Common Values and Beliefs that underpin a successful economy

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The experience of the three crises ( Credit, Covid and Climate) of the 21st century, suggests that the common values and beliefs that underpin a successful economy are:

– dynamism to help create solutions and channel human creativity;

– resilience to make it easier to bounce back from shocks while protecting the most vulnerable in society;

– sustainability with long-term perspectives that align incentives across generations; – fairness, particularly in markets to sustain their legitimacy;

– responsibility so that individuals feel accountable for their actions;

– solidarity whereby citizens recognise their obligations to each other and share a sense of community and society;

and

– humility to recognise the limits of our knowledge, understanding and power so that we act as custodians seeking to improve the common good.


Value(s): Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney

Play the Battle Drums – Buddha

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A king had many elephants, but one elephant was very powerful, very obedient, sensible and skillful in everything especially his fighting skills. In many wars, he was sent on the battlefield and he used to return only after getting victory for the king. Therefore, he was the most loved elephant of the king.

Time went by and there came a time when the elephant started getting old. Now he was not able to perform as before. Therefore, the king did not even send him to the battlefield but he still remained as a part of the king’s team.

One day the elephant went to a lake to drink water, but unfortunately his feet got stuck in the mud and he went on sinking. He tried a lot, but he could not remove himself from the mud. People came to know from the sound of his screams that the elephant was in trouble. The news of the elephant trapped also reached the king. All the people, including the king, gathered around the elephant and made various efforts to get him out. But alas, even after trying for a long time, there was no way out. 

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get comfortable living the questions…

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It starts by standing with the poor, listening to voices unheard, and recognizing potential where others see despair.

It demands investing as a means, not an end, daring to go where markets have failed and aid has fallen short. It makes capital work for us, not control us.

It thrives on moral imagination: the humility to see the world as it is, and the audacity to imagine the world as it could be. It’s having the ambition to learn at the edge, the wisdom to admit failure, and the courage to start again.

It requires patience and kindness, resilience and grit: a hard-edged hope. It’s leadership that rejects complacency, breaks through bureaucracy, and challenges corruption. Doing what’s right, not what’s easy.

it’s the radical idea of creating hope in a cynical world. Changing the way the world tackles poverty and building a world based on dignity.
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What they have and what they do are secondary to what they are….

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Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

Mother Teresa’s greatness and power arose because she addressed the most noble qualities within human nature—unconditional love and nonjudgmental compassion.

When someone dedicates their life to carrying out the principle of universal truth, that person becomes magnetic. They develop the power of attraction. What they have and what they do are secondary to what they are. It is that quality, which the world acknowledges and brings them, that we term success.

What was it that Mother Teresa acknowledged in others and, by so doing, magnificently brought forth for all of us to see in her? When she ministered to the poor and the sick and the dying in the streets of Kolkata, was she trying to save them from death? Was she trying to raise funds for the poor? No. What she ministered to and acknowledged was the intrinsic truth of human dignity, worth, value, nobility, lovability, and greatness. Those qualities are intrinsic in every human being no matter how abysmal their external life situation may seem to be.

The Map of Consciousness Explained: A Proven Energy Scale to Actualize Your Ultimate Potential by David R. Hawkins

Essence of Karma Yoga

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There are two aspects to any action. The first is to perform the action efficiently, perfectly. However perfectly an action may be performed there is always room for improvement. Hence the saying, ‘The largest room in the world is the room for improvement!’ The second aspect is the attitude with which the action is performed. Perfection in action is rather difficult but perfection in attitude is possible. If we perform actions with the right attitude, then however small or big the action, it will become great.  This is beautifully illustrated by the famous squirrel in the Ramayana, who out of love for Sri Rama tried to help the monkeys build the bridge across the ocean. The squirrel first wet itself in the water, then rolled in the sand and shook off the grains of sand on the bridge. This irritated the monkeys but Sri Rama understood the squirrel’s desire to assist in this great endeavour.

So only right actions (performing one’s obligatory duties) performed with the right attitude can be termed as karma yoga; otherwise it is merely karma, action.

-Swami Chinmayananda