The blizzard and snow in Europe had been unrelenting during the past month. Most countries were experiencing their coldest winter weather since the 1800’s. Across Europe, thousands of passengers were stranded on roads, rail stations and airport terminals. Airports in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Holland were all snowed under.
So I gave up trying to meet Ritchie Ferguson in Switzerland through normal methods.
But I had to complete my second task. So, I gave him a call.
Within no time, he had set the wheels in motion.
.
Ritchie Ferguson.
or Ritchie Rich, as he was fondly called, many years ago at the ashram. Son of a wealthy mining magnate in Australia, he had moved to Europe in his teens to learn about his family’s business. His dad however felt that Ritchie was a real loser and had no business sense. He always saw Ritchie as a wayward son, interested only in fast cars, fast bikes and women – not necessarily in that order. Tired of the constant criticism from his dad, Ritchie took a few years off and started to tour the world as a backpacker. He spent close to 4 years at the ashram during which time he felt his outlook on life getting transformed.
He returned to Europe following the news of his dad’s death. Working really hard, over 10 years, he expanded the company’s operations to over 30 countries while riding the wave of a large global demand for natural resources
Ritchie and I had got along well during my brief stint at the ashram, and he was one of the brightest students there. Quick to grasp new concepts and eager to experiment, he quickly became the Teacher’s favorite.
Anyway.. here I was, reading the newspaper in the waiting lounge of a private airfield in Italy. There was a blanket of snow outside the airport but a few machines were busy at work clearing the snow off the runaway
“Sir, your flight is ready” (It was Sam, the flight attendant of the chartered plane).
(I boarded the Gulfstream plane and settled down in the classy seats.
Once we were airborne, Sam came over to my seat with the menu in hand)
“Would you prefer champagne or wine?”, he asked
A bottle of water please. Thanks.
(He looked a bit uncomfortable with that response)
“Sir, we are chartered regularly by Mr Ritchie. He told me specifically that you were a very special guest. I can assure you our menu today is world-class. Would you like to taste a few samples? We have a choice of …….”
Don’t worry Sam. I am well taken care of. A bottle of water would do just fine.
(Sam retreated to get a few bottles of mountain spring water. He then waited patiently to see if I had any further requests.)
So, Sam, do you do this flight sector often?
“Only in winters, Sir, when Mr Ritchie camps in his chalet at Verbier. During other seasons, we fly him over to his pad in Cape town, or to Lake Como.
His main residence is in the UK and he does most of his business from there.”
Fair enough. Thanks.
(The snowfall had now reduced. I saw the snowflakes fall in all shapes and forms .
A physicist would say “No two snowflakes look alike”. And people who hear it often go “Wow. Is that true?”
But more interesting was the saying of a Zen master long ago
He said “No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place”
Ritchie.
Wondered what was weighing him down.)
(We arrived at the Sion airport and transferred to a helicopter that took me directly to the ski resort of Verbier.)
“Did you have a pleasant flight, my friend?” Ritchie welcomed me at his chalet.
Yes. Quite. Thanks. Sam was of great help too (I said, acknowledging him)
“I hear you caused quite a flutter in Rome. Father Antonio was on the phone with me last week. He couldn’t stop talking about your visit and the impact it had on the young boy.”
Ah, yes. The young prince. It was a great honor to meet him. As is often the case. he knew all the answers.
I just had to put a mirror in front of them, so he could see them clearly.
“I wish I could say the same of myself”(his face turned grim and brow became furrowed).
If the Teacher’s brightest student says that, what would happen to the rest? , (I teased him.)
“No, sunbeam” (he called me by the name they gave me at the ashram.). “I fear I may have lost my way. Let me explain. After many years of growing my father’s business empire, I sat down one day to write a letter to the teacher. In it, I described my various accomplishments. I wrote how I used my personal energy and applied all the techniques I learned at the ashram to manifest my dreams and achieve my goals. I wrote about the mining business and its contribution to the world economy. I then ended the letter saying thanks for everything. I have finally become successful.”
Hmm… and what happened? Did he reply?
“His letter came a week later. It had only one word written in it. “NO“. ”
Aww…you know the old man…always grumpy and strict. Don’t take it to heart
“That was my initial reaction as well. But since then, his reply just wouldn’t get out of my mind. I have spent sleepless nights tossing and turning with the sound of it ringing in my ears. What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong? Soon, I started to remember all the compromises I had to make on my way to success – the government officials I bribed, the tax laws I broke, the shadow bank accounts in the cayman islands, the hedge fund manipulations…and then felt like s@#t!
