Friends,
I know I am again today going to write on such a subject where there will be lots and lots of different type of opinions.
These are absolutely my views .....
I read today the below news which is pasted here and link given as well under it:
Meet Charles Feeney, Cornell's $350 Million Donor
The New York Times has unmasked 80-year-old Cornell alum Charles F. Feeney as the anonymous donor who gave the school a $350 million donation to construct a new technology-based satellite campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Officials at The Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation started by Feeney in 1982, confirmed to the paper last night that he was the one who made the gift for the project, which is expected to generate an extra $1.4 billion in tax revenue for the city, plus 20,000 construction jobs and as many as 30,000 new jobs once the facility is up and running.
Related: Bloomberg Chooses Cornell to Make New York a Silicon Valley 2.0
Which leads to the inevitable question: who is this guy? To begin with, he's a very rich guy. He co-founded Duty Free Shoppers Group in the early 1960s, and sold his stake in the company to LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton for $2.47 billion in 1996. At the time, The Times noted Feeney's "net worth far exceeds the $975 million estimated by Forbes magazine." After the sale, The Times reported estimated that the proceeds, paired with other funds Feeney turned over to the foundation "left the charity with $3.5 billion, even after the $610 million that has already been distributed to charities."
Related: Strauss-Kahn Pins Defense on Datebook, Claim of Consent
To that point, he'd be donating anonymously, but it was Judith Miller of The New York Times who coaxed Feeney into discussing his donations with a member of the press for the first time in 1997, though he wouldn't pose for a picture.
Related: Bloggers Unite Against Drunken Puppy Shopping
In adidition to donating to universities and hospitals, Feeney told Miller that he's also made personal contributions to Sinn Fein, the IRA's political arm, worth up to $280,000, which made him the organization's biggest American donor (Feeny holds dual citizenship.) As of 1997, the foundation's largest grant was $30 million, a figure that Feeney has dwarfed in recent years. In 2009, he gave $125 million to build a new medical center for the University of California-San Francisco that would treat women, children, and cancer patients. Over the course of the last decade, he's given more than €46m to the University of Limerick in Ireland. Hs total donations for Cornell over the years -- not counting the latest $350 hit -- exceed $600 million.
Related: Inside the Miraculous Math of the 9/11 Memorial
Perhaps not surprisingly, he took the "Giving Pledge" created by Bill and Melinda Gates earlier this year, vowing to give away everything in the Atlantic Properties coffers by 2020. As Dealbook noted at the time, the rapid timetable illustrates Feeney's specific brand of philanthropy, which eschews trusts and foundations for what he calls "giving while living," in which the philanthropist's goal is to become flat broke before his own death.
Related: Wall Street Occupiers Fear Drummers Will Be Their Undoing
Nearly every profile makes note of how unimpressed Feeney is with what his wealth can buy him, noting that he flies coach, wears a $15 watch, and doesn't own a house or a car. When Miller asked him why he decided to give everything away, Feeney replied, "I simply decided I had enough money."
In 2007, when The New York Times convinced him to sit for a profile again, Jim Dwyer said, not inaccurately, that Feeney was "what Donald Trump would be if he led his life backward."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-charles-feeney-cornells-350-million-donor-161507712.html
My Views:
Whenever I read such type of news I get disturbed.Disturbed in the sense that why that is not happening in India?What is wrong with us?We have old heritage of 5000 years and we have Vedas, Upnishad, Puranas , Ramayana , Mahabharat and above all which is known and globally acclaimed Bhagvad Gita.
We have excellent charectors like Lord Rama, Lord Krishna depicted in our ages old scripture and we have read them and we even give examples of them.
Then why there is no rich and wealthy man coming out to give everything he has owned and give it back to the society?
Why we are seeing Americans doing that?Are they mad?Are they insane?Are they trying to show to the world how much they are great?
Why it is not happening in our country? Why we Indians wants more and more money?Why we are not satisfied and we come to the conclusion that now it is time to give it back from where we got it?
We keep boasting about our sculpture and thousand of years old heritage but is that making any sense?
