According of Sri Sri Thakur the world is a big house
hold, a global family. The spirit of
sharing each others wealth and woes and give and take is
the basic building block of economic
development and prosperity.
Sri Sri Thakur says :
"To manage the go of life with every progressive step
is economy."
Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra‘s economic principles are
based on two paradigms:
· Economic Development of a person
· Economic development of the society and nation at large
On the issue of economic development of person, Sri Sri
Thakur has gone to the root of a
person‘s character. Sri Sri Thakur says that an
individual‘s character is the basis for his state of
affairs, be it economic, social, domestic and physical.
It is important to understand that what we talk about
economic development is the consequence
of so many variables, which may not be talked in so called
economist‘s language. HIS
principles of economic development encompass all aspects of
human personality. Human
personality is a set of interrelated elements. Activities
flowing from those have to be seen and
analysed in an integrated fashion.
What are the factors in a person‘s character, which shape
or determine his economic well
being? These have to be seen at two levels. One can be said
to be the ‗outer level‘ and the other
can be said to be the ‗inner level factors‘.
The factors which are immediately seen as responsible for
economic well being are educational
attainment, skill formation, experience, ability to deal
with issues and tasks, inter personal relations, level of tolerances of
ambiguity, communication, social acceptability, innovative way of doing things
and so on. These are certain factors, which determine a person‘s ability to
earn.
Similarly there are factors that determine his spending
requirement. The factors that essentially
control one‘s expenditure at outer level are one‘s behavior,
family status, place of living and
so on.
The ‗inner level‘ factors are those which are responsible
for the ‗outer level‘ factors. These are
namely, one‘s concentration, commitment, degree of
responsibility, urge for excellence, zeal
for accomplishment, ability to take pain and make
sacrifice, fixity of purpose and tenacity of
urge, attitude to status of living, beliefs and values and
so on.
It becomes obvious at this stage the ‗inner level factors‘
are amenable to change or refinement.
The outer level factors are offshoots of the ‗inner level
factors‘. It is possible to manoeuvre at
both the levels. The ‗inner level‘ factors take shape at a
formative stage in life. It is, however,
possible to refine it at a later stage also. Any refinement
or alteration at the ‗inner level‘ has a
lasting effect, though it takes time to be seen. It is also
possible to add on or alter the ‗outer
level‘ factors. But it requires rigorous exercise and some
time it becomes late to attain some of
those things. Which means at one point of time, some of
these factors lose relevance in the
context of the then prevailing state of life.
HE has attempted to bring about change or reformation in
all these factors and there by has
tried to improve the economic well being of a person.
Tempering with all these factors ‗inner‘
and ‗outer‘ , what we have discussed, is not at all an easy
job. It requires a deft handling of the
alchemy of a person who is not a static inanimate object,
but a living and evolving organism,
passing through dynamic situations, many of which are not
in his control.
HE talks of a driving force, which propels a person to act
and achieve, overcoming hindrances
as they keep coming in the way. HE says that every person
has got an inner urge and every
soul has a got an inner urge and every soul has a got a
genial current. That urge or current can
be buoyed up, by tuning it up with the love and
encouragement of a beloved one. And if that
beloved one also acts like a philosopher and guide, then a
person can be charged, empowered
and directed in the direction of achievement. HE says every
person has to be attached to a
superior Guide, who would provide motivating and mobilising
stimulant for a person to act and
achieve. If this charge is imparted to a person, as per his
ability and instinct, then the ‗inner
factors‘ get activated and the ‗outer factors‘ begin to
surface in the desired direction.
The instrumentalities required for this empowerment of
body,mind and soul have been articulated by HIM is his principles of ‗yajan,
yaajan and istavrity.‘
The outcome of this empowering exercise get manifested by
way of higher achievement, better productivity, systematic and timely delivery
of jobs, taking up challenges and finding out opportunities and so on. The
regulated life style and objective appraisal of reality ( within and surrounding
oneself), also give a controlling string on his spending line.
Besides, HE has spelt out a number of detailed codes of
conducts for households, those in business and services on the issue of how to
prosper in their respective lines. A common habit, which was found to
repeatedly emphasised by Sri Sri Thakur is thrift. Economy in spending and
habit of making savings are essential elements that are advised by Sri Sri
Thakur for households.
