Money Can Buy Me Love...& Happiness...If...

Money Can Buy Me Love…& Happiness…If…

March 22nd, 2008 by SWARAAJ CHAUHAN, International Columnist

In the Indian subcontinent the virtues/benefits of “selfless-giving” is not only woven into the religious/social/spiritual discourse in all religions from time immemorial, but commonly practised even by those whose financial position may be just above the subsistence level. Now a “scientific study” (from the very bastion of self-acquisitive culture) tells us that “money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it on someone else.”

“Spending as little as $5 (about 2.52 pence) a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found,” reports Reuters. “Their experiments on more than 630 Americans showed they were measurably happier when they spent money on others — even if they thought spending the money on themselves would make them happier. Indeed, although real incomes have surged dramatically in recent decades, happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries across time.”

More here…

“There are many references that support the concept of donation in Hindu scriptures. ‘Daan’ or ‘Daanam’ is the original word in Sanskrit for donation, meaning selfless giving. In the list of the ten ‘Niyamas’ (virtuous acts) Daan comes third. Daan, however, is the process whereby the good things in the universe are made to circulate in the whole community instead of being locked up in the stagnant individual centers, whether it is money, time, knowledge or actions; and daan is thus a means of breaking down the barriers of egoism. Therefore, when actions consisting of yagya, daan and tapas are performed, through such actions, both the individual and the society prosper in a sustainable natural environment. And this, we are told, is the ultimate goal of governance for all the good governments of the world.” More here…

For a somewhat academic piece on this subject please click here…

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 am and is filed under Social Commentary, Popular Culture, Psychology, India, Asia, Miscellaneous, Religion, Literature. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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