In the recent weeks Bill Gates has announced that he will resign from the post of the head of the Microsoft Company . The reason he provided was he can now spend more time on social projects at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Our very own Narayana Murthy of Infosys, a software icon had just announced that he wished to step down from the position of a chairman. Narayana Murthy cited company rules as the reason. He now wishes to spend more time in the social field.
Now comes Warren Buffet's (The billionaire investor) announcement of giving away 85 percent of his wealth. Which means he has donated about $44-billion, to philanthropic causes. The news has it that this donation made by Buffet is the single largest one in the history of philanthropy. Even higher than the sums given by Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller.
Just got wondering if entrepreneurs are turning into full time philanthropists. Initially giving out donations to needy causes was just considered a part of building the image of self/company. But people like Bill Gates have taken up the cause of the underprivileged people with gusto. Entrepreneurs who have seen success early are not hesitating to share their wealth with others.
To part with smaller sums is difficult for lesser mortals. What then becomes the turning point for generosity. I feel at an individual level being generous means giving others what you have NOW. It is not about the future. Generosity is linked with our inner attitudes and not with what our net worth.
4 comments:
Some thoughts : I think that Generosity should not be measured by the monetary yardstick alone. There are many people who may not have the money to donate but have given their time and effort for philanthropic causes.
I just don't understand this..why would one want to publicise their philanthropic efforts ? Am I missing something ? After all, you wanted to donate and you donated..why should the whole world know ?
If one goes deep into the Hindu shastras on can understand this kind of charity better,one will comprehend that we r merely custodians of wealth and not the real owners, once we believe this we will be able to be generous and find it easy to give away ,wealth must flow and not be stagnant.After all dont we believe in 'vasudeva kutubakam'?
The very fact that this donation has attracted ur attention shows that u too can be generous, infact this is one of the reasons charity needs to be advertised!
anonymous
What drives charity in anyone? Fundamentally, it is selfishness. You donate (time/money) and feel good that you could help. It works out to the good of others in this case. So I guess this is the good-side of being selfish (?!?). Ofcourse I'm using selfish in the mildest meaning of the word.
I thought a lot about what you all have said. Donating money is probably the easiest thing to do. Social upliftment and hard core social work requires a lot more effort and commitment. I strongly feel generosity is motivated by some higher calling. A case in point, recently after the Mumbai bomb blasts, I read a story in TOI about a man who donated about Rs 2.75 lakhs to anybody who needed it at Sion Hospital. His reason was people just walked out of their homes looking for loved ones without a lot of cash on them. He helped people settle bills and buy medicines with that money. He has just married off his daughter and has a huge transport business. No ulterior motive. A well to do man just felt the need to help people. In my opinion he wasnt obliged to do anything, but answered to some inner urge to help.
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