"And unfortunately, when I go to the U.S., I find more and more temples being constructed there by devotees [laughs] who go there only to earn money but export all our so-called virtuous elements of society. Temples in America! Unfortunately, these so-called freedoms you know, freedom of expression, freedom of worship - they are very handy in the hands of useless people who have too much money, and who are also getting rid of their guilty wealth in building temples all over the world. It is better if they build toilets in India, which we need badly. I urge all Telegu millionaires living in America to build good toilets along our highways, in our airports, in our cities; it will clean up our country. Instead of that they build another Venkatachalapathy temple in Houston, another one in Timbuctoo, another one in Toronto. What for? It is not money wisely spent, because anything which is spent uselessly cannot be wise.
So you see, our people, even when they go abroad, remain as stupid as they are here. That they make money out of software and hardware does not prove that they are really intelligent. Isn't it? Where is the wisdom? So I urge all our Indians living abroad - donate for specific purposes: better roads. Most of all, what we need in India is toilets! I mean, you just have to walk into a toilet in India, any toilet, anywhere, to see the shameful condition in which our hygienic needs are met - any toilet, anywhere in India. I feel ashamed as an Indian.
(…) We have to start cleaning this country from the bottom up, literally and in every way. It is easy for people to say, "Bottoms up," when they drink. This is what I would urge the Andhra people to spend their money on; stop building temples, start building toilets(…)
Some of our abhyasis were so foolish that they went on a spree in the stock market. Some lost even a million dollars, two million dollars, and of course they salve their conscience and try to fool me by saying, "Sir, we did it only so that we could give more money to the Mission." I said, "If you had given me the money you put on the stock-market, I would have built another ashram." A million dollars in India is four and a half crores of rupees. Calcutta ashram cost half that. But they would rather squander away a million dollars of hard-earned money for which they go into exile in a foreign land, rather than do what they can do with it before trying to multiply it and 'doing more good'. It's like a man who says, "I would do more good if I had more." But you haven't even started doing 'good' with what you have! "
The Land with Potential - A talk given by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari on 9th January, 2004 at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh
So you see, our people, even when they go abroad, remain as stupid as they are here. That they make money out of software and hardware does not prove that they are really intelligent. Isn't it? Where is the wisdom? So I urge all our Indians living abroad - donate for specific purposes: better roads. Most of all, what we need in India is toilets! I mean, you just have to walk into a toilet in India, any toilet, anywhere, to see the shameful condition in which our hygienic needs are met - any toilet, anywhere in India. I feel ashamed as an Indian.
(…) We have to start cleaning this country from the bottom up, literally and in every way. It is easy for people to say, "Bottoms up," when they drink. This is what I would urge the Andhra people to spend their money on; stop building temples, start building toilets(…)
Some of our abhyasis were so foolish that they went on a spree in the stock market. Some lost even a million dollars, two million dollars, and of course they salve their conscience and try to fool me by saying, "Sir, we did it only so that we could give more money to the Mission." I said, "If you had given me the money you put on the stock-market, I would have built another ashram." A million dollars in India is four and a half crores of rupees. Calcutta ashram cost half that. But they would rather squander away a million dollars of hard-earned money for which they go into exile in a foreign land, rather than do what they can do with it before trying to multiply it and 'doing more good'. It's like a man who says, "I would do more good if I had more." But you haven't even started doing 'good' with what you have! "
The Land with Potential - A talk given by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari on 9th January, 2004 at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh
