Wealth management: Filing Vedic returns (Part 3)
Dr KK Aggarwal
Every year all of us file our returns for the previous
financial year. This is mandatory. Some of us also pay off instalments or EMIs
(equated monthly instalment) on loans etc.
It is also important to file our Vedic returns on the
total wealth accumulated by us. To reiterate, money alone is not wealth. The
eight forms of Goddess Lakshmi or “Ashta Lakshmi” describe our total wealth, as
I discussed few days back. All these forms of wealth are also taken into
consideration, when one is writing their will.
Evaluation of wealth or value of a company (or your
own), also includes evaluation of the people as a resource and the business
plan of the company (or your own growth plan). A company’s worth is not just assessed
by its assets as they stand today. Five or 10 years down the line will also decide
the assets of a company. Here lies the importance of a business plan (or your
retirement plan).
If you try to earn
without planning, several hardships will come your way. Doing it with
meticulous planning gives you ‘effortless earning’ as also described by Dr
Deepak Chopra as ‘Law of least effort’ in his book ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of
Success’. He writes “If you observe nature at work, you will see that least effort is
expended… And it is human nature to make our dreams manifest into physical
form, easily and effortlessly. In Vedic Science,
the age-old philosophy of India, this principle is known as the principle of economy
of effort, or “do less and accomplish more”.
As
per Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, any wealth acquired more than one needs will not
allow one to sleep properly.
In
a dialogue with King Dhritrashtra in Vidura Niti, Vidura has also included
money as a cause of insomnia or sleeplessness. He said, “Sleeplessness
overtakes a thief (one has stolen somebody’s money), a lustful person, him that
has lost all his wealth, him that has failed to achieve success, and him also
that is weak and has been attacked by a strong person”.
Lord
Krishna in Bhagavad Gītā said that whatever elders do, others follow the same.
If one acquired money out of unfair means, it is likely that the next
generation will follow the same
Chanakya
in his neeti wrote that the cycle of corruption does not last for more than
eight years. According to Chanakya, non-righteously earned money will not last
for more than eight years and those who have acquired money by unethical means
will have to pay back to the society within eight years.
Ethical
earning is a part of ethical medicine. Accepting rebates and commission from
diagnostic centers/laboratories and hospitals or fee splitting without involving
any service for the referring, recommending or procuring of any patient is
unethical. And, any income generated out of such practices is unethical earning
Dharma, Artha,
Kama, Moksha are the four basic purposes of life. It means earning righteously
with a desire to fulfil the inner happiness. The word ‘Artha’ relates to
righteous earning. Any unrighteous earning can put one into danger.
To
achieve good karma, Vedas teaches us that one should live according to dharma
(the right action). This involves doing what is right for the individual, the
family and for the universe. As per Bhagavat Purana, righteous living or life
on a dharmic path has four pillars: Truthfulness (satya), austerity (tap),
purity (shauch) and compassion (daya). It further adds that the adharmic or
unrighteous life has three vices: Pride (ahankar), contact (sangh), and
intoxication (madya).
File
your Vedic returns once a week, once a month or yearly to see if the balance is
in the negative or positive. You can choose your birthday to do so, or at
Diwali or Chaitra navratri.
Also
make a balance sheet of our three debts or rins (Dev Rin, Pitra Rin and Rishi
Rin) on the day you choose and pay them if not paid by this time. God or the
devtas gave us the consciousness, parents gave us our body and teachers gave us
the knowledge or intellect
Disclaimer: The
views expressed in this write up are entirely my own.
