Have Politicians Forgotten The Theory Of Karma?
Politically things are not that good in India. I have always believed that whatever good has happened in our country has been because of people like you and me and never because of politicians. During the time of independence we had great people giving up their lives for the freedom of our nation, but after that we had politicians who were not afraid to take away lives for their own benefit. Not letting the economy and the common man prosper is the worst form of mass murder according to me.To be honest I feel that politicians all over the world are the same irrespective of which political party they belong too. However they unfortunately have forgotten the theory of Karma. They have forgotten that as we sow, so shall we reap.For example today our country has extremely high inflation and this is affecting all of us. But does it affect the ministers who are living in castles and have everything paid for with our taxes? Inflation can be reduced significantly if we increased efficiency and supply. We could cut down our consumption of fossil fuels by having a world class mass transit systems in major cities running on nuclear power. Imagine how much nicer it would be if we had a mass transit system like major cities in China. We would all reduce the use of cars and make sure we used the public transport.Instead of doing what is needed, our politicians are busy hurling chairs at each other in the parliament and constantly arguing on petty issues. I find it disgusting when politicians come on TV and take credit for whatever economic growth we have. The sectors which have had growth have had it because of entrepreneurs who in spite of politicians were able to succeed. It has been because of intelligent and hard working people who have made sure their organisations and business grows. All that politicians would have done is eaten money and filled their own Swiss bank accounts.Wrong policies and decisions by the government bodies affect all of us. They affect our investments and our lives. For instance if the nuclear deal doesn’t go through, it would certainly affect our investment grading abroad. A nation whose Prime Minister can’t decide on his own is never an encouraging sign for investors. It might lead to capital rushing out of the country in the short term.I agree that the need for politicians has reduced compared to what it was say twenty years ago and that is been one good thing. But still we have parties like the Left trying to take our country back to the Stone Age. Not that other political parties are great. Personally I am of the view that inflation in India is not just around 11%, but much higher. Figures can be manipulated, and they always are. Just look at the prices of things we use in our daily lives, they have gone up by more than 40% in a matter of a few months.Inflation, political problems, energy crisis, credit crunch, higher interest rates, sub-prime problem are all going to affect the markets. Investors are usually extremely jumpy and do not take rational decisions. Simply on hearing all this there is a flight of capital which has been bringing the markets down. Markets can go down further- I don’t know if they will or they won’t. Most retail investors who do not believe in value and do not bother too much about fundamentals are constantly grumbling and cursing everything now. Many of them have gone bankrupt due to taking leverage in the form of trading in futures. I understand their problem, however I wish that all of them learn from their mistakes and try to use this time as an opportunity to learn more. I too have made such mistakes in the past, but luckily I have learnt from them.For value investors the markets going down is a great opportunity to buy, however the sad part is that most retail investors do not think this way and now even if they do, they might not have sufficient funds to benefit from this. Many will panic and sell and again after a few years will curse their luck for selling so low. My advice to them would be that use this opportunity has a time to start afresh. Every day is a new day and every day gives us the chance to start a new life. Once Edison had his whole lab burnt. Lots of his work and research was there in the lab, but he still was very happy. People were surprised and wondered why is he smiling even though his lab is burnt. He told them that all his mistakes have been burnt and he has the opportunity to start afresh. If you have made mistakes, do not worry and use this time to learn.Less than around 4% of India’s savings goes into the stock markets. As more and more people are educated about investing, this figure is bound to rise. As this figures rises, unethical operators and dirty money belonging to politicians will be less likely to control the stock markets. As more and more people have a stake in our country’s growth politicians will be more responsible to make sure that their decisions are beneficial to investors and the capital markets. This correction has been one of the best things that could have happened for any value investor. It is giving us a chance to buy assets into an economy which still has a long way to go.I am a strong believer in the theory of Karma. If we work hard today, learn more and invest in knowledge we will be rewarded. I was at the BSE building the other day and a good friend there who has been a part of the markets as well as the BSE for several decades very beautifully told me something from the Gita, which he has used in the markets. He told me that the Gita tells us to do our duty and not worry about the fruits and rewards. If we do our duty we will get the fruits either sooner or later. The same applies to the markets. We need to do our work and not worry about the returns in the short term. If a business is good, it shall be discovered by the masses sooner or later. These ideas are not very popular, but these are the very ideas which have stood the test of time. This simple idea runs into every area of our life. Let us all sow seeds of good in every area of our life. Do you agree with this way of thinking?
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