Should I be a philosopher first or a King first?

There is a saying that if you want to be a philosopher-king, become a king first then the philosopher, not the other way. I chose to become a philosopher first.

To illustrate my point of view let me tell you my stories -

When I was a kid :

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by money. I was able to buy ice cream with 25 cents which gave me immense joy. The same happened while buying other food items from peddlers. My point of view was that we can buy happiness through money. I used to tell my mother that one day I will break the almirah and take all the money. My parents used to laugh at my comments. But I was damn serious then!

I started asking who earns the most money. I forgot who told me that, but someone told me that 'GOVERNMENT' has the most money. I wasn't aware of what a government means. Since that moment, my aim was to become a 'GOVERNMENT'.

When I grow more :

Then few years passed away. I started realizing that 'GOVERNMENT' is not a single person. I did not know what it was, but I was sure that it is something else. The perspective of money changed for me. Money meant a good education, money meant a good marriage ceremony, money meant a good trip, and whatnot. Money fascinated me but I did nothing to gain it. But it is strange that I was never addicted to money. I kept my expense affordable so that money does not become a concern for me.

Then I got a Job :

After my college degree, I got a job in a big software technology company. When most of my friends were saving money, I was enjoying my moment. I was traveling most of the weekends. As I did not visit fancy hotels or restaurants, my salary was enough. After a few years, I went through a tough situation. I had severe financial crises. In that situation too, I was aware that money cannot solve my problem. Even if I get one thousand crore, I will still have that problem. Because there are some problems that cannot be solved through money (e.g. cancer).

Bill Gates divorced Melinda Gates :

Bill Gates is one of my favorite people whom I admired a lot. I viewed his videos, his newsletters when it comes online. I watched a documentary on Bill Gates on Netflix. My respect for him skyrocketed. His contribution to eradicating polio is one of his best, I think. He read thousands of books in his entire life. With so much knowledge and money also, he is not able to continue his married life. That event shook my belief system. I started questioning my belief system again. I prioritized learning life over earning money.

Conclusion Event :

A few months back I went to a friend's reunion event. It was a wonderful event. While I was returning home, I did not get an Uber. The second wave in India was ending. It was not a strict lockdown, but trains were not running. Buses were too much crowded and did not allow any new members. I was really worried about how to reach home. Luckily, I got a shuttle. Shuttle means a cheap cost cab. The shuttle comes from a remote place to drop someone to Kolkata and while returning they give a lift to people at a cheap cost. One person rode the cab with me. I like to observe people. So, I started discussing it with him. He is a supervisor in a construction company. He earns Rs. 15,000 per month. He manages laborers who earn much less than that. He was saying after the lockdown started in India every people lived their life fullest. Even the laborer enjoyed their life at home and ate whatever they want. But now he is also facing a fiscal crisis. With an earning of 15k bucks, he feels like he is already living a king-size life but still facing a fiscal crisis after 1.5 years of lockdown. He is just worried about his laborers who have much less income than his. I earn multiple times more than his. If money is everything, then I should have more happiness than him, right? But the fact is I am more worried about my future than him, I have more stress than him and whatnot.

There is a link where you can type your monthly income and that will tell you how rich you are in India (Rich calculator ). If you are earning more than Rs. 34k a month, then you are richer than 99% of the Indians. Now I have a question for everyone who is reading this and earning more than 34k a month in India

• Are you happier than that 99 person who earns less than you?
• Are you living a less stressful life than that 99 person who earns less than you?

I know financial freedom is one of the most important aspects of our life. At this time, money can solve a lot of our issues to a certain point. But once you reach that point, you will have other issues. To solve those, you need to be a philosopher first. So, I decided to be a philosopher first and then a king not another way around.