It seems like that , anywhere ,we have never been taught to be patriot.These thousands of years old heritage has not taught us to be patriot.We, Indians are missing it.
We are not satisfied with what we have.We want more and more.We want more power, we want more money and we want to show to the relatives and friends what we have got and we want to be proud of it.We don't care for anyone except us.We don't have any gratitude for someone who has helped us.We are SELFCENTERED.We just think of ourselves.For everything we do, " I" comes first.
Why we have no WB's, why we have no Bill Gates, why we have no Charles Fenny? and what we need to see is , WB lives in his decades old house.He has not build a house like Mukesh Ambani or Laxmi Mittal,Charles Fenny has no car, he wear a $15 cost watch.So it is not that he spend everything all his life and after getting satisfied he came out to do philanthropic activities.
These all people never read Bhagvad Gita, never read Vedas, Upnishad or Poranas and still they donates and donates everything they earned in their life.
It is not easy to donates eveything one has earned in life and perticularly when it is billions of dollars.Just imagine ,if we have to give a present we will think many times how much it will cost,if we have to help someone we will see whether he will be able to pay us back and if not whether he will be of any help in future.Then how these Americans whom we call the most cunning fellow able to do that for their country?
Just try to give someone something without expecting anything.Just try it.It is not possible.We are very narrow minded.We can't give anything to anyone.We have not learned to give.Our heart is too small to do that.Ham bolte rehte hai, dil bada hona chahiye lekin asal main hum sirf bolte hai....doosro ko kehne ke liye.......lekin hamara dil bada nahi hai......main to tumhari bat karta tha...meri nahi......lol.....We are experts in giving advice......Kis ko kya karna chahiye, kya nahi karna chahiye , ye sab hum batete hai doosron ko lekin hum apni bat nahi karte , ki hamein kya karna hai ya karna chaahiye tha........we are always ready to show others mistake but never look at what we have done......
It seems that there is something missing in our centuries old books.
I donno but whenever I read such news I get disturbed.Why it is not happening in India?
The thought doesn't come to us to help others.We do not take pity of anyone else. We are not concerned about the trouble of our countryman.We are not troubled to see someone going through pain.Actually we are opposite of that nature.We become happy when someone is in pain.If someone lose something we become happy.Doosre ke dukh se ham ko mann ki shanti milti hai.
If someone cars gets broke we become happy and that is the reason we put a scratch on someone car.We don't like our neighbour or relatives remain happy.If they are happy we are unhappy.
What is this?Ye kya hai?Is ko kis type ki mentality kahenge?What type of mentality we will call it?
We never think of people who are suffering.Suffering from various desiese like Cancer etc and hence we do not donate.Tears do not come out from our eyes.Ours eyes has dried.No tears left.We have become ruthless.
Something somewhere is wrong.We only blame others.We keep fighting for our selves.We never think of fighting for others.
I know I have talked on this subject many times and many may even dislike it but I can't resist myself writing this and hence I have written.Those who feel to ignore this post need to do it.
I know I am again today going to write on such a subject where there will be lots and lots of different type of opinions.
These are absolutely my views .....
I read today the below news which is pasted here and link given as well under it:
Meet Charles Feeney, Cornell's $350 Million Donor
The New York Times has unmasked 80-year-old Cornell alum Charles F. Feeney as the anonymous donor who gave the school a $350 million donation to construct a new technology-based satellite campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Officials at The Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation started by Feeney in 1982, confirmed to the paper last night that he was the one who made the gift for the project, which is expected to generate an extra $1.4 billion in tax revenue for the city, plus 20,000 construction jobs and as many as 30,000 new jobs once the facility is up and running.
Related: Bloomberg Chooses Cornell to Make New York a Silicon Valley 2.0
Which leads to the inevitable question: who is this guy? To begin with, he's a very rich guy. He co-founded Duty Free Shoppers Group in the early 1960s, and sold his stake in the company to LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton for $2.47 billion in 1996. At the time, The Times noted Feeney's "net worth far exceeds the $975 million estimated by Forbes magazine." After the sale, The Times reported estimated that the proceeds, paired with other funds Feeney turned over to the foundation "left the charity with $3.5 billion, even after the $610 million that has already been distributed to charities."
