NMIMS - New Delhi

Mumbai, 26^th April , 2022: SVKM’s NMIMS organized its 15^th Book Talk on “The Billionaire and the Monk: A Simple Story about Finding Extraordinary Happiness” with Mr. Vibhor Kumar Singh- Author, Podcaster, Founder and CEO –Paneliq Technologies Pvt. Ltd. on April 25, 2022.

An Alumnus of London School of Economics and Political Science, Mr. Vibhor Kumar Singh, penned the book to spread the power of realizing that “Happiness” is not a philosophical riddle, but rather a state of mind that can be attained, and how the greatest delights may be cherished via the simplest and tiniest acts of daily life. Being a stock market professional who grew up in the hill town of Nainital in the Indian Himalayas, Mr. Vibhor, believes in exploring the path of happiness by leading an uncluttering life, being grateful, not holding grudges, judicious use of money and many such simple mantras.

A discussion moderated by Mr. Praveen Kumar Loharkar, Assistant Professor- Department of Mechanical Engineering, NMIMS MPSTME, Shirpur Campus and Mr. Kartik Tiwari, Student, M. Pharm + MBA, NMIMS SPTM, Shirpur Campus delved into the words of Albert Schweitzer that “Success is not the key to happiness, but happiness is the key to success”, which is the foundation stone of the book. Talking about the challenges faced while writing the book, Mr. Vibhor Kumar Singh mentioned that the biggest challenge for him was to find the key to happiness even during uncertain times of COVID-19, when he began writing the book. The second challenge for him was to decide whether to keep the characters unnamed or not. He further accentuated how the billionaire represents a person’s mind while the monk is the representation of their heart.

During the course of the talk, Mr. Vibhor Kumar Singh highlighted the milestone-driven lifestyle of today, which pushes away people’s true happiness instead of being in the moment. The “Billionaire and the Monk” teach the reader that gratitude is the key to attaining inner peace and happiness and breaking the shackles of conditional happiness. The conversation further touched upon the correlation between money and happiness, where Mr. Vibhor enlightened the audience that though money does bring happiness, it is the person who has to decide his limits and judiciously balance between the four pillars of earning, consumption, saving and investment.Happiness is attained with genuine gratitude and minimalism. Minimalism is not the absence of ambition but a life choice in which we choose to live with minimum possessions but with maximum focus.

Towards the session’s conclusion, the author touched upon the difference between overconsumption of technology and its optimistic usage for the creation and how it is of paramount importance to take time out for oneself and introspect by “doing nothing”. Sharing his last thoughts, Mr. Vibhor advised the students to end the race of milestone life and attain unconditional happiness to understand the true difference between gratification and true harmony.

For his future plans, Mr. Vibhor Kumar Singh is working on another thought-provoking book on understanding unconditional happiness.

About the Book

‘Are you happy?’ This seemingly straightforward question puts two men from opposite walks of life on a personal journey to find the true meaning of happiness. As their paths cross, the Billionaire who leads a life of luxury and the Monk who once believed in renunciation strike up an unlikely friendship, united by their common goal.

In the scenic city of Shangri-La, they soon discover that the greatest wisdom often lies in the simplest truths of life. Donning the roles of teacher and disciple by turns, the two friends show and learn from each other that happiness is in fact a state of mind. And seeking contentment on either end of the spectrum of human experience – be it asceticism or self-indulgence – is futile because joy exists in its purest form in the harmony between simplicity and ambition.

As it demystifies the elusive concept of happiness, this thought-provoking tale offers an answer to the oft-asked question: Can one truly be happy and how?

About SVKM’s NMIMS ( Deemed to be University):

Established in 1981, NMIMS is today recognized as a globally reputed university with strong industry linkages. It offers multiple disciplines across eight campuses that consist of 17 specialised schools, more than 17,000 full-time students, and 800+ full-time faculty members, ten faculty members with Fulbright Scholarship and Humboldt International Scholarship for post-doctoral research. The Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) laid the foundation stone of this esteemed university, with the aim to cater to the rising demand of management institutes in the country. It is known for its consistent academic quality and research-focused approach towards holistic education. SVKM’s NMIMS has been granted Category-I Deemed University status by Graded Autonomy Regulation 2018 by MHRD/UGC, and NMIMS Mumbai Campus is NAAC accredited with a CGPA of 3.59.

Website: www.nmims.edu