Hope of better tomorrow drives people to deposit their money in schemes which claim to multiply our money manifold in short span of time but it also forewarns that our investment is “subject to market risk” and we should be ready even for the losses. But the financial advisors asks us to not look at the dark side, many success stories are put forth in front of us and we finally are convinced that we should not get bogged down with negative sentiments. Of course one of the most important reasons why we invest in stocks is because we cannot resist the temptation of multiplying our fortune quickly. And we finally take the plunge thus intertwining our life’s happy and sad moments with the Sensitive Index’s (Sensex) graph, which by nature sometime goes up and sometimes comes down.
Dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and moksha (liberation) are the four goals of family life. So for a householder financial stability is a necessity. Head of the family has to make sure that his family members have all the basic necessities of life. So investing money for better return isn’t wrong. However if one gets possessed by the desire for quick exponential profit then one is entering into a danger zone. Just like a gambler who after tasting few successes continues playing till the day when lady luck stops smiling on him, similarly greedy investors continue taking risk till he becomes bankrupt and ruined. A person invested in stocks and soon his money multiplied by 25 times, his Rs 3 lakh became Rs 75 lakh. His family members requested him to soon encash all the profit but with a desire for more he continued investing but sadly the stock suddenly crashed wiping out his entire gain.
Gita advises us to shun greed because it is gateway to hell (Bhagavad Gita 16.21) and asks us to embrace simplicity, a godly quality. It is also verily said that Lord has provided sufficient for our need but not for our greed. We have heard the story of a person who got a goose who gave a golden egg daily. The person was initially happy to have one golden egg a day but soon greed overpowered him and to get all the golden eggs in one shot he cut open the stomach of the bird. He did not find any gold mine there, even the innocent bird died ruining his chance of having a golden egg daily.
So while planning for our financial goal we should keep greed and impatience aside, we should choose means which is just, legitimate and is not too risky. We should not unnecessarily put our life in anxiety by parking our money in volatile markets. Instead we can choose such stocks and schemes after consulting genuine advisors where though profit may not be exponential but has strong base and have good track records of performance spanning several years. There are also schemes, such as government schemes, with almost negligible risk where profit is moderate, we can choose those too. Also we should not be recklessly spending money but should try to simplify our life so that we can save more for the future. It is also better to give up the mindset of amassing too much. In fact money should not be only used for our own aggrandizement but it should also be used to serve the Lord and share it with others in the form of charity (Gita 18.5).
Most importantly, life is not about just making money because even if we succeed in accumulating lots of wealth, we will be leaving everything behind here when we embark on a new destination at the end of our life. This is why sages and seers have advised us to plan our life in a way so that not just our present is pleasurable but our future life is also secure and happy. We can accomplish such a life if we do all our work by keeping Krishna in the centre – In all activities just depend upon Me and work always under My protection. In such devotional service, be fully conscious of Me (Bhagavad Gita 18.57).
So let us not jeopardise our life by linking it to the ups and downs of the sensitive index (Sensex). For a better & bright tomorrow we should live life as per the guidelines given by Krishna in Gita.
