Balanced Giving: Chanakya's Wisdom in Modern Context

We generally say that when we do charity, we should not see the result. We should not worry about how the recipient is going to make use of what you have given. We should restrict ourselves to just the act of giving and not about its consequences neither to ourselves nor to others.

But Chanakya has a different opinion about this.
केवोलं धनानि निक्षेप्तुः न स्वार्थं न दानं न धर्मः
If you just spend money indiscriminately, there is no benefit for yourself, there is no benefit in terms of acquiring good karma, there is no benefit from the point of view of performing your duty.

Let's look at this from a contemporary context. Let's say you are a business owner or a person with the power to make decisions regarding how money should be spent. If you are splurging money on yourself, the benefit is only very short-term. I am not talking about maintaining a good standard of living. Suppose you are spending 10,000 rupees on a meal just because you have that kind of money, how long the pleasure and satisfaction going to last? Only till the time you feel hungry and thirsty again.

Now let's say you are overspending on your friends, relatives, or favorite people. The benefit will be medium-term, a few months or years, not more. They are going to forget what you have done unless you go on doing this, continuously.

Suppose you are doing this for your employees. Let's say the market standard for your industry for annual increment is 10%. You are giving 30%. Will it help? The expectations of your employees will go on increasing. 40%, 50%, 60%. And at some point in time, you are not able to do that due to market conditions, low business, a recession. Dissatisfaction spreads. Even though spending money on your employees has long-term benefits, moderation is the key here.

What is danam? Giving meals to the homeless, contributing towards the building of a temple, donating towards the education of the poor. This is not compulsory; it is voluntary. Here also you are benefited in terms of positive karma only if your donation is reaching the right people and serving the right purpose. I was recently seeing the financial statement of a Trust. It is a public document. This Trust was set up by a doctor in the year 2004. Its purpose is to provide equipment for the physically handicapped, you know stuff like prosthetic leg. The Trust started with a corpus of 5000 rupees and in 2023 they have assets worth 43 crores as per the balance sheet. It is not creating wealth like a business enterprise. It's collecting donations in some pretext and keeping it in a bank account. As per law, you can retain only a small percentage of what you have collected for future use. The rest has to be spent in the same year itself on the purposes for which the Trust is formed. But in 20 years if a Trust has created assets worth 43 crores, it is obvious that these laws can be circumvented. Suppose you had donated 1000 rupees to this Trust in good faith, it would have been put to use or sitting in some bank account. We have charitable organizations sitting on thousands of crores of assets. They do lip service to their causes, showcase something to impress and influence the public and go on collecting more and more donations. Do you think donating to such organizations will get you any positive karma? Even in charity, you should be aware, alert, and use discrimination. That is the key here.

You may be responsible for the salary and wages policy of your organization as a part of your duty. You may be a director, a CEO. Here also you are duty-bound to be fair. As I said before, 40%, 50% increments may make you popular among the employees. But what is the long-term impact? Is it sustainable? Rapid and unsustainable salary growth can strain financial resources. It can lead to budgetary challenges or the need for layoffs in the future. Maintaining the financial health of the organization is also very important. That is also part of your duty. Striking a balance is the key here.

So your spending should have a meaningful purpose and it should bring positive outcomes. Indiscriminate spending or over-generosity may yield only short-term benefits. Whether it's indulging oneself, lavishing gifts on others, or excessively increasing employee benefits, the satisfaction derived from such actions could be short-term and unsustainable. Chanakya advocates for moderation and balance in all forms of giving, be it spending your own money, charity, or spending as part of your duty. Be cautious about donating to organizations that may misuse funds or prioritize accumulating assets over fulfilling their objectives. Even in professional decision-making, you should act responsibly and consider the long-term implications of your actions. Balancing the needs of stakeholders, maintaining financial sustainability, and upholding ethical standards are important in fulfilling your duties and responsibilities.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi