To the rich are many good qualities attributed!

How many times have your read articles in the press attributing superhuman qualities to individuals who happen to be super rich. This apparently is not a new phenomenon. Here is an ancient aphorism in Sanskrit on how all manners of supreme qualities are attributed to the rich man.

यस्यास्ति वित्तं स नरः कुलीनः
स पण्डितः श्रुतवान् गुणज्ञः
स एव वक्ता स च दर्शनीयः
सर्वे गुणाः काञचनमाश्रयन्ति
He who has wealth is of noble birth
He is a scholar learned in the Srutis( the Vedas) and has knowledge of all good qualities
He alone  is the spokesman, and he is the one worth seeing
All good qualities seek refuge in gold.
Next time you read about the sage of Nebraska ( Buffett), the genius of Washington ( Bill Gates) or the avatar of Boston ( Marc Zuckerberg), it is OK, you are part of an ancient tradition of glorifying and deifying the rich. Maybe that is what keeps the lotteries working.

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