The philosophy of good governance

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. -John Quincy Adams

Good governance is not an alien concept for a country like India, as even today Ram Rajya connotes the highest achievable level of good governance.

We must understand a fact that good governance is impossible without statesmen who function according to dharma and spirituality. Aristotle had said that ‘An ideal state would be the one that has a Philosopher King.’ What he, perhaps, meant was that a country which has a person of spiritual wisdom as its head, would deliver better governance.

The rationale behind this statement is that it is based on the concept that the state is a family of families. The king, being the head of the state, should consider himself as the father figure or the head of the greater family that is constituted of hundreds of thousands of families. The head of a family runs the affairs of the family with love and care. He is the provider, the sustainer, the protector, the guide, the elderly person who inspires, builds confidence, promotes the well-being of all without prejudices and discrimination and runs the day-to-day affairs wisely, safely, smoothly and to the satisfaction and betterment of all.

Bhagavad Gita says that whatever a leader does, the people will follow and whatever standards or example he sets, people in general will follow. It is therefore imperative; that leaders need to perform their duty in governing effectively for the sake of educating the people in general and lead their countrymen by being an example. This has a great implication for sustainable development as it is a must for leaders to practice what they preach.

If they have the spiritual wisdom, they will run the affairs of the country with as much love as law.

They will do and act as the head or as elderly persons in a family. What will keep them close to the people is the chord of love and goodwill. They will run the whole administration from this angle and with transparency and in non-partisan ways.

In short, spiritual wisdom in our statesmen will build up a value based, welfare and benign state where people will feel happy,fearless and worriless.