I have been travelling a lot in the past few weeks; from the heat of location shooting at Jodhpur to the monsoon rains of Mumbai to the bracing weather at the Toronto International Film Festival. The travel has been debilitating, but it
has also been very educative. All week long, I have had the privilege of watching the movers and shakers of the global entertainment business, and also their Indian counterparts. And the inescapable truth is that I am in the midst of perhaps the most privileged — and most recognisable people — in this planet.
Being in the midst of such celebrities for a week made me wonder about the role of socially-conscious privileged persons in society. Should they live an abstemious life, eschew wealth, and turn to spiritualism, as is the popular concept of people renouncing their status to seek the Truth; like Gautam Buddha? Or should they give away their hard-earned millions and billions to charity, but still keep making fortunes, like the Bill Gates and Warren Buffets? Indeed, traditionally, the quest for spiritual growth has never sat together with wealth. All the sages have endured penury and hardship before finding a meaning to their lives. But does everyone need spirituality?
The super rich are quite focused on what they are doing and they want to give back to society a fair share of what they feel they owe it. They start their own foundations and try to alleviate hunger, mitigate suffering, conquer disease or spread education. But there are a whole lot of other people out there who are constantly grappling with being successful and wondering how best to use their wealth to help their less fortunate brethren. They sometimes find a cause and a charity which endears itself to them. And they often wonder if they should go in for a spot of luxury, or a comfort, without guilt, when that money can help someone less fortunate.
As an example, a photographer would like to know if he should invest in a camera costing `5 lakh, when he already has other expensive cameras, or should he donate that money. Many would say that he should give it all to charity. But I think that the decision lies with the individual; if the camera would enable him to shoot better pictures, he should go for it and donate a share of the proceeds from his work to charity.
The same would go for a businessman who may want to invest in a spot of seeming luxury. It is fine if he believes it can enhance his productivity. And he can donate something from that to a worthy cause.
I think the principle of it all is to leverage one’s talent and use it to help social causes. There is no need to beggar oneself due to a guilt complex or to lead a life of self-denial. And as for celebrities, they too can lend their services free of cost for social causes, as often as they want to, and still enjoy the good things in life.