Sri Sri Thakur wanted everyone in their respective
occupation to produce the best quality of
goods and services. A basic belief that helps everyone to
achieve result is that for every thing
there is valid and proper way to go about. One needs to
know that valid way, to familiarise
oneself with all the possibilities and hindrances and take
care of all aspects of the issue in hand.
One should not wait for things to happen without taking due
steps for them.
Another aspect, which was very much emphasized by Sri Sri
Thakur, especially in the field of
business and services, is one‘s behavior and attitude
towards others. In all situations one
should display pleasant behavior and serviceable attitude
in dealing with other people.
Sri Sri Thakur was not favoring a person to do a typical
secured service or job as it dampens
innovative spirit by making one to follow procedures. It
does not encourage prompt and risk
taking decision-making capability. A secured job does not
provide any incentives to take
initiative. As a result of absence of all these enterprising
factors, a typical service mentality
tends to breed an attitude of slavery which even gets
transmitted amongst family members.
Hence Sri Sri Thakur encouraged independent enterprising
instinct based occupations.
Once a visitor said to Sri Sri Thakur that
"peace will prevail in the society, if economic
problem is solved; but Sri Sri Thakur said: - if
peace prevails economic problem will be
solved". Dharma will eradicate economic wants. Dharma
is the fore-runner of money (artha),
fulfilment of desire (kama)
and salvage (mokshya) of individual, Dharma brings
about meaningful adjustment of all factors of life. When
Dharma flares up economic
adjustment becomes normal. Because adjustment of complexes
bring adjustment of activities.
Adjusted activity generates money.
Sri Sri Thakur laid primary emphasis on growth of
agriculture. Agriculture meets the basic
requirement of food, employment and income to large section
of so called low skill low capital
holding persons. HE wanted agricultural yield to increase, so
that food is available to all at an
affordable market price. For the general development of
economy, mobilization of capital is
pre-requisite. HE propagated for a system with a sound
money and capital market, where small
investor can deploy his saving and can get good return;
hence can participate in production
oriented activities.
Sri Sri Thakur has told
―Domestic
agriculture and industry
With conscientious
labour
And existential uphold
Is the normal
wealth of life‖
Sri Sri Thakur always advocated for free enterprise and
competition. There should be less and
less of control and discrimination by state machinery.
Efficiency and ability should get reward.
Market imperfections have to be handled on short-term
counter measures, not by license and
permit system, which has tendency to perpetuate and feed on
itself.
Sri Sri Thakur has mentioned
―To
enhance idle money
profitably
for
renovating people in general
by
service
is
banking as I think.‖
There is another aspect, which is bothering our top leaders
in most of the countries in the
world, that is causing awesome problems at every level and
that is corruption. Sometimes
breeding of corruption is taking place on the basis of
economic justification in a wrong way.
Corruption is making the system in-equitable,
non-responsive to a section of people‘s
requirement and does not hold out a uniform basis of
measurement. In this context Sri Sri
Thakur‘s plan of man building, character building and
conscious building come to play an
effective role.
Sri Sri Thakur advocated for building nation with the
building of ideal centric individual. In
short the basic foundation of economic development is an
inquisitive serviceable attitude. This
evokes human ability. And the more the man can fulfil the
needs of others through his ability,
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the more does money flow to him. Man becomes profitable by
making others profitable. This
is the of divine economic theory. So every will have to
exert himself to take an active part in
some way or other in the matter of upholding, protecting
and nurturing others. But man's
capacity spontaneously becomes dynamic in his instinctive work.
So serviceable attitude
should be channelized in this specific direction. Again
every individual is to be served and
nurtured in such a way, which enables him to live
abundantly and unfold his specific
potentialities fully, If this principle is followed
invention, research, creative talent production,
supply of consumer goods prosperity and happiness etc.,
will multiply immeasurably. In a
word if the system of allotting occupations to the people
on the basis of their hereditary gene
is perused by the social, political and economic structure
of the country that is likely to remove
poverty, unemployment problem, cruel competition and
inefficiency etc to a considerable
extent. On the whole, according to Sri Sri Thakur man
is not only the producer of wealth, but
himself is the wealth. Man was his only wealth to earn it; He
invested infinite love and
affection. Hence Sri Sri Thakur isn't an economist
in the sense Adam Smith or similar famous
economist in nature. But He was
Master of the master economists.
Rajarshi Roy (SPR)
IT Consultant
London, UK
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