The relationship between money and happiness has been the subject of many a debate.
Which is why Gaurav Mashruwala, a well-respected financial planner based in Mumbai, has delivered his own take on the topic in his newly released Yogic Wealth.
The book draws on the teachings of some of India’s ancient scriptures and blends these with the author’s own observations and two decades of experience of helping individuals manage their finances. The result is a book that aims to help readers enjoy their wealth.
Mashruwala has noticed that – regardless of how much people earn – they are often unhappy with their financial situation.
In the book, he delves into the negative emotions he says shape our attitudes towards money and that we need to understand to overcome them.
Money is required for basic needs, such as food and shelter, and this often creates a fear of not having money, which in turn leads to greed as many of us try to get more and more cash, Mashruwala writes.
Also, we often experience feelings of inferiority, jealousy and frustration when we believe that money is needed to get attention, earn respect and to achieve a sense of self-fulfilment. These emotions raise their ugly head when we see others have more than us – something only reinforced by advertising and the materialistic nature of living in a capitalist society.
According to Mashruwala, once our basic needs are satisfied, our health, relationships with others and emotional wealth should be in harmony with our financial wealth for us to be happy. But because we become so focused on trying to build up our finances, we all too often sacrifice these other areas of our lives.
The book is not designed to discourage earning and spending money; instead it is our attitudes that need to change for us to derive pleasure from wealth.
What makes this a good, lively read is the anecdotes Mashruwala uses to highlight his argument. He uses examples of his own clients, including those trapped in jobs they do not like because they are chasing money, as well as Bollywood storylines to illustrate his points, along with his personal experience. Ultimately, you will be left questioning your own perspective on money.
q&a it takes a spiritual mindset
Gaurav Mashruwala tells Rebecca Bundhun more about his book Yogic Wealth:
What inspired you to write the book?
My daughter. I kept getting offers to write a book and I declined. I was casually talking to my daughter, who was 13 at the time, and is now 14. A few years ago a very respected Gujarati literary person asked me to write a book and I kind of ignored it and then he died and I regretted it. I told my daughter this. She said that I would regret not writing and that hit me, so I decided to write the book.
What drove the ideas behind the book?
I was receiving questions from clients, such as “when can I retire?” and “if I invest, when will I get time to splurge?” and I realised that the solution to money-related problems is not in money; it’s in the mind. The whole world is talking about behavioural finance, but that explains the behaviour. It tells you what goes wrong, but not why it goes wrong. It does not explain how those thoughts arise. I looked at scriptures for answers.
Which scriptures did you use?
The three predominant scriptures on which I relied were Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the Bhagvad Gita, Sri Suktam. Plus I also like to interact with a lot of spiritual gurus and I have heard things from them. But the book is not religious – the advice is intended for everyone.
What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
It’s not about creation of wealth; it’s about enjoying wealth, and that is not what is happening.
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