Related: Strauss-Kahn Pins Defense on Datebook, Claim of Consent
To that point, he'd be donating anonymously, but it was Judith Miller of The New York Times who coaxed Feeney into discussing his donations with a member of the press for the first time in 1997, though he wouldn't pose for a picture.
Related: Bloggers Unite Against Drunken Puppy Shopping
In adidition to donating to universities and hospitals, Feeney told Miller that he's also made personal contributions to Sinn Fein, the IRA's political arm, worth up to $280,000, which made him the organization's biggest American donor (Feeny holds dual citizenship.) As of 1997, the foundation's largest grant was $30 million, a figure that Feeney has dwarfed in recent years. In 2009, he gave $125 million to build a new medical center for the University of California-San Francisco that would treat women, children, and cancer patients. Over the course of the last decade, he's given more than €46m to the University of Limerick in Ireland. Hs total donations for Cornell over the years -- not counting the latest $350 hit -- exceed $600 million.
Related: Inside the Miraculous Math of the 9/11 Memorial
Perhaps not surprisingly, he took the "Giving Pledge" created by Bill and Melinda Gates earlier this year, vowing to give away everything in the Atlantic Properties coffers by 2020. As Dealbook noted at the time, the rapid timetable illustrates Feeney's specific brand of philanthropy, which eschews trusts and foundations for what he calls "giving while living," in which the philanthropist's goal is to become flat broke before his own death.
Related: Wall Street Occupiers Fear Drummers Will Be Their Undoing
Nearly every profile makes note of how unimpressed Feeney is with what his wealth can buy him, noting that he flies coach, wears a $15 watch, and doesn't own a house or a car. When Miller asked him why he decided to give everything away, Feeney replied, "I simply decided I had enough money."
In 2007, when The New York Times convinced him to sit for a profile again, Jim Dwyer said, not inaccurately, that Feeney was "what Donald Trump would be if he led his life backward."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-charles-feeney-cornells-350-million-donor-161507712.html
My Views:
Whenever I read such type of news I get disturbed.Disturbed in the sense that why that is not happening in India?What is wrong with us?We have old heritage of 5000 years and we have Vedas, Upnishad, Puranas , Ramayana , Mahabharat and above all which is known and globally acclaimed Bhagvad Gita.
We have excellent charectors like Lord Rama, Lord Krishna depicted in our ages old scripture and we have read them and we even give examples of them.
Then why there is no rich and wealthy man coming out to give everything he has owned and give it back to the society?
Why we are seeing Americans doing that?Are they mad?Are they insane?Are they trying to show to the world how much they are great?
Why it is not happening in our country? Why we Indians wants more and more money?Why we are not satisfied and we come to the conclusion that now it is time to give it back from where we got it?
We keep boasting about our sculpture and thousand of years old heritage but is that making any sense?
It seems like that , anywhere ,we have never been taught to be patriot.These thousands of years old heritage has not taught us to be patriot.We, Indians are missing it.
We are not satisfied with what we have.We want more and more.We want more power, we want more money and we want to show to the relatives and friends what we have got and we want to be proud of it.We don't care for anyone except us.We don't have any gratitude for someone who has helped us.We are SELFCENTERED.We just think of ourselves.For everything we do, " I" comes first.
Why we have no WB's, why we have no Bill Gates, why we have no Charles Fenny? and what we need to see is , WB lives in his decades old house.He has not build a house like Mukesh Ambani or Laxmi Mittal,Charles Fenny has no car, he wear a $15 cost watch.So it is not that he spend everything all his life and after getting satisfied he came out to do philanthropic activities.
These all people never read Bhagvad Gita, never read Vedas, Upnishad or Poranas and still they donates and donates everything they earned in their life.
It is not easy to donates eveything one has earned in life and perticularly when it is billions of dollars.Just imagine ,if we have to give a present we will think many times how much it will cost,if we have to help someone we will see whether he will be able to pay us back and if not whether he will be of any help in future.Then how these Americans whom we call the most cunning fellow able to do that for their country?
