FAITH & FORTUNE

There’s no dearth of charlatans on Dalal Street, leading investors to panic and losses. If only the gods themselves would guide us all...
Suresh Sadagopan

THE conditions in which Lord Krishna expounded the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna were hardly conducive to clear thinking. A war was raging, and Kurukshetra was witnessing a bloodbath. Arjuna was perturbed and wanted to call it a day. Krishna sought to put things in perspective and counsel him. That advice became the Bhagavad Gita, which millions now consider a guide to living. There are some similarities to the situation in the stock market today. In the bloodbath on Dalal Street, many have lost money. Global events have taken the wind out of the sails of the Indian stock markets, despite good corporate performance. Investors are despondent and dejected. Fear is the dominant emotion—fear of losing money, and of changes that will sweep the markets. They despair of good times returning. Now, more than ever, they want sage counsel. Global bigwigs probably crave a seer even more than we do, right now. Perhaps no one knows this better than Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain! The Colonial Cousins, Hariharan and Leslie Lewis, beseeched Krishna to come to this world in their famous rendition of Vyasaraya’s composition “Krishna ne begane”. Well, if he did show up, what would he say? Nobody really knows, of course, but there’s no harm in imagining his take on the situation. And that’s exactly what we have done below. Early one morning, Lord Krishna appeared before stock market devotees, sending them into a tizzy. They wanted to know when the good times would be back. Now, Lord Krishna often answers in parables and stories. So it was this time. He said: “A man was overcome by despair, as he was beset by a series of disasters. He wanted to end it all, so he went to the edge of a cliff. Standing there, on the brink, he remembered his father, who had given him a ring. His father had advised him to read the inscription when things went extremely well in his life—or extremely badly. He took off the ring and read the engraved message: ‘This too shall pass.’ The man thought for a minute, and resolved to fight back. He did, and eventually became very successful. Life was good, and he was at the pinnacle of his career. Then he remembered the ring once again. Life is a cycle. Didn’t you check your ring six months ago?” ended the Lord. Seeing how confused people were, Krishna would probably have had to repeat much of the Bhagawad Gita. It was, of course, relevant to these times. He might have remind them that “What has happened, and is happening, and will happen, is for the good.” But it is difficult to soothe scalded souls sanctimonious words, when the really want balm. Still, it’s true: the storm in the US has been brewing for a while, and it’s in everyone’s interest that the system is purged of the poison, painful as that may seem the short term. Now the investors were clamouring for tips, and badgering the Lord to name his picks in this difficult time. Krishna just told them another story. “A man followed a regular practice of bathing in the Yamuna early every morning, and going back home to do a puja after that. One night, there was a fierce storm. But the faithful man did not want to break his routine. Unfortunately, he lost his way home. He was worried that he would not make it in time for his puja. Presently, a small boy with a lantern came by and volunteered to take him home. As the man reached his street, the boy (who was actually the Lord) walked away. Now, what does faith have to do with stock markets, you may wonder. A lot, actually. Invest in companies whose management you consider able, and in whom you have enough faith that you will give them time to perform. Do this, and you’ll have invested in a winner,” said the Lord. Many investors saw sense in this. But some were anxious about the right time to sell their holdings. It seemed pretty clear that this was no time to sell. Keshav replied, “You should sell when you reach your goal.” Sounds simple, but to do that, we need to know what our goal is. Of course, Krishna was aware that we are often confused about that, so he continued: “Why fret about selling and buying, when you came into the world with nothing! What have you lost now? And what are you going to take with you when you go? Life itself is fleeting. Why time the market?” Afraid the Lord would vanish before he had got his answer, one stock devotee blurted out, “Will I get a Reliance Power allotment, my Lord?” Shyam simply said, “When the company exists only on paper, you apply, thinking of reliance and power. Don’t you see the maya of this?” Maya it is, for those who have applied for less than 225 shares, for they would have nothing to show for their efforts, while others wait on tenterhooks for listing gains! “What is your Stock-upadesh on day trading, my Lord?” asked a Dalal Street maverick. The Lord answered, “When I said what’s yours now was someone else’s yesterday and will be someone else’s tomorrow, I was not talking about day trading. Wealth creation takes time, and you need to give it time. A child takes nine months to develop in the womb—you cannot hasten that process. Just think what would happen if I started day trading, options and futures in my dealings!” The morning was getting on, and the Lord wanted to leave. The devotees of Dalal Street were loath to see him go. A bull operator persisted: was the bull in the foyer the real cause of all the trouble? Troubled, the Lord said: “I am the creator of all creatures. Bulls or bears, they are the same to me. A statue can’t change the course of events. I control the world. Still, if you want, move the sculpture and see if the bull charge is revived. I want you all to be happy, after all. But remember, the only certainty is change.” With these words, Lord Krishna entered the stock exchange building and vanished in a blinding flash. And the devotees who had heard the “stockopadesh” attentively saw the light.

Suresh Sadagopan is Chief Financial Planner, Ladder 7 Financial Advisories

Times of India Mumbai, date:5th Feb 2008, Page 43