Greed is good is what Sadhguru says when Sadhguru and KV Kamath discuss corporate greed in an engaging episode of the In Conversation with the Mystic series. In KV Kamath's own words, Sadhguru's "very interesting views" could be very enlightening for corporates, governments and everyone else.

Full Transcript:

Kamath: I know you have very interesting use in it, greed. Greed, I am talking of in the corporate context and we will explore many hues as we go along, of greed, but I am sure we would all be very curious to hear your views.

Sadhguru: If you use the word ‘greed’, what it means is you are operating market economy with communism going around in your head. Only if you are a communist you can talk about greed. If you are market economy don’t talk about greed, talk about better laws. If somebody is making a billion dollars per day, let’s tax him, nine hundred million you can tax him and that will be distributed anyway, but enough to give him incentive to go on, not to take away his spirit. So this is how capitalism is managed, here you don’t talk about - I… this whole Corporate Social Responsibility, I think it’s funny, it is just an eyewash. Instead of that, the government, if the administration if he has the necessary sense, you can bring the right kind of policies where businesses can grow unbridled, but it will naturally benefit the rest of the society. This can be done with simple laws, taxation and other kinds of laws. Business laws can do this, there is no need to talk about service, there is no need to talk about greed. Everybody can live with dignity. Because if you are at the receiving end of the service, you’ll lose your dignity, if you are at the giving end of the service you go to heaven, both are wrong.

Kamath: What I hear Sadhguru saying is profit is a good motive and if you call it greed, that greed is good and …

Sadhguru: Greed is good.

Kamath: I think that is something that profit is something that…

Sadhguru: No, if you look at the definition of greed - what is greed? See, for somebody who is walking to his work place or his home, somebody who rides a bicycle and refuses to take him on the bicycle is greedy man. Somebody who is riding a bicycle sees a man driving a Maruti car and he thinks he is greedy. Just single man driving a Maruti car, he could take me, his family and my family in the Maruti car because Indians are able to squeeze, you know. A man who was driving a Maruti car, when a Mercedes or a BMW whizzes past him, he says, ‘Vulgarity of greed!’ A man who was driving BMW looks at a man who is driving a Bugatti and he thinks that is greed. So who is to set this definition for what is greed? I am saying once you have chosen market economy, there is no room for that vocabulary in your life, you understand greed is the driving force. Now it is for the laws to manage the greed so that your greed benefits everybody else.

There is a… there is a… In African lore there is a saying, ‘When the lion feeds, everybody else gets fed.’ So if you’re a lion, you have a big capability. When you feed, it is the laws which should make it in such a way, if you make profit, everybody should live well. Instead of talking about greed and service and corporate social responsibility, I don’t know why they are deviating themselves into all this…

Kamath: So stay focused on maximizing profitability.

Sadhguru: Yes.

Kamath: Tax appropriately and let everybody accrue.