A 1974 handwritten letter by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, wherein he expressed his desire to visit the Kumbh Mela has resurfaced. The letter was auctioned for Rs 4.32 crore in 2021. The letter, addressed to Jobs’ childhood friend Tim Brown, expressed his intent to experience the spiritual grandeur of the Kumbh Mela.

Jobs’ 1974 letter was penned during a pivotal period when he was exploring Zen Buddhism and seeking spiritual clarity. That same year, he traveled to India, intending to visit Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram in Uttarakhand, only to learn the spiritual leader had passed away the previous year. Despite this, Jobs stayed at Kainchi Dham and drew inspiration from Karoli Baba’s teachings. This visit shaped Jobs’ perspective, influencing his personal and professional life.

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While Jobs never attended the festival, his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, fulfilled a part of his dream by visiting Prayagraj’s Mahakumbh Mela on January 13. Laurene, who has been given the Hindu name “Kamala” by her spiritual guru Swami Kailashanand Giri, performed rituals including the ‘pattabhishek’ for spiritual leader Vyasanand Giri Maharaj.

Draped in a white dress and orange shawl, Laurene participated in prayers, meditation and practices like Kriya Yoga and Pranayama. Accompanied by a 40-member entourage, she embraced the spiritual ethos of the festival despite suffering from allergies on her second day.

Here’s what Jobs wrote in the letter

Tim,

I have read your letter many times

I do not know what to say.

Many mornings have come and gone people have came and went

I have loved and I have cried many times.

Somehow, though, beneath it all it doesn’t change – do you understand?

I am now living on a farm in the mountains between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. I wish to go to India for the Kumba Mela, which starts in April. I will be leaving sometime in March, not really certain yet. If you desire, and I am still here when you arive, we can come up here in the mountains together and you can tell me your thoughts and feelings, which I did not fully understand from your letter.

There is a fire in the other room and I am getting cold here. I will end by saying I do not even know where to begin.

Shanti,
Steve Jobs