"One of the most universal cravings of our time is a hunger for compelling and creative leadership" - Mc Gregor.
Traditionally leaders have been defined as those who hold power, allowing presidents, prime ministers and military generals, regardless of their accomplishments to be considered leaders. But the confusion of leadership with power has led to a model of leadership that is Machiavellian which is manipulative, authoritative, impersonal, and self-interested. When we are to think of great leaders of the past Mahatma Gandhi naturally stands out as a symbol of inspiration. Building on the thoughts of India's greatest teachers and leaders of the past, he employed and ancient but powerful idea of ahimsa or non-violence in an effective way. A great man with a deep understanding of human nature, Mahatma Gandhi made every effort to encourage the full development of our human potential. Even though many looked at Gandhi as a faithful and inspiring individual, but according to Machiavellian ideals, he failed as a leader.
Mahatma Gandhi is the exact opposite of Machiavelli's ideal leader in other words, his ideal prince. For instance Machiavelli feels that military preparations and experiences are very important to maintain a prince's power. Machiavelli states a prince "must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institution, and its discipline, because that's the only profession that benefits the one that commands"(Machiavelli 36). He feels that armed men have the power to deal with most problems. Mahatma Gandhi on the other hand, believed in the concept of non-violence. Gandhi was highly influenced by tendancies long present in Indian thought (in Hinduism and Jainism) which condemned not only killing, but hurting harming or inflicting suffering on any human being or any living being (Sofri 178). He wanted to combat injustice, and did not deny conflict, but only the use of violence to resolve it.