We need to bring equality in respect and dedication to knowledge as well as
finance and commerce.
By Nilesh Shah, Director, Axis Direct. (Mint – 2nd
May 2013)
The Hindu ashram system divides human life in four stages: Brahmacharya,
where one is supposed to learn; Grahasthaya, where one is supposed to earn;
Vanprastha, where one is supposed to contribute for the development of the
society; and Sanyasta, where one is supposed to seek nirvana. Our philosophy strongly emphasizes
maintaining and growing a family and contributing to the betterment of the
society. This is only possible if most of us focus on earning, saving and
investing wisely. Our philosophy has taught us to give equal importance to
knowledge, spiritualism and commerce. When we don’t put our best efforts on
commerce and finance in earning, saving and investing wisely, then in some
sense we are not fulfilling our dharma.
Goddess
Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge. Goddess Lakshmi is the goddess of
prosperity, though many people confuse her with the goddess of wealth. Wealth
and prosperity are two different things. Kubera is the lord of wealth. His
bhandar (wealth) is unlimited. We pray to goddess Lakshmi for prosperity and
not just wealth. Though our philosophy equates goddess Saraswati and goddess
Lakshmi, many of us put goddess Saraswati on a higher pedestal.
Most of us give immense respect to knowledge, which is an indirect prayer to
goddess Saraswati. We invest enormous time and effort in learning as is visible
in centres of excellence in management and engineering (which needs to be
replicated manifold). It is visible when poor people give preference to private
schools over public schools (though that speaks volume about the quality of
public education). It is visible when education becomes an important part of
the spending budget. It is visible when Indian students are wooed by
universities world-over (though it also points out at the scope for improvement
in our education system). Most of us also
set a very good example for our kids to follow in respecting knowledge. We will
reprimand them if they show disrespect to knowledge. Our kids pick up this
respect for knowledge through observation.
But very few people set a good example for their kids in respecting goddess
Lakshmi. An effort is
made to make kids aware of the value of money through pocket allowance, but not
much effort is made to teach them on how to save, how much to save, how to
invest and how to make the saving grow.
Disrespect for goddess Lakshmi or disdain for finance and commerce is
visible in situations such as the share of capital markets peaking in savings
during bubble years of 1991 and 2000 and bottoming out during the bear market
of 2003 and 2008. It is visible when one sees money lying idle in products that
give returns below inflation under the pretext of safety. It is visible when
one sees bluechip Indian companies’ results spreading more joy in London, New
York and Singapore than in Mumbai and Delhi. It is visible when the foreigner’s
ownership of Indian equity exceeds retail Indian’s ownership. It is visible
when one sees sales jumping manifold at jewellery stores even though gold
prices have corrected. It is visible when depositors repeatedly lose money in
unregulated entities, unrated instruments and unapproved schemes. It is visible
when long-term savings of the country is used for subsidizing government’s
borrowing programme rather than providing risk capital for Indian entrepreneurs
or retaining ownership of Indian companies in Indian hands. It is visible when
we export capital through the import of gold, silver and precious stones and
invite foreign capital at much favourable terms. It is visible when we import
more than we export and don’t learn from the depreciation of rupee from Rs.3 to a dollar at the
time of independence to the current level. It shows when we accept lower rating
for India when countries, whose debt to GDP (gross domestic product), deficit
to GDP and history of default is far worse than us, are rated higher.
We need to bring equality in respect and dedication to knowledge as well as
finance and commerce.
When that
equality was prevailing In India not so long back, it was described thus by Lord Macaulay in British Parliament in 1835:
“I have travelled across the length and breadth
of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar or who is a thief. Such
wealth I have seen in this country. Such high moral values, people of such
calibre that I would think we could ever conquer this country, unless we break
the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage,
and therefore I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system,
her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is
good and greater than their own, they will lose their self- esteem, their
native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated
nation.”
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