I have often asked the enlightened masters "what is wealth and why should we aspire to have wealth if we believe we are here for a much higher purpose?”
One of the masters very aptly said in Sanskrit Dharmasya Moolam Artha which means that to live life as per one’s dharma (duty), one needs to have artha (resources) and this artha should be put to social good.
They also added that creating and nurturing businesses or enterprises is the economic engine for the society and should be seen as one of the pursuits of dharma as long as it's done with both moral and ethical consciousness and with positive social impact in mind. I regard this as the most profound interpretation of doing social good through businesses, beyond philanthropy.
One of the founders of a large business conglomerate recently articulated this wonderfully to me as he said, "I believe in supporting and helping others build businesses as it take away my karta bhav (ego of doing good/self-gratification).”
More importantly, these businesses can attract more wealth, being seen as investments and not a philanthropic distribution of wealth (which often takes much longer to decide).
At some stage in life, most of us tend to connect with philanthropic pursuits to find real joy. What if this is achieved whilst we are on the journey to create wealth?
What has left me amazed is to see how much can be achieved with so little by bringing wealth and goodness together.
Let's all join hands to bring "wealth with purpose" through positive impact.
