Paisa, paisa, paisa ....

Swami Ramdevji is building a Peace Ashram in Scotland. And media is shouting, "Swamiji to vyaapaar karne lag gaye hain"; Swamiji has started doing business. And allegations of these kind come up whenever Swami Ramdevji, Shri Shri RaviShankar and others open up an ashram, acquire land, start an Ayurvedic company or charge money for their courses. A decade back, I would have sided against the Swamis, with the arguement that not-for-profit organizations should not be making or raising money. But few years of living outside of my native state of West Bengal and observing how our world operates has taught me otherwise.

Let us consider three large immensely successful America based not-for-profit organizations in different sectors: Harvard University, Catholic Church, and Red Cross. If you look at the reasons for their success, the common denominator is money.

Harvard University is a not-for-profit educational institution and is considered the world's best university, not because it has the best professors and students, but because it has a $30 billion trust that allows it to literally "buy" the best profs, students, and research facilities. The reason why Church can open so many school and orphanages, and convert people to their faith (and I am not saying anything against conversions) is because it is the largest owner of land in the entire world, holding property worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Red Cross is present in any disaster area, because they have so much money that they can pay decent salary to their volunteers and their executive leaders. Believe it or not, the annual salary of Marsha Evans, CEO of Red Cross, in 2003 was hold your breath.... half a million dollars (=2.5 crores)!!! But I have never heard anyone say anything against Red Cross.

So in a nutshell, money speaks. And if organizations like Art of Living has to grow and expand, they will need more money, more land, and more ashrams.