Just try to give someone something without expecting anything.Just try it.It is not possible.We are very narrow minded.We can't give anything to anyone.We have not learned to give.Our heart is too small to do that.Ham bolte rehte hai, dil bada hona chahiye lekin asal main hum sirf bolte hai....doosro ko kehne ke liye.......lekin hamara dil bada nahi hai......main to tumhari bat karta tha...meri nahi......lol.....We are experts in giving advice......Kis ko kya karna chahiye, kya nahi karna chahiye , ye sab hum batete hai doosron ko lekin hum apni bat nahi karte , ki hamein kya karna hai ya karna chaahiye tha........we are always ready to show others mistake but never look at what we have done......
It seems that there is something missing in our centuries old books.
I donno but whenever I read such news I get disturbed.Why it is not happening in India?
The thought doesn't come to us to help others.We do not take pity of anyone else. We are not concerned about the trouble of our countryman.We are not troubled to see someone going through pain.Actually we are opposite of that nature.We become happy when someone is in pain.If someone lose something we become happy.Doosre ke dukh se ham ko mann ki shanti milti hai.
If someone cars gets broke we become happy and that is the reason we put a scratch on someone car.We don't like our neighbour or relatives remain happy.If they are happy we are unhappy.
What is this?Ye kya hai?Is ko kis type ki mentality kahenge?What type of mentality we will call it?
We never think of people who are suffering.Suffering from various desiese like Cancer etc and hence we do not donate.Tears do not come out from our eyes.Ours eyes has dried.No tears left.We have become ruthless.
Something somewhere is wrong.We only blame others.We keep fighting for our selves.We never think of fighting for others.
I know I have talked on this subject many times and many may even dislike it but I can't resist myself writing this and hence I have written.Those who feel to ignore this post need to do it.
For decades we wanted to become like Americans, now we have become but aren't liking it.
ReplyDeleteThe above phrase defines your current mental state.
Sukanya,
ReplyDeleteI didn't understand at all what u r saying.We wanted to become like Americans and we have become?Is it so?When we Indians ( or rather me became like Americans?)
Sukanya, I donno, but you have so much hatered for Americans, that it comes out very quickly on surface.
Sukanya, what I was trying to say was only confined to Philanthropic activities.But your prejudice for USA and their people are so big that you never confess anything good happenining there in USA.
You clearly writes that you have been able to define my current mental state.
Thanks for reading my mind that how much Americanized I have become.......Thanks, Sukanya...many mnay Thanks.....
No rajeev the word "We" means we Indians and not you. For decades we wanted to become like Americans, we wanted to wear clothes like they wear, we wanted to behave the way they behave, we wanted to imitate them by all means saying they are modern. Then we started to follow their business model as well which is based on only-for-profit concept. Slowly we lost our culture and now we live only for ourselves, only for me, only for money. But aren't liking it. When we purposely wanted to become the way we have become then why are we crying now. Why are we complaining now that we live only for ourselves, we don't donate, and all those blah blah. Whatever we are doing now, is what was considered to be modern few decades back and it is people who have similar thought like you who encouraged to import this crap into India. Now that this crap has gone into our blood, then we should not regret.
ReplyDeleteSukanya,
ReplyDeleteIf as you say, we wanted to be like Americans then why we didn't own the good qualities of people there?
No Sukanya , it is not so.We wants to imitate what we like and disowned what we don't want to do.Read it carefully...what I am saying...we imbibe what we wants to do....and do not follow what we don't want to do....so there is something wrong in our charector or thinking....why blame Americans?Isn't there something good in America?Why we aren't following that?If we are following what is bad about the culture or wahtever there are some good qualities as well, why we are not following it?
Sukanya, that is the point I am trying to write.I again repeat, understand what I am trying to say.....if someone don't understand what I am trying to say one will misunderstand me....
When you write, " it is people who have similar thought like you who encouraged to import this crap into India" it is so that those like me who tried to import things was all crap?
Was there atall no good intentions or good qualities people like mewere talking?Why we Indians didn't take that and learned that?Because we wanted to follow what we wanted to do..and that is CRAP..SIMPLE.....
