Hemant Kathuria:
Hi Yadid,
As I'm told, Goenkaji didn't leave his business when in Vipassana. He did retire to leave all responsibilities to his son though. Interestingly, he had to leave his Burmese enterprise behind when coming to India (this was the time when starting Vipassana) or something like that, but then again flourished gradually with varied businesses like producing silk using cultivation of moths.
One of my very good friends was personally in touch with Goenkaj's elder brother. The above data is what we gathered from him while I was practicing under Goenkaji style camps.
Hemant
Ah I see.
My personal opinion is that in the 'Business' of liberation, there are no specific rules as to what you must and musn't do in terms of livelihood - but rather, it is beneficial to oneself to have so called 'Right Livelihood'.
So, as Goenka is fond of saying, 'the only yardstick to measure whether one is making progress in Vipassana or not is awareness and equanimity' (paraphrase from memory), and not the amount of factories one sets up.