Lost in a Limbo

Let me share story of King Trishanku, An ancestor of Rama himself. Trishanku’s real name was Satyavrata. He had one seemingly impossible wish – he wanted to enter heaven in his human form, in his mortal body.

He approached a powerful Rishi Vashishth, But the Rishi Vashishth refused Satyavrata’s plea citing would be against the rules of nature. But Satyavrata would not take no for an answer. He turned to the son of Vashishth, Shakti, to convince him to take up the task. When Vashishth heard of this, he cursed Satyavrata of deformed body and his new name became the disparaging Trishanku.

But still determined, Trishanku came upon Rishi Vishwamitra. Rishi Vishwamitra took it upon himself to fulfil Trishanku’s wish. With the powerful powers, Trishanku started to rise to the heavens. But King Indra of heaven did not want Trishanku to enter heaven in his mortal body and break the rules of life and death. So, when Trishanku reached the gates of heaven, Indra refused to let him in.

Thus Trishanku started to fall back to earth. But when Rishi Vishwamitra saw this he refused to allow Trishanku to fall to the earth, and using his powers, he started to push back against Indra to get Trishanku to heaven.

Hence – Vishwamitra would not let him fall to the earth, and Indra was refusing to let him into heaven. So, he hung helplessly upside-down between heaven and earth. What we often call ‘Lost in Limbo’.

In Investment context, Investor lives are continuously trapped in an ever-repeating no-man’s land loop between secured products to high risk products, from current holding of an investment product to temptation of high performing investment product and from obligatory relationships to media noise. They are unable to surpass someone direct or indirect influence on either sides.

Investor should ‘Know the False from’. Something which is not in control must be avoided.

Deer in the headlights

This is an idiom that describes someone who is frozen in fear or surprise and unable to react to a sudden situation. Many wildlife explorers may validate that Deer often paralyzed by the bright headlights at night.

Deer are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular. Hence, they are more susceptible to being blinded by bright lights because their eyes are adapted to low-light conditions. Deer are most active at dawn and dusk, and have many more rod cells than humans, which are 1,000 times more sensitive to light than cone cells. Intense light overwhelms their visual system and temporarily blinds them.

Deer in the headlights effect is often used metaphorically as a reminder of the limitations of our own senses and the power of fear to immobilize us. By understanding the science, we can understand the complexity of this behavior which seems simple.

Investing in the stock market is a complex task. It can often induce fear and uncertainty, particularly during times of volatility. Just like a deer caught in the headlights, investors can find themselves paralyzed by fear, unable to make rational decisions.

When the market goes down, investors panic and sell their holdings. When market go up, investors’ try to find “next big thing” which lead to decisions without proper due diligence. Coupled with Ups and Downs of market, Investors are often paralyzed by constant stream of news, opinions, and data which overwhelms investors.

A wise investor always tries to optimize returns by looking after scheme performances. Rebalancing task with movement of market is key process as per market situation. Their try is to make sure not to get blinded by two headlights name ‘Greed and Fear’.

You Reap What You Sow

One day, Goddess Parvati told Lord Shiva, “I have noticed that you seem to add the troubles to the people who are already sad, while those who are happy stay free from sadness.”

To explain this, Lord Shiva and Parvati taken human avatar and went to a village in the form of a husband and wife. Lord Shiva told Parvati, “Since we are here as humans, we must live like them. I will arrange for food, and you prepare the stove.” Parvati ji went to gather bricks for the stove and took them from some old, broken-down houses in the village. When the stove was ready, Lord Shiva returned empty-handed. Parvati ji asked, “You didn’t bring anything. How will we cook?”

Lord Shiva asked her where she got the bricks for the stove. Parvati replied, “In this village, many houses are not cared for and are breaking down, so I took bricks from those.” Lord Shiva said, “The houses that were already weak have become even weaker because you took bricks from them. You could have taken bricks from well-kept houses instead.” Parvati ji replied, “The people in those houses have taken good care of them. They look nice and strong, and it wouldn’t be right to spoil them.”

Lord Shiva then said, “Parvati, this is the answer to your question. People who take good care of their homes. Those who live with good actions, keep their lives strong and beautiful. Sorrow cannot touch them. Those who are happy are so because of their own actions, while those who are sad are suffering because of their own actions.” People should live in a way that makes their lives strong and beautiful, like a well-built house that no one can damage.

This message from Lord Shiva also applies to today’s investors. Those who stay calm and focus on building a strong portfolio without giving in to greed or fear are the true winners in the long run. But those who constantly compare themselves with others’ returns are often left disappointed, with weak and unstable investments.

Investor’s aim is to build strong portfolios and strong investors. Returns are results of process which determine returns in the end.

Recipe to Silence

A friend of went for a Vipassana course. Vipassana is a ten-day experience for detoxification of body and mind. Most important part is one is not allowed to speak for ten days. Many devotees try Vipassana with a thought to sustain through these 10 days of silence and it is actually a long stretch.

Five days later, I got a call from him that he had left the program midway because he wasn’t able to take the silence. It made him uncomfortable to a level where he started feeling anxious.