I was a nervous wreck for a few months. I felt really empty of purpose. My close friends then advised me to give away half my wealth as charity. They felt it would set things right and make amends – give something back to society.
That was when the teacher wrote saying you were coming. I decided to put my plans on hold till I had a chance to talk this through with you.
Clear my mind for me. ”
(I took another sip of the water.
I stood up and walked over to the window; moved aside the French curtains to take a look at the majestic alpine mountains, from where the bottle of water came from.
After taking a couple of minutes to reflect on his situation, I spoke to him.)
Ritchie…Its is quite simple. Do not mistake a successful lifestyle for a successful life
“Are you saying that in spite of all my business accomplishments, my personal achievements, all this (he pointed to his expensive furniture) I have been unsuccessful?” he asked, refilling his glass of bubbly, gesturing to me to go on.
Oh..are you satisfied with this success, Ritchie? A few hectares of land in Australia, a pad in lake Como, a private chalet in Verbier, a few bottles of champagne, a few hundred cars and staff at your disposal?
Is this all you are good for?
There are billions of hectares of land with minerals still un-mined on earth. There are huge deposits of resources on Mars and probably the moon. There are still millions of women you haven’t yet met; hundreds of parties going on around the world at this very moment that you haven’t been invited to; thousands of new car models still in the pipeline; when will you conquer all of them? One lifetime will not be enough.
By your own definition, you will never be successful.
(He sat back as if I had slapped him.)
“I have forgotten everything I learnt. Please start all over again. Speak to me the way the teacher would.”
No. I will remind you of what you already know. By the campfire one night at the ashram, you gave a great summary of the “4 aims of life”. Do you remember it?
“Yes…Every human being seeks happiness….but in different ways, pursuing different things.”
And…what are the 4 ways in which we pursue happiness?
(He tried hard to remember the words he himself had spoken, many years ago.)
“The first is virtue : pursuing a virtuous life; lawful; being fair and just, kind, with good conduct, understanding, moral, caring, not harming. This gives us peace of mind. But this by itself is not sufficient. We will not be able to create great things in the world with just this. For that, we need wealth.
The second is wealth: pursuing the means by which we may live and prosper in society. It could be land, property, money, relationships – basically any asset that society feels is valuable. Again, this by itself is not sufficient, if there is no peace of mind or if there are no desires to be fulfilled by using our wealth.
The third is objects of desire: pursuing the actual things we desire to experience– to see, touch, taste, smell, hear, feel, think about. This by itself is not sufficient if there is no peace of mind, or if we have no wealth to acquire them.
The fourth is liberation: pursuing the path of freedom – from all suffering and illusion. This by itself is not sufficient, if we abandon our duties, responsibilities and the work that must be done in this world.
Many epics have been written about how people pursued one of these at the expense of the others and then lost their way.
In short, each of the 4 pursuits is valid. But addiction to just any one of them is dangerous.”
(I was full of admiration for his fantastic memory.)
Yes…like you said that day…it is like walking on a razor’s edge. Brilliant.
(He reflected on it for a while.)
“I guess I have overdone my pursuit of wealth and objects of desire. In doing so, I lost my way. ”
And now, you are trying to make up for lost time, by pursuing virtue through donating a big portion of your wealth back to society – what you call philanthropy.
“Isn’t that proper? I thought it was a noble thing to do.”
(I sighed). Ritchie, you can’t undo all that you have done by just distributing your money.
“In that case, I have been a failure.”
“Now, I understand what the teacher meant.”
Listen up, Ritchie. There is nothing wrong with you. You are just caught in the web you yourself created; trapped in the maze that you yourself have built.
“What?? I disagree. I may have created this fantasy world for myself, but I am not a prisoner in it. I have the power over whatever I manifested in my life.”
(Instead of answering him, I walked over to the shelf and picked up a vase).
Nice piece. Steuben? Where did you get it?
“My favorite. Bought it at an auction house in Paris for a princely sum.”
(I dropped it to the ground. It broke and shattered to pieces on the floor.)
(Ritchie’s jaw dropped in horror.)
