Sixteen billionaires have joined a movement, the Giving Pledge, started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, and agreed to disburse their fortunes. They include Mark Zuckerberg, Nicholas Berggruen, Lee and Toby Cooperman, and Denny Sanford. The billionaires have signed the Giving Pledge, which asks its signatories to commit publicly to give away the majority of their wealth. This is a great example of the Corporate Sufi philosophy: Individuals make money through hard work and dedication and share their success to make the world a better place.
Rajinikanth, a superstar actor in the South Indian film industry, is well known for his charitable work. At one of the functions where he was speaking, someone asked him why he indulged in so much charity. He replied: “When you travel to Japan, you convert rupees to yen, while travelling to Europe it is converted to euro’s or pounds for the UK and dollars for US and Canada. The reason we convert is because we need the local currency of the place which one travels to. Similarly, charity is my way of converting to the currency for life after death or next life.”
Ranjan Das, a CEO/MD of SAP India, had a successful corporate life but died at the young age of 42, even though he was reported to have hardly ever missed a gym workout. He was born and raised in India and received a scholarship to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering. He then went on to attain an MBA from
Harvard Business School and became CEO and managing director of SAP Indian Subcontinent, playing a huge role in taking the business of SAP India to greater heights in the two years ending 2009. One of his favourite quotes was “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. One day we all have to sleep permanently. What is the mark we want to leave behind?”
Even if you’re not rich or very successful, you can still give something. What are you giving today?
There are many things you can give other than money—skills, knowledge, wisdom, time, a listening ear and your experience, to name a few. No one is unable to give. A person who is blind and has no money can give his prayers and good wishes.
The best way to give is unconditionally, with love and authenticity, and the best time to give is now. As William Penn says, “If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”