Happiness is to keep doing good things

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon.

What does Spirituality mean to you?

It is about moral values, ethics and principles. It is not about going to temples or swamis. It is something unique to every one of us.

What are your spiritual inspirations?

I have been very impacted by the Seven Social Sins philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi --- to me, the most powerful statement ever. They have been my guiding light in life. The first principle that struck me was: if you do not pursue science with humanity, it is a sin. Wealth without work is a sin. Education without character is a sin. Pleasure without conscience is a sin. Religion without sacrifice is a sin --- this one is less relevant to me because I do not feel so religious, but I do feel that life is sacrifice. I believed in building my business and I had to sacrifice a lot for it. So religion is about conviction, about believing in something important to you.

What is the role of spirituality in the world of business?

One of Gandhi’s seven principles was: business without morality is a sin. As a publicly traded company with shareholders and stakeholders, it is my duty to run it in a profitable manner. But because I am pursuing a scientific business, I have to make sure my products impact humanity in a positive way. We are developing drugs for many diseases that afflict a large part of the world, such as cancer or diabetes. That is why I am so excited about what I do. Also, in a country like India with so many young intelligent minds, providing them with jobs so they can pursue their scientific research is an important part of the mission. Finally, 30% of my scientists are women --- getting a lot of families to let them work instead of staying at home is so important as well.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?

Definitely. I am a god fearing person. I may not be religious but I certainly believe that god is both up above, making sure that if you are getting into difficult areas, he guides you; and he is inside, as your conscience, as your spiritual truth. I always believed that if you do things the right way, in a moral way then somehow you will be looked after.

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