Values-Based Solutions to Financial Problems
1. Fundamental Discrimination
Leadership will have to play an important role in transforming the profile of
the prevailing economic scenario. Leaders engaged in different spheres of
societal activity (political, social, academic, business and others) will have
to contribute their capacities for long-lasting change. The panacea for this is
the ‘4F-Formula’.
By mastering the quintessence of the ‘4 Fs’, one can achieve a lot in one’s
life. Therefore, one should principally follow one’s own conscience, which is
one’s Master. One should pause in times of dilemma and take the right step
using one’s discrimination. One can analyse dispassionately only when one
follows one’s own conscience, which is part of the consciousness that is
omnipresent. ‘Consciousness’ which is present in all the humans as ‘conscience’
becomes ‘conscious’ through the sense organs.
2. Service to Society
An individual assumes three dimensions of awareness:
The one, you think you are (body)
The one, others think you are (mind)
The one, you really are (Soul)
The four aspects that rule the quality of human life are knowledge, skill,
balance and insight. In the modern world, balance (stability/steadiness) is
lost owing to the fact that knowledge, instead of being converted into ‘skill’,
is being ‘killed’ (being rendered dysfunctional). Hence, today, values-based
education should enable people to preserve the balance of the system by
transforming knowledge into skill, which ensures the accomplishment of
national, societal, organisational, group, and individual goals.
‘Help Ever; Hurt Never’, should form the guiding philosophy of all
progressively-oriented individuals. Students of Business studies should give up
selfishness and render selfless service to the society. People should have
‘National Spirit’ and they should be prepared to subordinate individual
interests to national interests. Students of the Sai Institute should become
the change-agents by setting an ideal example through their own righteous
conduct, and work hard to restore the pristine glory of India. It may not be
possible to make the entire humanity happy but a few within the reach of
everyone should be provided with the much needed help. People need not attach
undue importance to money. Many elements of the internal and external
environment are responsible for several imperfections in the society. It
appears that people with many deficiencies are flourishing in the society.
However, it should be remembered that Divine law is different and as such no
one can escape the Karmic consequences. Self-development is the focal-point for
all social revolutions. Self-development begins with Self-enquiry and seeking
an answer to the question: ‘Who am I?’ The answer to this question results in
individual transformation.
3. Love for God and Fear of Sin
‘Love for God, Fear of Sin’ (Daiva Preeti, Paapa Bheeti), are vital in Indian
ethos and values. In other societies, people focus on ‘fear of God and sin’
without specifying any explicit control of anything. If the environment of the
business organisations improves, there will be all-round progress throughout
the world. We need to ask ourselves certain pertinent questions:
How much are we paying to the government as tax?
How much are we spending on advertisements?
What amount are we declaring as dividends to shareholders?
What is the capital we have invested in the business?
In the process of production, how many machines have gone out of order?
What is the resultant impact on production activity? Who is responsible for
that?
Is it because of low quality raw-materials or is it the fault of the workers?
Only when we have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the various factors
that form part of production, can we find out whether we are making profit or
loss. But we are not on thinking along these lines at all. Let us take an
example. If management takes a loan of Rs. 10 lakhs from a commercial bank, we
have to set aside a part of the total amount to repay the monthly installments.
The loan may not have been given on the merits of the case but owing to the
canvassing of a few influential people. So, the person who gets the loan, pays
back neither the interest nor the principal. But the banks window-dress books
of account to present a rosy picture as if everything is alright over there.
How does this difference patch up? Banks have become victims of negative
practices as they do not follow moral principles in their day-to-day
transactions. Banks today in general are reported to be performing poorly on
account of such shady deals and practices. Foreign investors who have been able
to make lot of money however have not been able to put it to proper use. People
regardless of their wealth and other worldly attainments have been losing out
their standards, principles, and values in life.
To be Continued...
Source: Values-Oriented Finance: Insights from Ancient Wisdom, Chapter 7, Man
Management: A Values-Based Management Perspective
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