Material happiness is temporary – Radhanath Swami

When I was a little boy, I read a newspaper article about one of the wealthiest man in the world, Mr. Rockefeller. He had a college going son, who was studying Anthropology. He went on a project to a place in New Guinea to study man-eating cannibals. He wanted to write a book on these people and get his Ph. D.

After doing interviews and taking photos and all sorts of research, he was on a little boat going back to his ship, when his boat began to sink. So he swam back to the island. Nobody could find him afterwards. Mr. Rockefeller sent his assistants and police all over the island to look for him, and they found that the son was eaten by the object of his studies, he became the dinner of those man-eating people. Mr. Rockefeller was devastated. He told the newspaper interviewer, ‘ With all my hundreds of millions of dollars, all my power and influence over governments, societies, banks and cultures, all my fame and my good health I will never find any moment of happiness in my entire life, because my son has been killed.’ Material happiness is temporary.

By Radhanath Swami

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