want to be leader of the society, they should be ideal persons, they should be Krsna conscious person. Then the whole world will be happy.
Bhagavad-gita 3.18-30 — Los Angeles, December 30, 1968
That is the business of leader: He must be himself always enthusiastic and inspire others to be always enthusiastic. Then he is real leader.
Letter to: Trai — Bombay December 27, 1972
If under changing conditions I lose my enthusiasm, if I cannot endure the difficulties of my duty, therefore I go away — then how I can be leader?
Letter to: Satsvarupa — Vrindaban 5 November, 1972
If you learn from Krsna you become perfect leader. But we do not take Krsna’s instruction. We manufacture our own ideas.
Room Conversation with Mr. Tombe (M.L.A.) — December 25, 1976, Bombay
People will be happy when a trained leader, whether a monarch or a dictator, takes control of the government and rules the people according to the standard regulations of the authorized scriptures.
SB 9.13.12 P
Now the Krsna consciousness movement will provide them with good leader if they take it seriously.
Letter to: Bhagavan — Bombay 14 November, 1975
So far as being leader is concerned, leader means spiritually not materially. This you should understand very clearly.
Letter to: Jagajivana — Vrindaban 6 September, 1974
Because we are taking direction from imperfect leaders, cheater leaders, therefore we are meeting with so many problems.
Bhagavad-gita 4.9 — Bombay, March 29, 1974
According to Vedic civilization, the brahmanas guide the ksatriyas how to rule. So our position is to reform the politicians. We are not going to compete with them, we have no business, neither we have time. But because people are suffering – we want everyone to be happy – therefore we want to reform these rascals. That is our goal.
Morning Walk — December 8, 1973, Los Angeles
You have pointed out that you want to train others to be leaders, because you have observed there is at present not very many qualified leaders. That is good proposal.
Sudama — Bombay 23 December, 1972
Our leaders shall be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the devotees, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for Krishna … All of us should become expert managers and preachers.
Letter to: Karandhara – Bombay 22 December, 1972
Simply ruling the land cannot solve man’s problems unless the leader has spiritual capabilities. He must be like Maharaja Yudhisthira, Pariksit Maharaja or Ramacandra. Then all the inhabitants of the land will be extremely happy.
SB 6.14.10 P
Good leadership means you must learn how to lead people.
Room Conversation with Mr. Tombe (M.L.A.) — December 25, 1976, Bombay
Why we select one leader? The leader should be such a leader that he shall make happy and prosperous persons who follow him. That is the question of leadership.
Bhagavad-gita 4.11 — New York, July 27, 1966
“You must find out a leader who is free from these sinful activities. Then you will be happy. And you also give up. Otherwise, how you will be able to select such a leader?” This should be our real propaganda.
Morning Walk — January 12, 1974, Los Angeles
Everyone should be expert. The leaders must be expert and the worker must be expert so that they may follow the instruction of the leader. If the leader says something and the workers, “Hm, I shall consider it, later on,” then how the leader will execute his leadership? Both of them should be cooperating and know that “We are all working for Krsna.”
Morning Walk — March 14, 1974, Vrndavana
If he’s planning something, that “I shall be leader,” “I shall be doing something,” that is not Vaisnavism.
Morning Walk — March 15, 1974, Vrndavana
It is the duty of the leader, government, father, teacher, gurus, to see that the subordinates are very, very happy.
Press Conference — April 18, 1974, Hyderabad
It is the duty of the leaders of the people and the government to see that the citizens are perfectly happy in their occupational duties and they are advancing in spiritual knowledge.
Press Conference — April 18, 1974, Hyderabad
So if you have got some special talent or experience you may discuss with Jagadisa how to engage yourself in that way. That is his duty as leader, to give you good engagement.
Letter to: Saucarya — Vrindaban 23 October, 1972
Real attitude of devotional service is, whether I am here or there, whether I am doing this or that, it doesn’t matter, just give me little prasada, little service, or if you make me big leader, that’s all right — that is devotee, satisfied to serve Krishna in any circumstances of life.
Letter to: Satsvarupa — Vrindaban 5 November, 1972
Any responsible executive agent at the top of administration has to tolerate different types of onslaughts from the very persons for whom he works. Brahmaji was criticized even by the gopis, the highest perfectional devotees of the Lord. The gopis were dissatisfied with the work of Brahmaji because Lord Brahma, as creator of this particular universe, created eyelids which obstructed their seeing Lord Krishna. They could not tolerate a moment’s blinking of the eyes, for it kept them from seeing their beloved Lord Krishna. So what to speak of others, who are naturally very critical of every action of a responsible man? Similarly, Maharaja Yudhishthira had to cross over many difficult situations created by his enemies, and he proved to be the most perfect maintainer of mental equanimity in all critical circumstances.
SB 1.12.23 Purport