This is true for large number of people. We don’t often pause to evaluate how comfortable we are with silence. In olden times, grandparents were working for hours with no communication. They were absorbed in the activity and therefore needed no other distraction. But even outside working hours, their life was really quiet for long durations without feeling awkward or anxious.

Today, we take refuge in the outpouring of information available to us at a click. Our brain is continuously seeking new information though scroll of our thumbs and electromagnetic device called ‘Mobile’. The information available is totally massive and in many cases, non-required for us.

It is actually beautiful to be speechless. During beautiful sunsets, long walks on a beach, road trips in the mountains, and in prayer rooms—it’s easier to find calm and be mindful.

Investors go through continuous churning of information from family, friends, media etc which makes them anxious about investment. As we all know, silence is always more powerful than the noise of any kind. Market volatility is not new. It has been prevalent since birth of stock trading. If investor cannot handle that noise with their own silence than such investor definitely stays away from equity investment.

The Nobel Prize-winning bacteriologist Robert Koch in 1905 mentioned, ‘The day will come when man has to fight noise as inexorably as cholera and the plague’.

Exactly, the noise of becoming infectious diseases like cholera and plague. Investor must stay away by taking vaccination names ‘silence’.

Dear Patrons,

Start with End in Mind

Famous actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger shared his approach to success of work.

Whenever I finished filming a movie, I felt my job was only half done. Every film had to be nurtured in the market place. You can have the greatest movie in the world, but if you don’t get it out there, if people don’t know about it, you have nothing. It’s the same with poetry, with painting, with writing, with inventions.

Greatest artists, from Michelangelo to Van Gogh, never ‘sold’ their arts until they found a gallery owner or an agent or someone who valued their art. If they have not met with right person at right time, great artists would go into a restaurant and do a stand up artistry to earn a meal.

All great work starts with a small efforts and their end decides their greatness. But in between the incremental efforts and consistency make something which is great in the end.

Investment success is similarly more about its end part rather than the starting of it. It is the time which decides success in the end. Further to that, right decisions taken adds for the compounding. Generally individual decisions are hinged to making best decision at the beginning.

Starting is just a step ahead and actual gain comes from the process, compounding and consistency.

The ‘Yaksha Prashna’

In the heart of the forest, the Pandavas wandered during their exile. While pursuing the stag, the brothers sensed urgency of water, Yudhisthira requested Nakula to locate a water source. To their relief, Nakula spotted a lake. However, a peculiar crane, claiming ownership of the lake. The crane informed Nakula that it could only get water after successfully answering his questions. Disregarding the crane’s warning, Nakula died soon after tasting the water.

In a tragic turn of events, one after another, the brothers met with the same fate at the hands of the crane on the lake’s shore, simply by disregarding its warning. Eventually, Yudhisthira arrived at the scene and got devastated by the loss of his siblings.

The crane unveiled itself as ‘Yaksha’, and warned, “This Lake is under my ownership and your brothers paid the price for not answering my questions before drinking from it. If you also ignore this, you too will suffer the same fate.” Yudhisthira responded respectfully, “I have no intention of claiming what is rightfully yours. Kindly ask me your questions, and I will make every effort to provide satisfactory answers.”

As the story goes, Yudhisthira answered with the wisdom drop by drop and all his brothers came back to life.

With respect to investment, the five answers of the ‘Yaksha Prashna’ can be following

1. What is the most surprising thing in the world? – The most surprising thing is that countless people believe that their wealth is immune to risk. They forget that fortunes rise and fall like tides.
2. What path should one follow? – The path of disciplined investing. Analyse history, study fundamentals, and plan strategically. Emotions sway like monsoon winds; principles endure.”
3. What is the greatest wealth? – Contentment. True wealth lies not in hoarded gold but in finding peace with what one possesses. Market highs and lows are mere ripples.”
4. What brings the greatest happiness? – Detachment from greed and unrealistic expectations. Happiness blooms when we accept what is achievable, ignoring market noise.”
5. What must you protect? – Investment strategy should be of ethical standards, honor and integrity guard wealth. Shortcuts lead astray.

As an investor, Investment is nothing but following simple these 5 ‘Yaksha Prashna’ and not deviating from them.

Nishit Siddharth Shah

90% of his brain was missing and he still lived

Dear Patrons,

In 2007 in France, a 44-year-old man went to the doctor complaining of numbness in his leg and underwent a brain CT scan that revealed a shocking truth. That man didn’t have 90% of his brain. The skull was almost entirely filled with cerebrospinal fluid and all that remained of the brain was a thin peripheral portion surrounding the skull.

Yet that man, had been leading a normal life for years: he was married, had two children, a job. He moved, laughed, loved and ultimately he lived. The case shocked the world scientific community and was described in the prestigious Lancet journal, becoming the subject of questions and amazement.

Many questions about the very concept of consciousness, understood as “awareness of the self” and the possibility of leading a normal life practically without a brain. The brain invaded by cerebrospinal fluid and eroded by 90% of its volume but during this time brain recalibrated itself over the years, allowing him to lead a normal life anyway.

