Steve Jobs: When a Buddhist chants success

BANGALORE, INDIA: An adopted child, a university dropout who took up a computer job to raise money to visit India in search of spirituality. The one who experimented with the spirits of life.

Yes, that is the story of Steve Jobs, who resigned as the CEO of the Apple empire, which led the modern man to a gadget-centric life with the Macintosh computer launched in 1980s to the latest showpiece gadgets like iPhone, iPad and iPod.

The life of Jobs has all the ingredients of a rag-to-riches story, as also the strangest of experiences.

The youth, who visited India in search of spirituality, returned home as a Buddhist, with his head shaved. The experimenter of life later confessed that it was here that he experimented with LSD. He said the experience he got from the drug was 'one of the two or three most important things' in his life.

Remember, iconic pop music troupe The Beatles, too, experimented a similar spirituality in India, though without Buddhism.

The influence of Buddhism is so strong that Steve Jobs married in 1991 in a ceremony presided over by a Buddhist monk. Prior to the marriage, he had a relationship with folk singer Joan Baez, though.

But, none of the experiments affected his professional caliber. After his return from the retreat in India, Jobs joined video game pioneer Atari as a technician. And later, he started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak, who was also northern California college dropout.

Though the company revolutionized the personal computer industry, he was ousted from the company in 1985 following a power struggle, only to return again in 1997. It was this second coming that changed the future of Apple, thus making it the most valuable tech company.

That's why his resignation came as a shock to many, even though the move was quite expected. He is not just a CEO, but a cult figure, who changed the gadget landscape of the world with a start-up he founded in a garage.

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In LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner's words, Steve Jobs is the Michelangelo of the digital age.

"He is also the most insightful business speaker I've ever heard. He speaks the way he designs product: not a single wasted word. To this day, some of the most valuable lessons I've learned in business came from listening to him on stage," said Weiner.

According to Bill Gross, the CEO and chairman of Idealab, which funds technology start-ups, "Steve Jobs has changed people's lives immensely with the vision he has had, the risks he had taken, the products he has designed, and the industries he has shaken."

Gross added, "The countless people he has touched through his words and his actions have had a cumulative effect on design, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, and countless other areas that are truly remarkable."

Despite this, analysts would like to believe that there would not be any immediate impact of his resignation on the tech giant.

Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, said the effects of Steve Jobs's resignation would take some time to play out, because, according to him, there are several reasons why the resignation will not have an immediate impact.

"Firstly, Tim Cook, former COO and newly appointed successor to Steve Jobs, has been running the company since Jobs began his latest medical leave in January. Secondly, Jobs will now serve as chairman and will therefore continue to have a role with the company, at least in the short term. And thirdly, the broad direction and strategy for the company and its major products for the short to medium term will already be in place, and will not be affected by this change," he said in a statement.

Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner, observed that the exit of Jobs marks the end of an era for Apple. However, "it's important to remember the there's more to Apple than any one person, even Steve Jobs", he added.

"Continuing as chairman Mr. Jobs will continue to leave his mark on both the company and products even as he transfers the reigns to Mr. Cook," said Gartenberg.

And, in the words of Google's Eric Schmidt, Steve Jobs is the most successful American CEO of the last 25 years.

It is this success story that further adds to the concerns about the future journey of Apple, as also the deteriorating health of Jobs. It is a great challenge for Apple to keep up the pace. Though Jobs would be the chairman of the company, it is for sure that he would not play any major role in the future course of Apple.

Will Apple without Jobs be like life without iPad in the present-day context? Steve Jobs leaves many questions unanswered even as he says bye to his active role in Apple.

(with inputs from Reuters)