Are you a slave of your Destiny

Attachment Theory
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Criticism versus limitations

Forgiveness

God the Creator and Man Gods

Immortality

India a democracy or an authoritarian rule

Knowing god

Kundalini Awakening

Mind a Universal Phenomenon

Now or never

Satsanga

Self Realization

Shape of the World to Come

Silence the talk within

Story of my personal experience - How I Realized God

Spirituality

Spirituality and religion

Swarga naraka dharti

The Search for Truth

To be or not to be

To equate or not to equate

Truce with my Inner Self (a must read)

What is the Meaning of Life

Why god made this world

Essays Spirituality Hinduism

Who is the richest person
in the World
(Bill Gates... or was Gautama Buddha?)

Who is the richest person in the world... truthfully speaking... tell it all from your heart... one who has abundant wealth for the next many generations or one devoid of any wealth reaches the last leg of cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation... when human beings gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha).

As records indicate (Forbes magazine)... Bill Gates is still... consistently for many years the richest person of the world. No doubt... in the physical manifest world the material wealth of the person indicates that the person is rich. Apart from material wealth... the incumbent is endowed with success in life. One is definitely also termed a philanthropist... a successful entrepreneur!

If we compare material wealth of Bill Gates with that of Gautama Buddha... who fares well...? Gautama Buddha or Bill Gates! If Gautama Buddha and Bill Gates were physically present on the same platform, I bet none in the world would accept Bill gates being richer! Does this indicate that the intangible spiritual wealth of which Gautama Buddha was a master is at higher level!

Both the fields... the physical manifest world and our inner world... the real world of self... the world of our soul atman... the spirit within are entirely different yet connected intimately! For living life successfully in the physical manifest world... one needs to be success in life... accumulating material wealth by honest and sincere means and working hard all the time.

Yet, our inner world... the world of our inner self... our soul atman... the spirit within always governs us in every phase of life! Whatever be our physical tendencies... the outer appearance yet, the strength of any individual comes from within! The power to remain honest, sincere and hard-working stems from within... it was never a part of the physical manifest world!

In a life span of about 70 to 80 years we all leave the mortal abode... and so shall the two richest persons of the world... Bill Gates and Warren Buffett (life span definitely can increase beyond hundred years but it is never indefinite). What does this all indicate? In the coming 21st century itself after the mortal death of the rich luminaries... their soul atman shall manifest another body.

Quite possible... they are born not in that rich a family as of now! As goes the centuries old adage of doctrine of karma... one that has enjoyed the material comforts of life... lived life meaningfully in a sincere, honest and hard-working environment... this soul atman in the next manifestation would most probably manifest the form of a sage or a saint! Why?

If we understand the true underlying crux of life... we find our soul atman... the spirit within being absolute master and controller of the body... and not vice versa! The control of manifest life... the human body always laid with our soul atman... the spirit within! In the circumstances whiling away our precious 70 to 80 years of earthly sojourn accumulating materialistic niches carry no meaning!

If the earthly sojourn of Gautama Buddha is at a higher level than Bill Gates... what use earning more and more when in next manifestation by our soul atman... we may manifest form of an ordinary mortal... a sage or a saint perhaps! If standing on same platform... the status of Gautama Buddha is considered higher... why not run after spiritual wealth than riches of ephemeral world!

In the field of spirituality Bill Gates and Warren Buffett would be termed absolute ignorant in the maze of life! Till date... one does not find any worthwhile philanthropic activity by Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Why? Is the status of Sir John Templeton more than that of Bill Gates or warren Buffett? Surely... it is! Why?

In his quest for finding the truths of life, Sir John Templeton initiated the formation of John Templeton foundation... a philanthropist organization that gives away the annual Templeton Prize valuing £1,000,000 to any individual or organization that excels in the big questions of life... the field of spirituality... the real truth of us!

Instituting a prize is one thing... going after the truths of life in an orderly instituted manner is something different! Sir John Templeton was a visionary par excellence... an embodiment of absolute truth... something that is not comparable with the likes of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Sir John Templeton was a true karma Yogi... par excellence!

