FLOODED BY MONEY

India is being swamped with money. Indians everywhere are being swamped by money. There is a flood, and many are enjoying the drink. Unlike other floods, this seems to be a good one, promising to make us happy and fulfilled. Is it all good? What does this do to the soul? Are we sinking or swimming? We discuss these issues in this new feature.

Just as a glass of water quenches the thirst, and a flood of water can drown unless we know how to swim, at the very least we need to be alert. How are we earning this money? What are we doing with it? Are we building a dam to control the flood, or to fatten our families? In fact, what is money? The modern epidemic of obesity in Britain is in my view not unrelated to the accumulation of wealth. Think why the word ‘greed’ is applied to profit and food – there must be a relationship.

It is said in both Hindu and Jain scriptures, that Laxmi is a whimsical goddess, restless and fluttering and needs to be handled with great care. Possessiveness of any kind is discouraged, because it leads to attachment. In fact, it is said that when we possess, we become possessed. We lose ourselves, and far from being in control of money, we become controlled by money. Our freedom goes. Our smiles also fade away. We begin to mistrust everyone and everything. Like Laxmi, we become restless. Charity becomes furthest from our minds when we are flooded by money. We are drowning, but do not realise it.

BALANCE

Striking a balance between the material and spiritual worlds is very difficult. Judi Neal's new book, Edgewalkers, is brilliant and guides people to develop and live in balance. Edgewalkers Website It is especially geared for leaders who are trying to make a difference and live with integrity and meaning. It helps build a more balanced society.

The world of finance can be very material and therefore, devoid of spirit. It need not be so. Good finance can help projects become viable and sustainable. It can help build a fairer more equitable world. Also it is good for the soul, enabling the financier to obtain deeper fulfilment and lasting satisfaction.

HOLISTIC BUSINESS EDUCATION

Business Education is Partial and Wrong

Wow, this is a brilliant article - and very radical too. It states that modern business schools have got it all wrong and end up producing very poor graduates. Unfortunately, there is no pointer to the ancient Hindu wisdom and Dharma which gives us the science of integrated and holistic living and working. However, the message is very timely and the business school teachers will struggle to integrate as they have mostly been taught in a boxed and bordered way of thinking. They no more and more about less and less. Instead they need to learn wisdom and how to translate it. My new book on Diversity shows how to have a borderless mind.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

A Social Entrepreneur is a person who takes risks for the betterment of society, but does so in a business-like way. It is a label, and all labels have limitations. For me, it is a good way of describing my work as an ethical businessman. However, what I find is that businesses do not seem to take social entrepreneurs seriously and treat them differently from those who are purely profit-oriented. And charities do not seem to have money (sometimes none at all) to pay a reasonable market wage to social entrepreneurs for the skills they possess. So it is hard to straddle the two worlds - either one is a pure profit-oriented businessmen or one is a pure social reformer. This seems unjust and unfair, but in my experience, is very real.

BBC REITH LECTURES

This years lectures by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs are quite shocking but also timely. You can listen or read online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2007/
While his thoughts and research are very good, It would really be nice to have a bit of diversity in the speakers. The western culture is the cause of many of the problems of modernity and eastern wisdom has many of ths solutions - especially the ones about simplicity, charity, integrity and non-violence to all living beings. I am surprised that the BBC does not invite these voices.

FINANCE AND FAITH

On 2nd May 2007, we have organised a seminar on this topic at St. Ethelburgas in the heart of the City of London. All are welcome - details are on our website www.diverseethics.com/casestudies

The thrust of the discussion is to examine the ethics of finance and look at faith traditions and how they deal with money and profit. There are a range of speakers - Richard Murphy - www.taxresearch.org.uk; Prof. Prem Sikka - www.aabaglobal.org and myself, Atul Shah - www.diverseethics.com

BIG PHARMA

I saw last night's Panorama about the greed and sleaze of the drugs companies and then read an article surveying the greed and pathetic health concerns in the US pharmaceutical industry (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17244). It is shocking, unethical and unjust. And so much of this is built on the allpathic lie - that drugs can solve all our health problems. In India, one of the famous teachers of Yoga - Shri Ramdev - who has become a celebrity by showing how health can be cured so naturally and costlessly is now being sued by the medical industry. The truth is a victim as it does not make profit. The concern is not for public health but for private profit. And to think that eminent scientists are part of this game is unbelievable, but true. It is a paradox that not only do we suffer from ill health, but we have to pay a fortune to recover from it, only with side effects and more drug dependence.
The internet gives us hope - we can promote truth by by-passing big media to reach people and show them the natural and simple ways to good health which have been discovered for millenia.
And no longer should we allow science to confuse us - as that is a game it plays by saying it is not proven that such and such is bad for you. Confusion helps it to pedal its wares.

PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS

We can calculate, but can we grow? We know about business, but do we understand life? We can read and write, but do we really know? Social entrepreneurs are people who are not paralysed by analysis but have a larger mission and purpose. They recognise the importance of sound financial management, but use it in ways beneficial to society. However, if you asked whether there is a 'social capital' market, then the answer would be no, at least in terms of the stock market. There is a hidden social capital market based on networks, community and charity. However, it is still difficult to attract risk capital to good social work. The only concern of the venture capitalist is money, and that even short term money - the return in a few years. And usually, this should be in a multiple factor. The venture capitalist, is a greed promoter. But that would not sound too sexy would it!