How much wealth is enough?

The rich in India are richer, but what’s the purpose of having all that wealth? Forbes India brought together G.V. Krishna Reddy, an extremely wealthy man of the practical world, and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to find an answer to that elemental question.

Subroto Bagchi: I have a personal question. When I was a little boy, my mother said that you have Lakshmi and you have Saraswati, two very pretty women, extremely jealous and she said that if I follow Lakshmi, then Saraswati will shun me and if I follow Saraswati, probably Laksmhi will follow at a distance.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Today, there has been a truce.

Subroto Bagchi: Thank you so much, that was really really wonderful, and I wish my mother was here to listen to that point.

 

H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar at Forbes India function

The Goddess of Wealth might have made her truce with the Goddess of Learning. But Lakshmi is also the Goddess of Generosity and it seems her devotees have yet to fully learn that lesson.

As the Forbes India rich list shows, the number of Indian billionaires has gone up. Their wealth increased even as the recession took a toll on the economies of the richest countries. However, in a country where slums exist in the shadow of opulent high rises, the rich in India keep their purse strings tight.

This seemed to be the opportune moment to question the purpose of wealth. How much is enough? How does it feel to be rich in a land of poor? Can wisdom offer some solace?

To find answers to these questions, Forbes India brought two very different personalities on a single platform — G.V. Krishna Reddy (worth $1.07 billion), one of the rich men on the list and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a spiritual guru.

“One, a worshipper of wealth and the other, in charge of salvation,” as Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree’s co-founder, Forbes India columnist and moderator of the discussion put it.

The differences were evident even as they arrived. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar walked in wearing a flowing white robe, smiling his trademark smile, followed by long-haired, Art of Living volunteers. Reddy, several inches taller than the guru, came in business formals, followed by similarly dressed colleagues.

Following the discussion were the business elite in Bangalore — Bijou Kurien of Reliance Retail; Ashok Misra of Intellectual Ventures; Suresh C. Senapaty of Wipro; Swati Ramanathan of Janaagraha; K.K. Narayanan of Meta-Helix; and Krishnakumar N. of Mindtree.

Reddy narrated his rags-to-riches story. As a teenager, he said he was naughty and never interested in studies. But once he decided to do well in studies, he topped the class in a year. “My parents could not believe that for five years,” he said. Later, when he wanted to build a five star hotel in Hyderabad, he was laughed at. When it turned out to be a success, he was praised. His recipe was simple — discipline and hard work.

Balance was Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s theme.

“There are different kinds of richness, some are rich in wisdom, some are rich in life, some are rich in both, some are rich in their enthusiasm and some are rich in their art and imagination, and some are rich in their bank balance,” said the guru.

“If wealth leads to discomfort, the purpose is defeated,” he said. The rich have expanded their business horizons into various philanthropic modules but a few have “yet to implement CSR [corporate social responsibility]”.

 

Forbes India event

“What is it to be a rich man in a poor country?” asked Bagchi.

Reddy said he did not feel rich. As a company, GVK does its bit for the society. It runs schools and hospitals. It is in the process of building houses for slum dwellers next to the Mumbai airport. And it runs the 108-Ambulance emergency ambulance service.

But, this and many such efforts have hardly addressed the basic issue of human suffering. Does it mean that spirituality with its promise of wisdom, love, compassion and salvation; and business with its own secular promises have failed?

“I won’t say they have both failed. They both need more exposure and more growth and more co-ordinated growth,” said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The discussions struck a chord with the audience.

“We can’t afford to be capitalistic like in the past, in a country like India where there is such a visible difference between rich and poor. Certainly if we don’t have conscious capitalism, I don’t think we’ll prosper,” said Bijou Kurien, President and CEO – Lifestyle, Reliance Retail.

Hans-Martin Schempp, an economist, echoed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “Richness really comes from giving. Like the law of agriculture, till you give away the seed then only will you see a harvest.”

However, the bigger issues of poverty, suffering and inequality are yet to be resolved.

“It’s not a question or answer that’ll get answered in a lifetime. It is a millennial issue. In four million years neither poverty nor [the] spiritual depression has been solved in the world. So our job is to keep trying,” Bagchi said later.

Direct Church of South India (CSI) to refund Tsunami funds!!

The Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), a corporation incorporated under the New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, USA, has moved the Madras High Court with a civil suit praying for a direction to the Church of South India (CSI) to pay back Rs 18.78 crore together with 24 per cent interest,given towards tsunami relief fund.

 

Christian Soldier

In his civil suit, Episcopal Relief and Development president Robert W Radtke submitted that the ERD released the funds to the CSI under the agreed terms and provisions of memorandums of understanding executed between the two parties in March 2005 and in Janaury, 2006 for the partnership activities towards tsunami relief.