In the history of mankind it is difficult to find people who truly take care of the needs of the community... the masses at large! One who can go beyond the needs of the ephemeral world... one who can dive deep into the portals of spirituality and unearth pearls of wisdom that are nowhere found in the books of knowledge... world is endowed with!

Truly speaking... in terms of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett... Sir John Templeton could have done better... accumulated more materialistic wealth than running after spirituality... the bane of human life! Similar as Bill Gates... the chief architect of Microsoft Corporation has been running after accumulating materialistic wealth much beyond his requirements of the present or next life!

Who knows what we shall be in the next manifestation... why care at all for the next manifestation... why not indulge in doing our best in present manifestation! As per the doctrine of karma the closing balance of present life becomes the opening balance of next manifestation. If our present life is rich with endowments from God... our next life also would be!

This article or essay is not meant to belittle Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. People in such high brackets of life can never be belittled... they are much above the established norms of society from where they can be easily swayed. But one thing is for sure... all the materialistic wealth accumulated by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in present life would go waste. Why?

As per the doctrine of karma in Hinduism... what one essentially carries to next life... the next manifestation is the intangible riches gained... the results of Punya karma (good deeds) accumulated in present life! Everything materialistic always gets left behind... what passes on are virtues and the Punya karma earned!

Our next manifestation after the death of present body is decided by the residual balance of karma of present life! If the karma is rich with virtues and Punya karma... most likely one would be born a sage or a saint in the next manifestation! This is how the doctrine of karma comes full circle. In the house of God there are no free lunches... nor are there inconsistencies!

Inconsistencies as stipulated by famous physicist Stephen Hawking in his famous book, "a brief history of time". The ignorant scientist stipulates that the system of God is disordered at some stage. Stephen Hawking fails to understand that spirituality starts from the point where science ends. Standing on the platform of science one can never view the workings of spiritual world!

Science demands proofs... In the field of spirituality it is absolute faith in God Almighty that rules the roost! In the field of spirituality proofs are not forthcoming most of the time. Lack of proof makes the scientific community go tizzy. In spite best efforts... scientific community fathoming the depth of wisdom contained in teachings of Gautama Buddha becomes incomprehensible!

The richest person of the world in the world parlance may be Bill Gates or Warren Buffett but of all the things teachings of Gautama Buddha still hold ground. The physical manifest wealth of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett can never outdo the spiritual wealth accumulated by Gautama Buddha... one who reached the last leg of cosmic life in his lifetime and finally gained salvation (moksha).

In the spiritual world... terms richest person of the world... richest man in the world... most famous person in the world carry no meaning unless the individual is endowed with the spiritual grace of God... the spiritual worth! It is only the field of spirituality that dominates the world of human beings... outdoes every other field no matter what!

If we truly desire gaining richness in life... becoming the richest person of the world... the richest man in the world... stop running after ephemeral values in life! It is not riches of the physical manifest world that count... what ultimately last are virtues, Punya karma earned at the end of the day! It is our virtues alone in present life that transfers to the next manifestation!

Body after body... life after life... the journey of our soul atman continues uninterrupted until human beings reached the last phase of manifest cosmic life... the 8.4 millionth manifestation when human beings gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and finally salvation (moksha). Becoming a Mahavira (24th Tirthankara of Jainism) is the true essence of life!

Mahavira rightly said, before preaching anything become a Mahavira first... an enlightened one! One who has not yet reached the portals of enlightenment... how one can be trusted with the teachings of enlightenment... the sacrosanct divinity that exists within human beings! In present life we have many religious preachers... but to find a truly enlightened one is difficult!

The prime reason why in the lasts about 150 years' only two people world over gained enlightenment (amongst 7 billion people existing on Mother Earth)... Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana! Spirituality forms the bane of everything cosmic. If we truly desire gaining success in life... run after intangible assets... not the ephemeral values!