Dear Rajeev,
ReplyDeleteTheoretically it sounds to be practical that we should accept good things along with the things that we want to follow but in real life it seldom happens. It is like teaching someone to drink liquor and then ask him that please drink only a certain amount everyday.
What we forget is that the very habit of drinking will slowly force you to drink more and more and one day you will ruin your life. The guy who encouraged to drink cannot say that hey I asked you to drink only small amount, why did you drink more.
The same is the case with everything in life. One cannot pluck a rose without thorns in it. Its a package given by nature, before plucking it one should make himself ready for the thorns in it and must not complaint later.
When India went for globalization for the sake of employment and progress, the people of India must also make themselves ready to accept the thorns in it, progress cannot come without profit in the business, profit will not come unless one works for profit. This will eventually develop the mentality of people to work for profit day and night sacrificing their sleep, quality time with their family, time for friends, time for philanthropy, etc etc, everything sacrificed. A thorn in the rose of globalization. Once we have chosen our path, we should not regret it.
No offense against America, what I am trying to say is that in real life, things don't work in isolated form but it works in the form of a package. Both good and bad will come in a bundled format with everything.
You may think that then how is it working in USA, for that you just have to think that there are only few handful of ppl who are donating like this, rest of USA is busy in amassing wealth. That number of donors can be found in India also.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts..Sukanya
ReplyDeleteDear Rajeev Ji,
ReplyDeleteI was an active reader of you on moneycontrol mmb board few years back and then in early years on this blog, but over last 2/3 years due to my personal situation was not reading the blog everyday.
I have read the above article today and I totally agree with everything you have written in your views. Somewhere we have never been taught the art/thoughts of giving back to needy/poor/society.
Thanks & Regards.
Sumit.
Hi Rajeev,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the above blog, i feel:
1. we need to appreciate the people who donate.... irrespective of them being American/Indian.
2. The above comments says that we do not have time for Philanthropic activities. Its all in the mind. I suggest people not to donate money into Temple Hundi- God is rich and he needs your bakthi and shraddha not ur money :). Donate the same money to a poor begger, ppl in need.
Everyday we waste so much food in our house, cant we donate that? As a small kid i was told share what ever you have-even a small bar of chocolate needs to be shared with friends.... that has taught me gift of giving.
For last diwali i had donated 2.5k to a family for solar lighting through www.giveindia.org/... its easy if u think...its hard if think so.... its all in our mind.
3.Why blame ambani,mittal and others. Look into ourselves first, have I done something for ppl around me? We have the answer.
Ashwin
Hi Ashwin,
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely true.I also do the same, only thing is, I do not mention.
Ashwin, I have no right to write such things at my blog if I am not following it and if I do so, my conseience bits me.It will be a great disrespect for myself if I just write something at my blog and I do not follow it.
Yes, it is true that we need to look at ourself, why blame someone else or for that matter blame policies for that?Are we that immature to understand what we need to do can take a different course on looking at others?We are literate people and we have our own thinking, why we should get carried away by western countries if it is bad?But no, we want to follow them because we want to do it........that is the bottomline....
That was my point here in this post.We are to blame and we can't make others to be a cause for any of our misdeed.......hum dodh pite bachee nahi hai.....
Dear Rajeev,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading above two comments, your comment and Ashwin's comment, one thing is sure that we do donate and we Indian are not as bad as you have abused them in your article. Even you accept that you have donated, others have donated then what was the point of writing the article that Indians do not donate. Has it become a fashion for us to abuse everything that belongs to India and praise every crap of USA. Just go through your article once and see how much venom you have spitted against Indians. Itne bure bhi nahi hain bhai hum Indians. Even I donate, one of my relative maintains a separate bank account for donation purpose. Every month a fixed amount is saved in that and donated at appropriate time. What else is required from Indians. 4 billionaires donate in america and we make them the representative of whole usa and write that every american is a God. First visit bangalore and see that there is a hospital that does free heart surgery and till now thousands of surgeries free of cost with the money donated by the so called nasty Indians. Then go to Narayan sansthan and see that many orthopedic operations are done free of cost by the money donated by Indians. Then go to USA and get any surgery done, one has to sell his children to get himself cured. I don't know who is getting benefited by the billion dollors donated by the great guys. I think only Monsanto company is getting benefited. While writing a article pls also mention where the donated money is flowing, has anyone really benefited from that or is it just a ploy to save tax. Yesterday I read that 1 millions dollar of tax payer money was wasted to make a Pakistani movie by a NGO in USA. If this is what the great money is being used for then better it be not donated at all. I have no problem if you abuse Indians for right reasons but telling lies is bad on your part.
