Malaysia's TycOon and His Monk Son~

                                                                             

Ananda Krishnan & Son, Ajahn Siripanno

 “With all my wealth I cannot even afford to feed my own son.”
If you think money is everything what would you say about this man... He is the only son of Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan (second richest man in Malaysia & Southeast Asia and 89th in the world). He refused opportunity to work with his father to expand his father’s empire (personal fortune more than USD 8 billion, Forbes) and instead chose the life of a simple Buddhist monk 18 years ago. Until now he follow the path of the Thai forest meditation tradition.He was educated in UK and speaks 8 languages.

Krishnan is the second richest man in Malaysia.Currently, he has multiple business interests including those within the media (Astro), satellite (MEASAT) and telecommunications (Maxis) industry to name a few. Although Tan Sri is one of wealthiest person in the world, he is known for being very low profile. As a father of 3 children, most of us may imagine them to be 3 terribly spoil children, on the contrary, his only son is a monk. According to Forbes he is worth more than 8 Billion dollars. The Tamil Malaysian of Sri Lankan Tamil origin is a self made man and is a notable philanthropist but leads a low profile life. He and his son are both Buddhists.

Few years ago, the billionaire lost his son. He started to look for him and his search stopped in a Buddhist monastery in north Thailand.  Shocked to see his son in saffron robes, short hair with a begging bowl in his hand the father invites his son for a meal. It is written in the news article that when Tan Sri invited his son for a meal, his son rejected his father politely. He said that he is now a monk and like other monks, he has to beg for his food. Tan Sri’s son is now living in a monastery within a forest in Northern Thailand. He now depends on other people’s generosity to sustain himself. Can you believe it… Why would the son of an immensely wealthy family become a monk? For very good reasons of course.

Hearing stories like these one wonders if we are giving up everything that we already possess to acquire things that we really don’t need. This story clearly demonstrates that human contentment and well being in real terms requires us to go beyond physical, mental, and emotional dimension. Krishnan’s son clearly shows that detachment could be a greater wealth and devotion a bigger asset in our lives.

Take a moment to view this video of a simple talk delivered by Ajahn Siripanno, the only son of Malaysia’s second richest man, Ananda Krishan.

Timeless Teaching of Ajahn Chah video

To one money means a lot.....but to the other ...
it means NOTHING. .....it is worthless ....