Three dimensions of greatness
Elon Musk imagines a world where cars have no drivers; but he cannot imagine a world without employees in offices as he vociferously argues against work-from-home culture. Judith Butler imagines a world without Zionism, a world where 'they' pronoun is normalised, but not a world where Islam embraces same-sex marriages.
Both these people are changing the world in their own way — subverting conventional technology and discourse. These follow the saviour myths of monotheistic mythologies. Understandable when one traces their roots, via South Africa and East Europe.
Their imagination makes no room for Jainism, the faith from South Asia of some of the world's most successful mercantile and banking communities, who worked with Buddhist kings, Jain kings, Hindu kings, Muslim kings, British imperialists and even patriotic and nationalistic governments, without ever incurring the wrath of a mob.
In Jain mythology, which started being documented after 500 AD, we find 63 great beings who appear in every era. Nine of these are the Vasudevas, or violent individualistic heroes who are much loved by their pacifist brothers, the Baladevas, as the march against unjust Prati-Vasudevas. Vasudeva is very much like a Greek hero, who challenges authority.
The nine Vasudeva-Baladeva-Prativasudeva triad make up the list of 63 great men. Note: the villain is included in this list, and not rejected as in western myth, as they too are products of actions in previous lives. Then come the twelve Chakravartis, the leader who establishes the
