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There are perhaps as many definitions and viewpoints of leadership as there are people in the world. This is because, at any given time, we are apt to find ourselves in a (small or large) leadership role in life. Some of us plan to be leaders while some of us simply ‘fall into’ it by serendipity – like a river finds itself at a sudden bend on its path…

In order to narrow the focus and scope of the conversation, let us talk about “spiritual leadership” today. I believe that we all are spiritual beings at various stages on our path. It is perhaps safe to say that where we are and how we got here and where we are going – all three aspects have in some way been influenced by spiritual leadership. Our spiritual influencers may have begun to affect us as early as when we were in the womb, or maybe even before that. Looking back in our spiritual timeline, our granparents who influenced our parents were perhaps our very first spiritual leaders. That constitutes our past.

In the present, we may be experiencing the impact of spiritual leaders by way of teachers, trainers and fellow travelers on our chosen path. The influence of spiritual leadership percolates into our hearts through their writings, their speeches and lectures, their poetry or any means by which we can tune into their message. All it takes is a coherence of our heart energy [1] with the heart energy of our spiritual leaders and we can be instantly transformed to a higher level in the spiritual plane. Have you ever picked up a book – or someone gave you a book – and you started reading it to find an instant ‘heart coherence’ with the author?

That’s is the role of spiritual leadership. It elevates and inspires and transforms us in a subtle, serene, yet unmistakable way. Our receptivity and openness and willingness is necessary. Both, to follow, and then lead. Then, leadership influence – a two-way exchange – is possible. The followership manifests in a way that we cannot return to our previous energy level because we have experienced a quantum energy leap in our spiritual state. The leadership manifests in a way that we cannot help but radiate our new energy level to those who come within our sphere of influence.

So, who are some of your spiritual leaders or spiritual leadership influencers? How did they influence you in a ‘change-of-state’ way that transformed your spirituality? Do you view yourself as a spiritual leader of some measure? If so, what is your domain of leadership influence? How may we evaluate the spiritual strength of a potential leader that we are considering ‘following’?

I invite you to our “spiritual leadership” conversation – Sunday, October 2nd at 9amET/1pmUTC in #SpiritChat on twitter. We will have some tea and cookies, share some leadership quotes and maybe even some photography and poetry. We will celebrate the birthday of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi – arguably one of the most impactful spiritual leaders of the 20th century!

Namaste,

Kumud @AjmaniK

Related post from 2015: On Spirituality and Non-Violence of Mahatma Gandhi

[1] The Heart’s Code by Paul Pearsall