One prominent American
whose mind Swami Vivekananda read was John D. Rockefeller- the founder of
Standard Oil, the parent company of today’s Exxon Mobil. Rockefeller met Swami
Vivekananda in the 1890s. At the time Rockefeller was in his mid-fifties and an
exceptionally wealthy man, having amassed a huge fortune.
Where Vivekananda stayed
at in Chicago was the house of a friend of John Rockefeller. He did not want to
meet Swamiji, but was pushed to it by an impulse and went directly to the house
of his friend, brushing aside the butler who opened the door and saying that he
wanted to see the Hindu monk.
The butler ushered him
into the living room, and, not waiting to be announced, Rockefeller entered
into Swamiji’s adjoining study and was much surprised, I presume, to see
Swamiji behind his writing table not even lifting his eyes to see who had
entered. He felt insulted.
They started to talk. After
a while, Swamiji told Rockefeller much of his past that was not known to any
but himself, and made him understand that the money he had already earned was
not his, that he was only a medium and that his duty was to do good to the
world and help those in need. Rockefeller was annoyed that anyone dared to talk
to him that way and tell him what to do. He left the room in irritation, not
even saying goodbye.
But about a week after,
again he entered Swamiji’s study and, finding him the same as before, threw on
his desk a paper which told of his plans to donate an enormous sum of money
toward the financing of a public institution.
“Well, there you are”, he said. “You must be satisfied now, and you can thank me for it.”
Madame Drinette Verdier, to whom
this incident was narrated by Emma Calve, wrote in her
Journal : Swamiji didn’t even lift his eyes, did not move. Then
taking the paper, he quietly read it, saying: “It is for you to thank me”. That
was all. This was Rockefeller’s first large donation to the public welfare.
If John Rockefeller
revolutionized the petroleum industry, he also redefined corporate philanthropy
in the United States. Fifteen years later, the Rockefeller Foundation was
established. to “promote the well-being of mankind throughout the
world.” .The Foundation pioneered the development of medical
research, helped eradicate hookworm and yellow fever, and took far reaching
initiatives in public health and education in both the U S and the less
developed regions of the world.
Rockefeller died at the
age of 98. He wrote sometime in his late seventies, “I am sure it is a
mistake to assume that the possession of money in great abundance necessarily
brings happiness. The very rich are just like all the rest of us; and if
they get pleasure from the possession of money, it comes from their ability to
do things which give satisfaction to someone besides themselves.” Today the foundation work is being emulated
by many other big foundations working around the world.
As
Vivekananda says “This unselfishness is the test of religion. He who has more
unselfishness is more spiritual and nearer to Siva (God). Whether he is learned
or ignorant, whether he knows it or not, he is nearer to Siva than anybody
else.”
