The first thought that struck me when I saw this picture of wolves in a line, was the sequence of incidents in a book by Dr. K M Munshi explaining the Exodus of Yadavas that happened 5000 years ago from Northern part of India (Mathura) to the western part of India (Dwaraka). There appeared to be stark similarities between what Dr. K M Munshi had described of this exodus to that of the interpretations of the wolves’ picture I had seen in posts.
The exodus of the Yadavas was in response to a threat of attack from the west by Kala Yavana – the marauding barbarian king and from the East by Emperor Jarasandha. I tried to look at this exodus without taking any religious views (as is popular) or being inclined to any particular cult or belief, but purely from the perspective of what patterns and similarities of group behavior and leadership could be observed.
Dr. Munshi explains how the exodus might have happened describing it as a giant centipede crawling through forests, swamps and deserts to find safety and freedom on a distant, unknown shore of the sea. It is said that the powerful Balarama and the obedient Uddhava lead the exodus as they knew the way to the distant land. The commoners, courtiers, members of the royal families, Nishads, Nagas and smaller chieftains were in the middle of the large centipede-like line formation, while many young and brave Yadavas like Satyaki were at the rear of the exodus. The last in the line was Krishna ensuring everybody was safe and also guarding the rear from where there was a bigger threat of attack from Kala Yavana. A lot of similarities to the picture of wolves right?
What happened next while the wolves were crossing, did they face any attack, I don’t know from the picture, but in the exodus of Yadavas, this is what happened according to Dr. Munshi: The major hurdle to cross over for this large group was the river Lavanika which was in spate due to heavy rains. When a majority of the group had somehow crossed over to the other bank of the river, Krishna realized that Kala Yavana’s army was very near and that they may be attacked soon. It was probably another 3 to 4 days that the entire group would have safely crossed over. In order to hold-off Yavana’s army, Krishna decided to part from this group and confront/divert Kala Yavana alone so that it would give time for the entire group to cross over the river safely. His trusted comrade Satyaki wanted to accompany him, but Krishna, whose whole thought was the safety of all his people, forbade Satyaki and decided to go alone to confront Yavana, delegating the responsibility of the safety and security of the entire group to Satyaki.
I will not be getting into what happened after that as it is a very well-known story that Krishna slayed Kala Yavana in a tactful manner through Muchukunda. So while, Krishna fought off the barbarian king, his people had moved to safety.
If we reflect on the traits exhibited by the group and Krishna during this exodus, few points are clear:
• There is a pattern similar to that of the pack of Wolves with the strong people at the front guarding from attacks (I only did not see the exodus being led by the ill and sick as is the popular interpretation seen in Wolf pack picture posts)
• Krishna was leading from the last similar to an alpha male wolf from the picture
• There were young and powerful warriors in the rear of the exodus similar to that of the wolves
• Further, Krishna’s leadership was such that it put his people first which is what made Him risk his life in the confrontation of Kala Yavana. Safety of his people was his utmost priority even higher than his own life like the Leader wolf guarding from the rear and ready to defend/confront should there be an attack
This gives me the feeling that the need for collective safety of the group is what drives behavior and leadership in such transitions/exodus. Also, the underlying fabric of leadership seen in such situations is what can be called “universal” that probably applies to humans, animals and to all living beings that live in groups.
A few points on leadership and group behavior that we can draw from the wolf picture interpretations and also from the exodus of Yadavas are:
• The success of the exodus or for that matter for the wolfs moving is in the people/wolf reaching their goal safely
• A large group of heterogeneous people (read differing mind sets) needs a strong and committed leader to provide a unifying vision and direction
• For the group to collectively achieve the objectives set out for, good leadership has a big role to play
• Leaders truly care for their people
• Leaders have a strong conviction in their ideas and do not let it sway to the opinions of all
• Leaders are willing to sacrifice all personal gains and risk their all for their people and for the change to be successful
If exodus is akin to a large transformation or change that we see in organizations, probably similar principles of leadership would apply. Would you agree?
To sum up, Leaders do not become leaders because they want to be one - Leaders are what they are because their entire “life purpose” is woven around the people they lead! Leaders are able to work what appear to be “miracles” because of the unflinching trust they are able to garner from their people and because of the faith their people have in them!!
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