Three Incredible Achievers

J. K. Rowling, the author who did the miracle of pulling children away from TV, internet & mobile addiction. To get children with notoriously short attention span to read long books is itself a herculean task, but to make them queue up overnight in front of bookstores to get the first copies was mind boggling. Of course, there were popular authors like Dame Agatha Christie, but their readership was adult & TV & internet were still in infancy. Justifiably she has become richer than even the Queen!

Jeff Bezos creatively used the internet to convert the whole world into a virtual bookstore with millions of titles accessible at the touch of a few buttons on smartphone. It is not the lesser cost of books compared to stores that is his USP as is generally believed, but the opportunity for buyers to browse among numerous editions of their desired books to suit their taste on their smartphone & get them at their doorsteps in a few days, which is impossible even in the largest bookstore in the world, the Strand of New York. None should grudge his wealth for the service he has rendered to bibliophiles.

There have been religious leaders whose influence has been local in their lifetime like Jesus Christ & Shirdi Sai Baba. Even Sri Ramakrishna's life ended as he was getting well-known. But in the case of Sri Satya Sai Baba, he had millions of global followers in his lifetime for the first time in human history. Keeping his miraculous interventions on one side, the free education & healthcare provided by him is unmatched & incredible by any others up to now. Who ever dreamed of Super Specialty Hospitals without a billing section? Even now his devotees globally engage not just on worshipping him for selfish ends but engage in social service to the needy in their areas.

Predictably, all three mentioned above have their share of detractors, but it only throws their achievements into greater light.