But the defendants — CSI, Royapettah, CSI Trust Association by its general secretary, Dr Pauline Sathiamurthy, Trichy, Robert Sunil, CSI, Dr Benedicta Sathiamurthy, CSI and Venugopal Kasturi CSI — had breached the material terms and conditions of the MoUs.

As per the MoUs, the use of the funds must be in accordance with the expressed terms. All the defendants should provide quarterly narrative and financial reports to the plaintiff as specified and in accordance with the indicated timelines.

There was also a specific obligation on the part of the defendants to return all the funds not spent according to the terms decribed and within 12 months after the end of the project period.

The defendants should fully cooperate with the plaintiff or its agents insofar as any auditing activities into the financial and or administrative activities of the defendants.

In view of the fact that the defendants had failed to perform their obligations under the 2005 and 2006 MoUs and further had failed to return all the funds, the plantiff was constrained to commence the legal proceedings to recover the amounts due at the cost and consequence of the defendants, the suit said.

Source:

Express Buzz

iPranayama!!!

A new iPhone app called myMeditation aims to enhance and deepen your daily practice by providing a framework with which to practice pranayama. Under the instruction of H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, who provides the focus and mantras, the program provides gentle alarm sounds to bring you out from contemplation, inspiring Hindu imagery, and even breathing instructions for your yoga.

myMeditation is a modern way to engage in an age-old practice.Fully customizable,this app is designed to demystify meditation and help you with every step of your practice.With just a few minuutes of guided deep breathing, you can quiet your mind,bring clarity to your thoughts,and put yourself on the road to good health.

 

Water bubble

What is Pranayama?

Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning “lengthening of the prana or breath.”The word is composed of two Sanskrit words – “Prana”, life force, or vital energy,particularly,the breath,and “ayama”, to lengthen or extend.When used in yoga,it is often translated more specifically as “breath control”.

Slow,full breaths are the foundation of a focussed meditation practice.Most of the time,we breathe very shallowly,and our breath sits at the top of our lungs.Pranayama deepens the breath,allowing the lungs to deliver more oxygen to the whole system,thus relaxing the body.This type of oxygenating breath is involuntarily taken while in deep sleep – your body’s natural restorative time.

The iPhone application is completely charitable; BLT Helps, the software maker, will use 100% of their proceeds toward funding design projects and providing design training that will benefit other non-profits and charitable organizations in need of these resources.

Sources:

HPI

BLT Helps

War in defence is acceptable, but not guerrilla or proxy war that is un-Islamic

Tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks began Tuesday in solemnity with various religious leaders coming together to express their condemnation of killing of innocent people in the name of religion.

Yet, the sombre occasion was not devoid of representatives of the two largest religions in India — Hinduism and Islam-— conveying their feelings and reactions in a subtle manner. Hindu leader Swami Gnanatej of the Art of Living Foundation in his opening remarks stated how India for ages had welcomed various kinds of people and taken the path of non-violence.

But with the recurring acts of violence on the nation, “we will not take it lying down and need a mass rising at this moment,” he told an inter-faith gathering organised by US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre and India’s Art of Living Foundation.

Dr. Khwaja Iftikar Ahmad, Founder, Interfaith Harmony Foundation of India, said: “We should not talk about mass uprising but a mass awakening. We have to get together and fight together. Human misery is common to all and we have always condemned all acts of violence.”However, he stressed that it was important to convict all culprits of communal violence which has not happened in the country.

In response to the Swami’s statement that the media did not publicise how the 26/11 terrorists had not harmed Muslims, Ahmad said that 33 out of 177 who had died last November were Muslims.Echoing his sentiments was Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. “War in defence is acceptable, but not guerrilla or proxy war that is un-Islamic. Violence begins in the mind and to reach a solution, one must first kill the violence present in the human mind,” he said.

“We will never forget the victims of 26/11 and hope that the victims here are the last ones ever here and anywhere else in the world,” said Israeli Consul General Orna Sagiv.The Swami said that it was unfortunate that “outdated fatwas” were still being issued and condemned those, especially politicians, who divided the people on the basis of religion.

Wake up call

The Swami stressed that “26/11 was a wake up call as it targeted the rich and mighty. All that happened (bomb explosions) in Jaipur, Ahmedabad or Delhi largely went unnoticed as the common people suffered.”

Sources:

Mid Day

Gulf News

Dalit Christians are victims of discrimination with in the Church

In view of the forthcoming winter session of Parliament several church organizations are planning to held a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar on 19 th November . While agreeing with the broader objectives the Poor Christian Liberation Movement is of the opinion that the Church authorities in India have not done justice to the marginalised Christians.

 

Cross

The “Poor Christian Liberation Movement” PCLM President RL Francis stated that several Dalits have embraced Christianity for better and equal treatment but the despite conversion their conditions have not changed. The Dalit Christians are still victims of discrimination with in the Church.

