A Wealthy Man

There is a story that my husband likes to relate. It goes something like this.A CEO of giant MNC is scheduled to visit the chief of a small tropical island, known to contain some rare mineral deposits. Accordingly, the CEO flies to the nearest airport is his private jet, races to the island in his speedboat, to find no delegation to welcome him at the appointed hour. Irritated, he asks for the chief to the villagers loitering around and is pointed to a path. The path meanders through thickets, bushes, jungles with colorful flowers, clamoring birds, monkeys to finally end up at a beautiful lagoon- picture of a perfect tropical paradise. Here he spots the chief dozing on a hammock. Completely flustered at this nonchalant reception, he approaches the chief, introduces himself and presents his proposal to mine the mineral reserves with lucrative rewards for the chief and his villagers. The chief hears him through and then asks lazily why he was interested in the mineral. The CEO patiently explains how this would help promote the interests of his company and benefit the shareholders. "Then what?" asks the chief. The CEO lays out his grand plans to expand such operations to other areas, islands."Then what?"again asks the chief. The CEO replies that with such expansion, his company would be the biggest in the world. "Then what?" asks the chief again. Well, then the CEO replies that he would retire a happy man, and settle down in a tropical island to enjoy the rest of his life. At this the chief smiles and says "You can do that now".

It is a myth of our times that if we accumulate enough wealth we'll be able to be happy-both, capable of happiness and also deserving of it. I have met many very wealthy people none who consider that they might have enough to give themselves a chance to happiness. In fact it appears that ones perception of wealth is anti-correlated to the amount of one's wealth. The only three self proclaimed wealthy people I know are on the university campus where I live- with earnings that are considered modest by the current Indian urban standards.

At a completely different level are the farmers in the rural belt outside Bangalore. It appears that the comings and goings of wealth through their life has little or no bearing on how their days are lived. Thus, Anna (or 'older brother'), my neighboring farmer, smiles and raises his eyes heavenwards, both when his crops have fetched him a healthy market price or when the market has crashed, rending all the months of his hard work a waste. He, unknowingly, has become my mentor, my guide. He lives his karma uninfluenced by its outcome- the ultimate lesson in Bhagavad Gita. May I be blessed with his grace; may the world be similarly blessed.