Q: Guruji, how can I earn a lot of money without putting too much effort? Is there any mantra?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is how the scams begin (laughter). You have heard about all the scams, isn’t it? There are plenty of them, one after another, every month. No, don’t go for quick money; you will lose it also that fast. A sustained economy is good. If your ethical principles are strong, you will say, ‘I am going to make a lot of money, but with ethics; and no money in an unethical manner.’ In the past century, people had the fear of bad karma, or that God will be unhappy. Fear of God, or fear of karma, would ensure that people didn’t get into unethical practices. People would say, ‘Oh, that is a bad karma; I don’t want to take that money.’ Do you know why? It is because people had a strong belief that money earned in an unethical manner will have to be spent in a manner which will not bring them happiness. They would say, ‘It’s going to make me more miserable’. This was a strong belief. In fact, people would say, ‘If you earn money unethically, that money will be spent in courts and in hospitals.’ So that consciousness was there, pricking people. Today, that is missing. They used to say, ‘When we do CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), it is going to come back to us many times, multiplied.’ CSR was always thought of as an investment, and unethical money was thought as a punishment. Those values have almost disappeared today. So we must re-look at this.