Money is money, no matter what name you choose to call it, it will remain as the honey of life. It’s like the saying, “A rose is a rose.” Unknowingly, we have given many names to money, our modern god. For example, Lord Shiva has thousands of names, including 108, 1000, and even 1008 names as found in the Shiva Sahasranama, and some traditions suggest there are technically infinite names due to his all-encompassing nature as Sarveshwara. I think same is the case with money. It would be interesting to explore a few of them. When money is given in marriage, it is called ‘Dowry’. The practice of dowry is still prevalent all over, though it is banned legally. In a divorce, money is called ‘Alimony’. Being religious and God-fearing (though I still wonder why we should fear God), when money is offered in a temple or church, it is called an ‘Offering’.
- When money is paid to a school or university, we describe it as ‘Fee’.
- The money, when paid against traffic challans, is called ‘Fines’.
- When paid to kidnappers, it is called ‘Ransom’.
- When we give money to our children, it is called ‘Allowance’.
- When a government employee retires, it is called ‘Pension’.
- When the same money is paid to the government, it is known as ‘Tax’. When money is borrowed from the bank, it is called ‘Loan’.
- When money is paid by the employer to his employees, it is ‘Salary’.
- When money is offered after a service (for example, at a hotel), it is called a ‘Tip’.
- It is called as ‘Debt’ when you owe someone.
- And when the money is paid to a coolie or laborer, it is called ‘Wages’.
Thus, the names we the humans have assigned to money are infinite. In different countries, the same money is called with different names. For instance,
In India – Rupees. America – American Dollars. Great Britain – British Pound Europe – Euro
We call ‘Money’ with every name imaginable to our fertile minds-but never describe it just as ‘Money! Perhaps we derive some ego-enhancing satisfaction from this. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” — William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But what I can never understand is: why should we call a rose by any other name at all? Okay, you may call a rose by other name and I may accept that for the sake of argument. But why call money by any other name? Money is the sweetest name one can ever find!
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