Just glass, Ritchie. Made from just a little sand and minerals from the earth. Don’t get worked up.
(I strolled by lazily again and picked up a piece of hand-crafted china).
Ah…from Rajasthan, no doubt. Painted with colors extracted from fruit juices.
Oops (I said as I let it slip from my grasp. It met with the same fate as the crystal vase – on the floor)
(Ritchie clenched his teeth and gripped the armchair tightly.)
“Stop it. Stop it.”
Ah, the mighty, powerful Ritchie…held prisoner by a few pieces of sand, glass, clay and fruits?
(His body stiffened and after a few minutes, relaxed).
“I got the message.”
(He stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the snow.)
“All this had to happen for me to understand what I already knew.” (he started laughing).
(I shrugged). No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place at any time.
“There is no point in just distributing my wealth. If I do so, I will be doing it only out of fear and guilt. That is not the way.
I will instead, use my wealth to replenish the minerals that the generations of my family have taken from the earth. That is what I am going to do now. I will never be able to complete the task in my life, but I am bloody well going to go as far as I can.”
Good luck, Ritchie. I wish you success this time
(I grinned and hoisted my backpack, ready to leave. My work here was done.)
“Wait. . I feel I may not see you again. Before you go, teach me a way to keep sight of the truth as I balance the 4 pursuits. I do not want to stumble and lose my way again”
(I contemplated that request for a while.)
See the face of the pursuer….for whom you are pursuing all this.
Then, you will never lose your way again, in any of the 4 pursuits.
Then, all work will be done effortlessly, without fear, anxiety, guilt and regret.
That is the best lighthouse to guide you during your travels.
(As we left the chalet, the young attendant gave us a discreet nod, as if to say he was not curious about the sound of broken glass and china he had heard a few minutes ago.
When we were out of earshot, he opened the door of the chalet and looked in to assess the damage. He then stood dumbfounded, scratching his head.
The floor was clean. All the vases and crystal were in their place on the shelf, intact and complete as they originally were.
He shrugged and closed the door behind him)
“Rich and famous men!”(he thought to himself). “Who could understand them?”
Solution for Ritche was just a verbiage…I wonder what the auther intended by reminding the face of pursuer and what it would do good to Ritiche’s dilemma.
Yeah, agree. I haven’t written it well..assumed the reader would have read some of the earlier posts like ‘God vs Richard Dawkins’. Thanks for bringing it up. Cheers and take care…@UM
Hei Urbanmonk, whatever I have read in ur blogs
the best is a line “Thankfully, I am blessed with a lot; nothing missing;” written in a reply above…
blog ppl can write with their thots, However, u said these r ur real time xperiences, I’m confused, it is truly appreciable, out of this world…
Hiee Nidhi..thanks for dropping by..and reminding me about the line i wrote :)) it helped. Btw, like i said in the home page, see the blog as just an adventure; hope you enjoy it.
“The floor was clean. All the vases and crystal were in their place on the shelf, intact and complete as they originally were.” —– that part i don’t get :(
But love the mood and tone you maintain in all your posts :) I’m beginning to wonder why your contributions must be limited only to a blog! I would PAY to read these…
:) Good luck for future tasks!!
Hi Suvarna,
Nice gesture; thanks for that. Thankfully, I am blessed with a lot; nothing missing; and am just sharing some of my real-life experiences and happiness through this blog as an adventure for others to take part in too.
Quite thankful to everyone who reads these posts with an open mind. Even those who dont, have left without posting any flame mails or hate comments. My best wishes to all of them too. I find the blog a bit like a refreshing fountain. I drop by to quench my thirst as well, from time to time. Even after i publish the book, i intend for this site to remain free.
Oh..and you are curious about how the crystal and the vase came back together in one piece? that was not me. That was Ritchie. Remember his days of training at the ashram? this is child’s play for him. In a later post, i will have him explain how this is done.
Take care.
:) that sounds too good!!!
if i desire to touch the vase Ritchie owns, but I know Ritchie would not approve. Ritchie goes out of the room. My morals tell me dont touch it, but my desire tells me what the hell, just go ahead. Both thoughts arise in seconds, before action can take place.. so what do u do?
U will do whatever thought you respond to
What happens when what you desire is in conflict with your morals?? ;)
Only 1 thought arises at a time in the mind. So, there is no conflict. A conflict requires two thoughts to clash simultaneously ;-))