Sri Sri hails rapid growth of Andhra Pradesh under CM Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership

VISAKHAPATNAM: While everybody thought that the three-day CII Partnership Summit was going well without any sharp political remarks during the session, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu took the opportunity on the last day to express his dissatisfaction over the Centre. During the plenary session with Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Naidu referred to the ongoing tension between BJP and TDP. “They’re not honouring what they promised. There is unrest in the people due to this,” he said.

The AOL founder too spoke about bifurcation and said that he thought development would have stayed centered around Hyderabad as Naidu would have stayed there had the bifurcation not happened. However, he expressed happiness over the progress of AP.

Stating that the purpose of wealth was to create wellness, he urged entrepreneurs and tech giants to incorporate the spirit of service in their businesses. He observed that by investing in the society entrepreneurs can make others happy and derive satisfaction from that.

The spiritual guru told investors that ‘seva’ was also an investment, albeit indirect. He suggested that private firms go beyond the mandatory 2 per cent of the CSR norm. “If the firms can invest 4 to 5 per cent of their revenues in society, not only will it bring poverty down, it will also boost the purchasing power of people,” he said.

Talking about a healthy life, he said, “What is the point of wealth if it ruins health? It is poor economics if one spends half of one’s life on creating wealth, loses mental peace and spends the other half on regaining the lost health,” he said. When asked about increasing usage of electronic gadgets, he said, “Sometimes we need be in airplane mode. Keep devices aside for some part of the day and try to connect with nature and experience silence. This will help you know the other dimension of life.”