You can own the world and still feel poor: Aruna Lohia Goenka on the magic of abundance | India News
In this Diwali edition of the Knowledge Series, Sanjiv Kaura, CEO-CSR, The Times of India, speaks with iImpact catalyst Aruna Lohia Goenka about abundance, one of the five pillars of her YASHA philosophy. From the paradox of wealthy people who feel poor to the extraordinary power of love, gratitude and consciousness, the conversation explores why prosperity begins not with what we possess, but with how we experience life.Sanjiv Kaura: Diwali is a celebration of prosperity. But you seem to believe that abundance has very little to do with how much money we have.!Aruna Lohia Goenka: (Laughs) Oh, Sanjiv! Money is wonderful. I have nothing against it.! But abundance is not a number in your bank account. Abundance is a feeling. And at its heart, it is a feeling of love. You can have very little and feel wonderfully abundant. Equally, you can possess extraordinary wealth and still feel desperately poor. Because poverty, too, can be a feeling.Sanjiv Kaura: So, theoretically, I could be a billionaire and still be poor?Aruna Lohia Goenka: (Smiles) Not theoretically, Sanjiv. Quite possibly! You can rule the world and still lack consciousness. You can have power over millions of people and yet have no mastery over your own mind. What good is owning the world if you wake up every morning feeling that something is missing? The opposite of abundance is not necessarily poverty. Sometimes, it is the inability to recognise what we already have.Take the example of Rajat Gupta, the former global head of McKinsey. Despite extraordinary professional success, he has spoken about feeling relatively poor when comparing himself with people whose wealth was vastly greater. Imagine that! A man who had reached the pinnacle of professional achievement could still experience a sense of not having enough!Sanjiv Kaura: But isn’t that rather difficult when the world constantly reminds us that somebody else has more?Aruna Lohia Goenka: You have identified one of the greatest enemies of abundance: comparison. We look at someone else’s house, car, career, success or lifestyle, and suddenly what made us happy yesterday seems inadequate today.! (Laughs) Isn’t that extraordinary? Nothing has actually been taken away from us. Yet we have somehow managed to make ourselves feel poorer.! Comparison can turn abundance into scarcity without changing a single thing in our lives.Sanjiv Kaura: You often speak about consciousness. But how does one actually develop an abundant consciousness?Aruna Lohia Goenka: Begin by recognising what already exists in your life. Your health. Your relationships. The ability to learn. The opportunity to serve. The sunrise you did not have to purchase. The love you did not have to earn through a financial transaction. (Laughs) Imagine if the uUniverse started sending us invoices for sunlight, fresh air and the affection of our loved ones! We might suddenly discover that we are much wealthier than we thought. But gratitude is only the beginning. Abundant consciousness also means recognising possibilities where others see limitations, and opportunities to contribute where others see only competition.Sanjiv Kaura: You mentioned love. Why is love so central to your understanding of abundance?Aruna Lohia Goenka: Because love changes our relationship with the world. When we operate from scarcity, we ask, “What can I get?” When we operate from abundance, we begin asking, “What can I give?” Love, compassion, kindness and encouragement are extraordinary forms of wealth. And unlike many material possessions, sharing them does not diminish what we have. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. And on Diwali, isn’t that a particularly beautiful thought?Sanjiv Kaura: But surely we cannot tell someone struggling to feed their family that poverty is merely a feeling?Aruna Lohia Goenka: Absolutely not! That would be both insensitive and wrong. Material deprivation is real. Hunger is real. Lack of healthcare, education and opportunity is real. We have a collective responsibility to address them. When I say poverty can also be a feeling, I am speaking about the inner experience of scarcity, not denying economic hardship. In fact, an abundant consciousness should make us more conscious of other people’s suffering, not less. True abundance is not indifference to poverty. It is the determination to ensure that others can also flourish.Sanjiv Kaura: Is there a danger that gratitude might make people complacent? If I feel I have enough, why strive for more?Aruna Lohia Goenka: (Laughs) Sanjiv, gratitude is not retirement from ambition.! Be grateful for what you have while remaining excited about what you can create. The difference is whether your ambition comes from fear or possibility. Scarcity says, “I must achieve more because I am not enough.” Abundance says, “I am grateful for who I am, and excited about what I can become.” Contentment and ambition are not enemies. One gives us peace; the other gives us purpose.Sanjiv Kaura: How does this philosophy of abundance connect with your YASHA vision for Viksit Bharat 2047?Aruna Lohia Goenka: YASHA brings together Yuva, Anna, Shiksha, Hunar and Abundance. To me, aAbundance is also the spirit that connects the other four. What is the purpose of educating our children if they grow up believing that success means defeating somebody else? What is the purpose of developing skills if we do not use them to create opportunities for others? What is the purpose of prosperity if it does not lead to shared wellbeing?Imagine 1.4 billion people with an abundant consciousness. People who recognise their own possibilities, celebrate the success of others and contribute whatever they can to the nation. A Bharat where we do not measure our happiness by how much more our neighbour possesses, but by how much better we can make life for one another.
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Sanjiv Kaura: One final Diwali message?Aruna Lohia Goenka: This Diwali, light a lamp in your home. But also light one within your consciousness. Let it illuminate gratitude where there was comparison, love where there was fear,and possibility where there was scarcity. Don’t wait to become wealthy to feel abundant. Feel abundant, and use that consciousness to create wealth – for yourself, for others and for Bharat.Because when 1.4 billion people begin to think, feel and act with abundance, Viksit Bharat 2047 will be much more than an economic achievement. It will be a flourishing of human consciousness. And that, Sanjiv, is what I call the magic of the Universe.Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of Aruna Goenka for Times Foundation as part of the Knowledge Sharing Series and published by Times Internet’s Spotlight team.
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