Sukanya,
ReplyDeleteI got the message.Everything is fine in India and in USA or other part of the world ,is going from bad to worse.....
Sukanya,
ReplyDeleteOn my side I will only say, that it is not venom...that I am throwing out.....
Dear Rajeev,
ReplyDeleteIt was never out of patriotism that I talked in favor of India. Even if you had talked the same about Africa, I would have given the same comments. Its never about patriotism. I will be the biggest fool if I support my country's drawbacks just for the sake of being patriotic.
What I tried to say was that it is not about character but instead it is about system. Your article was targeting the character that Indians must have good character and must learn to help others and I was saying that it is all about system and character has nothing to do with it.
One example I will give:
A guy working in ICICI bank will attend his customers very well, he will talk to his customers very well, one will be impressed by him very much. On the other hand go to a govt bank and you will see that the customers are not attended properly, employees misbehave with them. Now just think that is it the character that is driving the ICICI employee to behave well or is it the system of ICICI that is making the employee to behave well with the customers irrespective of his personal nature.
I know you know the answer.
This is what I was saying about the article also. Americans are also humans only. They also eat things made of wheat, rice, dal, etc. They also suffer from greed, anger, jealousy, etc. They aren't super humans who will think about their countrymen first and themselves second. It is the system that is driving them to do what they are doing. The same system will drive Indians also one day. US govt did not develop their infra out of passion or goodwill for fellow countrymen. This all happened for vote banks. The same vote bank politics will drive indian govt to increase infra spending and one day we will see good infra in India also. But we should never forget that all this happened for vote banks and not out of character. Its all about system. Humans are always guided by system, this is what the bottom-line is.
Don't feel hurt. I was just sharing my thoughts.
Hi Sukanya,
ReplyDeleteI concur with you regarding politicians creating such huge infra for vote banks, but why isnt that being done in India Yet... :)
About donating/helping the poor no matter what happens system change/parliament bill created/govt rule... ppl will not be held responsible for not donating. Its within us if we feel that we need to help the needy.
Warren buffet and Bill Gates feel that the divide between the Rich and the Poor is getting wider and that would be the next cause of civil war across the world.
I guess Our Leaders are listening... in the mean time let donate to our ability.
Ashwin
Dear Ashwin,
ReplyDeleteFirst thing, I am not against donation :) I don't know why everyone is thinking like that. I believe that if we want a change, we should target the right problem, the actual culprit, if our basic understanding is based on different aspect then we wd never get the right solution.
Coming to your question that why has the vote bank politics not yet fructified in favor of india. I think you remember the year 1991 when india opened the market. Was it for the welfare of people ? or was it the weakening system and falling economy that pushed that reform ?
One thing needs to be understood is that every country needs its own time for such compulsions. USA got independence long back and there are other things like population and available land and resources that can be utilized for meeting our goals. India does not have such rich resources and that is why it will take some time but rest assured we will see good infra within next decade. Of-course we won't have glass like shining roads like USA has but we don't need it either to look our face in the road for combing our hairs :). Roads that are good enough for driving our vehicles, cut short long distances for logistics is more than enough. Anything more than this is waste of money.
About donation, yes it should come from within, but how will that happen ?
Buffet and Gates can donate like that because they don't have any insecurity about their future. Can you and me do that? don't we have future requirements. Can we afford to donate half of our wealth. Of-course not. What ppl like you and me can do is to donate affordable amount to any NGO or to some charity hospitals. And about that I already said that millions of Indians are donating like that already.
So now who is left, its the rich Indians. So what can make them donate half of their wealth? Well its a question that needs to be discussed in detail, can do some other time......