“investing” to “nourish the inner aspect”

Gwyneth Paltrow suggests “investing” to “nourish the inner aspect”

To “nourish the inner aspect”, Oscar winner Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) suggests “investing”.

Paltrow gives “some illuminating concepts” on “investing” in the latest newsletter in her blog “GOOP: nourish the inner aspect”. Her newsletter talks about stocks, bonds, commodities, hedge funds, “Boost Your Credit – and Earn $1 Million”, “You’ll reap your riches in due time if you can master the five-phase process of investing”, etc.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has criticized Paltrow’s blog for mostly catering to “outer” while claiming to “nourish the inner aspect” and being too materialistic and indulging in very mundane things and shallow substances dealing with temporal and external pleasures.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, asked: What “investing” has to do with “nourishing the inner aspect”?

Rajan Zed further said that illusion of money had veiled our minds. Freedom from desire was the greatest of all the freedoms. Do not be disillusioned by wants. Saint Augustine (Letter 211) said, “It is better to need less than to have more.”

Zed pointed out that opening theme of pre-BCE Hindu scripture Isha Upanishad was clutching to the Real and declining everything else—everything less real. Three opening words of Isha Upanishad: “tena tyaktena bhunjita” said it all—“By renouncing it {the world}, enjoy it.”

Hinduism tells us that joy and renunciation need each other and renunciation is not deprival, it is freedom. The essence of ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita is also renunciation and it promises “freedom through renunciation”, Rajan Zed argues.

Zed quoted Bhagavad-Gita, which says: there are three gates to self-destructive hell—greed, anger, and desire. Abandon these three. A person freed from these three gates of darkness, seeks what is best and attains life’s highest goal.

Rajan Zed said that the idea of foraying into “inner aspect” was wonderful, but he did not comprehend why Paltrow wanted to market a product with an entirely different label. Although the tagline of GOOP is “nourish the inner aspect”, there were not many deep spiritual and philosophical thoughts in it, which were essential part of “nourishing” the inner self. It was very “external”, Zed added. He offered to help Paltrow, if asked.

GOOP is said to be a name carved from 36-year old Gwyneth Kate Paltrow’s initials, who is also sometimes known as “part yogini”.

ENDS

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