Looking through worldly eyes, President Putin and totalitarian dictators of that ilk, whose names we prefer not to mention are, of course, regarded as immensely powerful men – until their eventual ignominious downfall. But through the eyes of enlightened philosophy, we look deeper. We see that tyrants who trample over men are utterly weak creatures. Why? Because they have no power or control over their violent thoughts, their insane ambitions, their lust for power, their historical delusions. They are powerless to bridle and overpower the savage demons in their own minds. Self-mastery, not dominance over others, is genuine power.
So, who is the powerful man? He who is master of himself; he who goes about his daily life with humility, self-restraint, and an application of the Golden Rule from an understanding that the welfare of others is as important as his own, because the world, humanity, and indeed all life is deeply non-local and interconnected at many levels.
