Blooming Stars - Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti
Lies and deceits abound when money is
the bottom-line of any culture. Currently without hesitation it may be said
that unfortunately money is the bottom-line of every culture. The corporate
culture is all about money and greed. A person is recruited, retained, and
promoted on the basis of the amount of money one can make. The atrocious amount
of money given to executives as bonuses for the money they make is truly
appalling. Enron, world’s seventh biggest corporation folded due to “cooking”
(falsifying) account books. The economic melt-down and slowdown affecting the
entire world economy started in the US with unscrupulous and dishonest
financial managers indulging in irresponsible lending or predatory and
deceptive financial practices. The banking industry in the US, the bedrock of
society, was shaken to its foundation in the wake of scandals and questionable
financial practices to increase their profit margin. The housing industry did
no better than the banking industry. Recently Reuters (London/New York, March
15, 2012) published a report of a withering resignation letter of a Goldman
Sacks Bank executive appearing in New York Times that contained an
unprecedented assault on bank executives who consider their customers to be
“muppets” (stupid). He also talked about the “rip-off culture” of bankers. The
multi-national oil corporations made record windfall profits in the worst situation
of sky-rocketing petrol prices crushing the ordinary struggling persons trying
to make both ends meet.
In the wake of all these financial
disasters those who really suffered were and still suffering are ordinary,
honest, hardworking, decent human beings who worked hard to save for their
retirement or old age. I know this because I myself was affected by this. A few
crooks got away with their loot. This tells us that the economic well-being of
humanity is in grave danger.
Preoccupation with making money by hook or by crook seems to be in the
mind of almost everyone at every waking moment of the day. Recently I had an
encounter with a young man who wanted to sell me a financial policy that
according to him was very attractive and would benefit me very much. When I
told him that I did not need one he pleaded with me to take it in order to help
him. Aggressive marketing strategies and advertisements so prevalent in the
United States are spreading across India with the ubiquitous signboards,
television sets, and the internet with, perhaps, added variety of deceptive
native ingenuity. The irrepressible, perfidious telemarketers who can take away
a few minutes of rest and relaxation that we have by intruding through our
phones at their will are inconsiderate and outright nuisance. A telemarketer in
the US told me that he also needed to live. Of course he needs to. But don’t we
have enough real jobs for which persons are not applying? An increasing number
of people in the world seem to want easy money without hard work. They feel
they are entitled to it as they do not have exemplary role models and persons
of impeccable integrity in public life. The culture of lie also generates a
hedonistic, amoral culture where everything goes. (To be continued)
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