The essence of life lay in becoming richest person of the world in intangible terms... by transmuting vital sexual energy to more creative uses... by full awakening of the Kundalini Shakti. By practicing absolute celibacy for a minimum period of 12 years in continuation... human beings finally scaled all barriers of physical manifest life... reached portals of God within one's lifetime!

I shall enumerate two examples for clarifying matters. Bill Gates the chief architect of Microsoft Corporation pioneered the development of wonderful software called Windows. This software is available illegally world wide... more predominantly in developing countries including India and China! About 35% population of the world lives in India and China.

What happens in India and China can never be neglected. Using counterfeit software... people continue their life routines knowing well that the hands of law can easily reach them (whether punishment would be awarded or not is a matter of dispute in the present corrupt world). Does it mean people have tendency to be corrupt... go for the counterfeit willingly!

Here I do not agree... not in the least! When things are not available by legal means at a reasonable price... people go for counterfeit! So is happening in the poor countries of the world. Had Bill Gates the spiritual wisdom... he would have priced the famous Windows program almost 1/10 the price it is today... may be 1/5 would have been more practical!

If a million people used the counterfeit copy costing them minimal; I bet they would have purchased the legal copy at 1/5 the present company price! Calculations would be mind-boggling... the work required to be done would be more but in spiritual parlance... Bill Gates would have become a living man God... something prayed to in most households of the present century!

Madame Curie who discovered the precious radium... laid down her life for the cause of community. In searching for radium in pitchblende day and night... her body gave way due to massive doses of radioactivity! She finally succumbed but all her life she remained internally happy... never minding what people said or did!

Her name is much more respectable then that of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. The name of Madame Curie would be remembered for millenniums to come. But gone are the times for Bill Gates. People world over abhor the dictatorial tendencies of Microsoft Corporation... the high price of the software and the yearly updating costs! Even rich people grievance about high cost.

The fallout... development of Linux software... an open end working platform where anyone can change the code of the software! Nothing is lost still... Bill Gates can hold on by reducing cost of its varied software phenomenally and bringing it within the reach of the rich and the poor.

Not only mankind would hail Bill Gates for centuries to come... he would be remembered in the history of mankind as a true entrepreneur... a harbinger of human values... one who upheld human values more than anything else!

Simplified by donating wealth to so-called world organization UN... one does not become a philanthropist! Ted Turner did exactly that... donating $1 billion to UN. True essence of philanthropy lay in accumulating the intangible riches in life and working for the best of community as did Madame Curie!

The Melinda Gates foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars for the cause of AIDS. If AIDS could be eradicated in such a manner... then wow to Bill and Melinda Gates! The essence of charity lay in eradicating the disease from the roots... not just providing a cure... a temporary solace!

The menace of AIDS can be cured mentally than physically. Before committing anything physically... the act is always done mentally. Before committing a murder... one always does it a thousand times mentally before actual murder takes place! If we truly desire eradicating AIDS from day-to-day life... we need educating people... by making them understand inherent truths of life!

No point saying that teachings of Gautama Buddha (had he been live today) would have worked like a miracle. If Gautama Buddha were alive today and he would have delivered a sermon on AIDS... it would have spread like wildfire... causing AIDS to stop in its roots. People would have shunned the act of promiscuous indulgence... the unintelligent use of one night stands!

For a few seconds of physical gratification... mankind can never lay siege to their entire life! Only a person as revered as Gautama Buddha could have turned the tide in the favor of community. Permanent eradication of a disease first has to take place mentally... the physical implementation comes next!

A single loner... a single human being can cause the eradication of AIDS from the world entirely. What we need is the will power of Winston Churchill... the firmness of Florence Nightingale... the determination of a will to do or die... only then the menace we call AIDS can be permanently eradicated from the society.

In a nutshell... the richest person of the world... the richest man in the world is not one who is measured by his materialistic wealth... but the intangible spiritual assets that were the bane of Gautama Buddha... Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa or Maharishi Ramana!

Essay by: Vijay Kumar "Atma Jnani"

Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains more on Who is the richest person in the World. For more on who is the richest man in the world visit - who is the richest person in the world. Send your query - click here Ref. 060206