According to a hypothesis, “self-awareness” (or detailed self-cognition) is formed through experience, the relationship between oneself and the surrounding world and learning, and is subject to continuous modifications and adjustments in course of life.

Similarities are in investing as well. An investor needs to have “Self Awareness” in term of own Risk Appetite for his / her investments. Investments done seeing someone else’s portfolio or past performance often do not succeed. Whether investment is in few thousands or crores, ‘sense of self’ helps and plays bigger role than hopping around in multiple investment.

We at Shalibhadra, firmly believe that Investment decisions are not about applying brain every time for creating wealth, But Investment success is more about forming an experience that teaches to handle emotions.

Nishit Siddharth Shah

The shape of fear…..!!

It is from the time of Mahabharata. Once Krishna and Balram were passing through a forest. They had been walking for a long time and now the sun was about to set. It was not possible to move ahead in the darkness, so Krishna said, “Balram, let us stay here till morning, as soon as it is dawn we will move towards our destination. Balram said, “But we may be in danger in this dense forest, it will not be appropriate to sleep here, we will have to spend the night awake.” Krishna suggested – “Okay, let us do this, first I will sleep and till then you keep watch, and then as soon as you feel sleepy, you wake me up; Then I will guard and you go to sleep.” Balram got ready. In a few moments Krishna went into a deep sleep

In sometime, Balram saw a terrifying figure coming towards him, it was a demon. The demon screamed loudly on seeing him and Balram got very scared. This incident had a strange effect. Due to fear, Balram’s size became a little smaller and the demon became even bigger. After that the demon screamed once more and again Balram trembled with fear, now Balram shrank even more and the demon became even bigger than before. The demon slowly started moving towards Balram, Balram was already scared, so he screamed loudly – “Krishna”, and as soon as he screamed, he fell unconscious there. Hearing Balram’s voice, Krishna got up, seeing Balram there, he thought that Balram got tired of guarding and called him before sleeping.

Now Krishna started guarding. After some time, the same demon came in front of him and screamed loudly. Krishna did not panic at all and said, “Tell me, Why are you screaming like this, what do you want?” This time also something strange happened- due to Krishna’s courage his size increased a bit and the demon’s size decreased a bit. For the first time the demon had found someone who was not afraid of him. In panic he screamed loudly at Krishna again. This time also Krishna was not afraid and his size increased even more while the demon became smaller than before. In a last attempt the demon screamed with all his might but Krishna smiled and said again, “Tell me what do you want?” Then what happened was that the demon became very small and Krishna took him in his palm and tied him in his dhoti and then kept him tucked in his waist.

In morning, Krishna and Balram started moving slowly when Balram said excitedly, “Do you know what happened last night, a terrible demon came to kill us!” Wait, wait”, interrupting Balaram, Krishna took out a demon tied in his dhoti and showing it to Balarama said, “Are you talking about this?” “Yes, it is the same. But yesterday when I saw it it was very big, how did it become so small?”, Balarama wondered. Krishna said, “In life when you try to avoid something that you must face it becomes bigger than you and starts controlling you but when you face something that you must face you become bigger than it and start controlling it!”

In the world of investments, if an investor tries to avoid or ignore risks, the risk starts becoming bigger, which can lead to fear-based decisions. On the other hand, if an investor acknowledges the risk, understands it, then the risk can be controlled. This does not mean that the risk disappears, but it becomes a manageable one.

Facing risks is a better strategy than avoiding them. It is about understanding and managing risk, not avoiding it.

Dear Patrons

Human mind is encyclopaedia of problems. Like, eat chips or not, put AC on 26 C or 27 C, where to go for holidays, from fitness to relationships, from jobs to hobbies, from personal to professional issues, the struggles of modern life are never-ending. The best way to find resolution is to acknowledge its effect on our psyche and course-correct to a desired routine.

As the story goes, A solo traveller and physiology professor once visited monastery in Sikkim. He has been posed with lot of question about individual problems in his professional life.

He met a very elderly and senior monk and sat across him and presented worldly question on problems. How should one get rid of repeated problems and issues in life? The monk thought for a moment and replied, ‘Well, you must to be like the sun. On some days you go sunbathing, stretch out and soak in all the sunshine in the world. And on others, you put on your shades, roll down your windows, draw your curtains and curse the all for the hot sun. In the end, the sun doesn’t change because of how you behave. It shows up every day just like it used to. Try to be like the sun.’

Same goes for a risk averse investor. There is a simple question to them before investment,

‘Are you taking the risk or someone else making you take the risk?’

When market goes up, No Problem. When market goes down, lot of problem. Some investors are not inherently risk takers and adverse market makes problem to them. Generally to solve this problem they start following someone who takes much more risk than what they actually can take. But is it is not a solution, it is just a herd following.

Identifying own risk taking capacity and investing accordingly is the right course correction. A wise investor makes sure that his problem are not just postponed but duly addressed by course correcting the process of their risk capacity.