Punjab Newspaper

Trust is the backbone of our family and business, said His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at a session on “Eliminating Corruption: Ethics is Good Business’ being organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today. He chose to speak in Hindi. We are not proud of our mother tongue and that is the reason it has not received any recognition abroad despite India being one of the largest nations in the world, His Holiness lamented.
He saw that people abroad are prejudiced against India but lamented that we ourselves project a wrong image of our own country. This is the easiest way to destroy the economy, tourism and progress of a country. He said that no efforts are being made to project the country’s progress and development.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji emphasized that corruption can be stopped by inculcating a sense of belongingness which is absent today. Terrorism is also a form of corruption because people do not feel themselves a part of world’s family. He referred to the concept of Langar – a community lunch which was conceived by our forefathers to generate that sense of belongingness. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar referred to Stanford’s study of trustworthiness which has gone down from four to nil. This has become a major problem. One should believe in self, society and God. Such trust is declining thus leading to corruption.
Sri Sri was disappointed at the increasing rates of female foeticide, and consumption of drugs and alcohol amongst the youths in Punjab. He advised that we must learn the art of teamwork from the Japanese and should not waste time in discussions and conflicts. We should also learn the art of precision from the Germans and marketing skills from Americans.
His Holiness pointed out that a person who is not confident about one’s own abilities and capabilities is a corrupt one. He advised that people should adopt yoga, meditation, improve eating habits, follow ethical practices, and work diligently and dedicatedly to eliminate corruption. Sri Sri remarked that India is endowed with spiritual power and each individual can bring about positive change in the world. We have to create an environment of trust, awake the divinity within ourselves and sail through life with a bit of humour.
S. Parkash Singh Badal, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Punjab regretted that we are not following honestly the teachings of Guru about ‘Naam Japna’, ‘Kirt Karna’ and ‘Vand Shakna’. He shared with the delegates that 85 Adarsh schools are being opened in Punjab with the help of industry. S. Badal requested Sri Sri to teach the people to care for the poor. The CM mentioned that corruption is like cancer and everyone is in the race for making quick money, which is a sad affair. He said that only reformers like Sri Sri could take the right message to the grassroot level.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister of State for Finance said that ethics is an issue that touches every aspect of our life which needs to be discussed.
Welcoming the delegates at the session, Mr. Sanjay Bhatia, President, PHD Chamber affirmed that our endeavour should be to grow on the foundation of good business practices. He expressed his gratefulness for two initiatives taken by the Government – Right to Information Act and promotion of E-governance.
Mr. Bhatia mentioned that the Chamber has adopted the motto ‘Ethics is good Business’ as a corporate governance practice. He referred to the successive crumbling of many international corporations on account of failure of governance, requisite lack of transparence and accountability.
he President said that good governance of corporations is a source of competitive advantage and critical to economic and social progress. He emphasized that being ethical does not mean one cannot be profitable. The purpose of organizing this session would be best served provided there is a renewed commitment by all the stakeholders towards ethics.
In his introductory remarks, Shri Ashok Khanna, Past President and Chairman, Regional Development Council, PHD Chamber said that the word “ethics” has been defined literally as moral values. Business ethics is the behaviour that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world, they apply not only to how the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings with customers.