Geek god Gates follows Vedic wisdom

BANGALORE: It’s a weird comparison in many ways. But has Bill Gates followed—maybe unknowingly—the Vedic prescription of renunciation, as was the order that supposedly governed society then? To walk away from what you have been doing all your adult life at 52, when the going is still good with exciting challenges on the horizon, is a tall order. It takes an inner conviction that is hard to explain.

Perhaps Mr Gates will strike a chord with CEOs and corporate founders across the world on issues like succession, retirement and second innings. There will be lessons to draw from the icon, who has chosen to step down while still at his peak.

But then, he has always been a man who knew what he wanted. That was apparent right from the time he decided to drop out of college in the early ’70s. Just as he saw how computing could transform the world, he is perhaps equally clear-eyed about his pet passions: technology and philanthropy.