Repost | The Hidden, Spiritual Side of Steve Jobs

Everyone is talking about the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who changed the world with innovation.  In fact, as I type this on my laptop (a Microsoft, sorry Mr. Jobs), next to me is an iPhone and an iPad (the blogger apps on them is terrible).  For Christmas, I intend on upgrading my phone to the newest iPhone and right now I'm getting a reminder that I need to update my iTunes and other Apple products on my computer.  We simply cannot escape Jobs' influence; and I'm not one of those die-hard Apple-only fans but even I cannot escape their products. 

But unlike most bloggers and news articles highlighting Jobs' amazing rise-fall-and-rise-again biography, I am wanting to share with you CNN's article on the spiritual side of Jobs.  Jobs, like most other aspects of his life, was private in regards to his faith.  But as CNN highlights, Jobs was influenced by and a believer in some form of Buddhism.  CNN writes:

The name of Jobs' company is said to be inspired by the Beatles' Apple Corps, which repeatedly sued the electronics maker for trademark infringement until signing an exclusive digital distribution deal with iTunes. Like the Beatles, Jobs took a spiritual retreat to India and regularly walked around his neighborhood and the office barefoot.

Traversing India sparked Jobs' conversion to Buddhism. Kobun Chino, a monk, presided over his wedding to Laurene Powell, a Stanford University MBA . . .


Rebirth is a precept of Buddhism, and Apple experienced rebirth of sorts when Jobs returned, after he was fired, to remake a company that had fallen the verge of bankruptcy.

"I believe life is an intelligent thing, that things aren't random," Jobs said in a 1997 interview with Time, providing a glimpse into his complicated belief system that extends well beyond the Buddhist teachings.

Karma is another principle of the religion, but it didn't appear to be a system Jobs lived by. If he feared karma coming back to bite him, the sentiment wasn't evident in his public statements about competitors and former colleagues, calling them "bozos" lacking taste. Those who worked for Jobs described him as a tyrant they feared meeting in an elevator.

The article goes on to offer more of a personal biography than a spiritual biography of the technology giant seeking to apply his theological beliefs to how it applied to his work and his company.  Read the rest here.


Here is a biographical piece done by CNET on the work of Jobs at Apple.





HT: Denny Burk


CNN - The Spiritual Side of Steve Jobs  


For more:
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. - Steve Jobs, 1955-2011  

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