The PCLM pointed out that Dalits or the socially underprivileged questions the church leadership for demanding special treatment for them they are treated badly Stating that Dalit Christians accounted for nearly 70 percent of India ’s Christian population, the PCLM, a Christian organization, accused high caste Christians of exploiting them.

The church leadership ‘exploit the poverty and unemployment” among the Dalits to convert them to Christianity. The Church bodies are demanding reservation from the Government but in their own institutions are neglecting and ill treating the Christians of Dalit background. Some all India Christian leaders are minting money from abroad in the name of demonstrations etc. “Let the Church in India make 50 % job reservation for Dalit Christians in their institutions and then go to government for relief” said the PCLM President R L Francis in a press statement.

“But despite a wide network of (Christian) missionary schools and colleges, most of Dalit Christians are illiterate and living in utter poverty because the convent schools are busy catering to the educational needs of rich and high caste people”, the statement further mentioned.

“Same is the case with job opportunities and entrepreneurship development. Dalit Christians are being denied all these facilities while the church leadership continues to flourish by usurping vast foreign funding and real estate resources,” Francis charged.

Source : Orissa Diary

Anwar Awlaki: Mass Murder at Fort Hood Permissible Jihad

Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Shaea interviewed proponent of violent jihad and blogger, Yemeni-American Anwar Awlaki about his relationship with Nidal Hasan who carried out the random murder spree at Fort Hood in Texas. On behalf of the Washington Post, Shaea traveled to Anwar’s home in Shabwa governorate. (The Yemeni government claimed they couldn’t find Awlaki…) Awlaki maintains that he did not instigate Hasan to engage in any specific acts of violence, although he approves.

Imam Anwar al Awlaki

Aulaqi said Hasan viewed him as a confidant. “It was clear from his e-mails that Nidal trusted me. Nidal told me: ‘I speak with you about issues that I never speak with anyone else,’ ” he told Shaea…

Of the dozen or so e-mails, said Shaea, Aulaqi replied to Hasan two or three times. Aulaqi declined to comment on what he told Hasan. Asked whether Hasan mentioned Fort Hood as a target in his e-mails, Shaea declined to comment.

Aulaqi said Hasan’s alleged shooting spree was allowed under Islam because it was a form of jihad. “There are some people in the United States who said this shooting has nothing to do with Islam, that it was not permissible under Islam,” he said, according to Shaea. “But I would say it is permissible. . . . America was the one who first brought the battle to Muslim countries.”

The cleric also denounced what he described as contradictory behavior by Muslims who condemned Hasan’s actions and “let him down.” According to Shaea, he said: “They say American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan should be killed, so how can they say the American soldier should not be killed at the moment they are going to Iraq and Afghanistan?”

Source: Armies of Liberation

Pakistani Army ran Muslim extremist training camps, says anti-terrorist expert

The Pakistani Army ran training camps for a Muslim extremist group, at least until recently, with the acceptance of the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to France’s foremost anti-terrorist expert.Jean-Louis Bruguière, who retired in 2007 after 15 years as chief investigating judge for counter-terrorism, reached this conclusion after interrogating a French militant who had been trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba and arrested in Australia in 2003.

 

Pakistani Army

In a book in his counter-terrorism years, Mr Bruguière says that Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was set up to fight India over disputed Kashmir territory, had become part of the international Islamic network of al-Qaeda.

Willy Brigitte, the suspect, told Mr Bruguière, that the Pakistani military were running the Lashkar-e-Taiba training camp where he spent 2½ months in 2001-02. Along with two Britons and two Americans, Brigitte was driven in a 4×4 through army roadblocks to the high-altitude camp where more than 2,000 men were being trained by Pakistani regular army officers, he said.

“The links between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Pakistani Army are more than close. Brigitte observed this twice,” Mr Bruguière said. “When the camp was resupplied, all the materiel was dropped off by Pakistani army helicopters. And there were regular inspections by the Pakistani Army and the CIA.”

 

ISI-Taliban Nexus

The US agency carried out spot checks to ensure that Pakistan was sticking to an agreement not to train any foreigners at the militant organisation, the judge said. “After 9/11, the Americans put pressure on the Pakistani Government to put more effective controls on the activities of the Islamic organisations linked to al-Qaeda,” he said.

Mr Brigitte, originally from the French West Indies, and other foreign personnel were moved out to another camp when the CIA was due to visit, Mr Bruguière said.The judge said that it was possible that the Americans had been turning a blind eye to the organisation’s training of foreign operatives.

It was not clear whether the Pakistani armed forces and ISI intelligence service were “playing the same game” as the Pakistani Government over Islamic terrorism, said the judge, whose book is titled Some Things that I Wasn’t Able to Say.

Source: Times Online