A blessed day for Apple CEO: Tim Cook's divine interaction at Siddhivinayak shrine

As per Hindu tradition, prayers are offered to Ganapati for auspicious beginnings.It seems fitting then, that Tim Cook decided to kickstart his first visit to India as the CEO of Apple, by seeking divine blessings.

Cook, along with Sanjay Kaul, Apple's India head, visited Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. He attended the 30 -minute long kakad aarti. This is the first prayer of the day, offered before sunrise.


Image: PTI

When contacted, a member of the temple's administrative staff said that Cook and his entourage arrived at 5.30 am and stayed on for nearly 45 minutes. The temple authorities did not have any intimation about Cook's visit. “We found out later. The temple is empty that early on a Wednesday.They attended the aarti and left,“ said the member.

Some of the authorities were so clueless of Cook's star status that while speaking about his visit on the phone, a member of the press team referred to him as “Thomas Cook“.

However, Sanjiv Patil, executive officer of the temple trust, who saw the CCTV recording of Cook at the aarti said, “A member of his entourage appeared to be explaining the proceedings to him. After the aarti, he offered flowers and prasad to the priest. He also put money into the donation box.“

Images of Cook standing outside the sanctum sanctorum were circulating on the internet yesterday.As was a photo of Cook chatting with Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant, outside the temple.

Temple authorities were, however, unsure if the two were together or if it was a chance encounter. A local flower vendor, Mukesh, recognised Anant, not Cook. He said, “Ambani (Anant) came today, yesterday and day before . He comes when Mumbai Indians have a match,“ he said.

Cook and religion

Although Cook has never ex pressed an interest in eastern spirituality, Apple's founder, the late Steve Jobs famously met a renowned guru during his travel to India in the 1970s.In January this year, Cook met Pope Francis at the Vatican. Cook had come out as gay in 2014. The Catholic Church has been controversially opposed to LGBT rights.

Faith has been an impor tant part of Cook's life, by his own admission. In a Washington Post piece add res i n g religious discrimination , he revealed that he was baptised in a Baptist church. Even when he came out, he said that he considered being gay among the greatest gifts God has given him. Pierre Om. -Inputs by Aditi Saxen

Faith and the leader Sheryl Sandberg The Facebook COO posted last year about how observing the Jewish mourning practices of shiva and sheloshim helped her deal with the grief of losing husband Dave Goldberg.Sandberg also revealed earlier how Jewish teen group B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) helped her “stay close to the Jewish identity“.



Indra Nooyi The PepsiCo CEO talked about her staunch faith to the magazine Hinduism Today in 1998. “There are times when the stress is so incredible between office and home, trying to be a wife, mother, daughterin-law and corporate executive,“ she said in the interview, “Then you close your eyes and think about a temple like Tirupati, and suddenly you feel `Hey -I can take on the world.“

Pierre Omidyar The eBay founder and former chairman is a follower of the Dalai Lama, hosting the exiled Tibetan leader when he visited Hawaii for a Buddhist convention in 2012.

Omidyar and his wife Pam also donated generously to the Dalai Lama Centre for Ethics and Transformative Values in 2013.


Also read: Apple CEO Tim Cook's Bollywood night with Shah Rukh Khan