PREDICTING THE MARKET MOVEMENT HELPS!

Knowing the market direction is very important as everyone keeps coming with the questions: ‘will the market rise?’ or ‘will the market fall?’

What?

Market direction is referred to as trend. Wherein, a stock moving upward is in upward trend, and a stock moving downward is in downward trend. There are times when stocks reach no trend  zone or sideways, this happen because as soon as market go up it forces a situation of supply and market fall down forcing a situation of demand coming in.

Types of market trend   

Technical analysis theory classifies market trend on two grounds: market direction and time period. On the basis of ‘market direction,’ a trend may be upward trend stock market trend, it is better if one buys more shares. This is because the price is expected to rise in the future. So, one can profit at a higher price in the future. Another term for upward trend is bullish trend. Downward trends are conducive to selling one’s existing holding of a stock, they are also called bearish trend. This is because the price is going to fall further. And, if one is buying in the market, he or she may want to wait before the price falls further. ‘Time period’ is classified on the basis of time series that can be traced back to the articles that Charles H Dow wrote in the Wall Street Journal between 1900 and 1902. According to it, three types of market trend exist: primary trend, secondary trend and minor trend. The primary trend, this is the longest and most important trend because it has the ability to influence the other two. A primary trend generally last for one to three years, it can go beyond that time also. Unless there is a clear sign of a trend reversal the primary trend is considered to be the main trend. In such case, peaks would be constantly higher than previous ones. Similarly, a primary trend may also be marked by a constant fall in prices for multiple years. The secondary trend, this is a temporary price movement in the contrast to the primary trend. Suppose stock prices constantly moved up for a period of 2 years, however, during these 2 years, there was one phase during which stock prices constantly declined for three months, this is called secondary trend. Similarly, if the primary trend is a fall in stock prices, the secondary trend would be a short term rise in stock prices. It is generally observed that each primary trend contains many secondary trends within it. A secondary trend is a weaker trend than a primary trend because it cannot reverse the primary trend, and last for a small time period. And the minor trend is a phase within a secondary trend. In other words, it is a short movement that is contrary to the direction of the secondary trend. It lasts for an even smaller duration, few days to a week. All the three stock movements give useful information about stock prices, but only primary and secondary are important. 

Identifying trends

Knowing the market trend is all and good but what good is that knowledge when one cannot identify these market trends, which leads to loss of money. Another important point to note is that – ‘it is easy to pick some stocks in an upward trend but the real benefit comes when one knows when is the right time to exit the investment.’ Primary trend, say an upward, is marked by an upward sloping graph, with increasing tops and bottoms. If this continues to happen, it is an indicator of a primary uptrend, and conversely, a downward sloping graph, with lower peaks and lower bottoms is an indication of a primary trend. However, the beginning of a primary trend is hard to trace. The reason is that it will always be opposite to the dominated trend, i.e. an upward trend will always come after a long downward spell, and a downward trend will always come after a long upward spell. This confuses investor who thinks it to be a secondary trend and not a new primary trend. For example; suppose that the market is in the middle of a long period of falling stock prices, observing this the investor concludes that it is a primary down ward trend and all of a sudden peaks starts rising, the investor thinks that it is a secondary upward trend. Spotting a secondary trend is similar; it is basically primary trend in reverse. Only thing to consider is that – whether it is due to a temporary secondary trend or a longer new primary trend.’     

Other ways of predicting prices/market movements

Fundamental analysis is also a widely used analysis to predict stock prices, in it, it is important to consider factors like debt, book value, EPS, etc. Some investors rely on P/E ratio. Another is volume breakout, it means sudden spurt in the traded volume of a stock. If the increase in volume is accompanied by the increase in price of a share then it indicates a bullish trend. Moving averages: simple moving averages and exponential moving averages are also helpful in predicting stock movement. These parameters show whether the stock is trading in a range or has given price breakout. Derivatives is also another way of predicting, this is speculation in nature. In this one should check both futures and options. Many use the candlestick patterns to predict stock market price movement. Investor sentiment is also used for prediction. A market; comprises of investors and traders, balances buyers and sellers, so it is impossible to literally have more buyers than sellers or its exact opposite. The investor; owns a stock for many years, follows a buy low and sell high strategy, while a trader; owns a stock for several weeks down to seconds, attempts to mirror the investor’s action, i.e. buy when they are selling and sell when they are buying. A surge in demand for investors’ lifts the trader’s ask, while a surge in supply hits the trader’s bid. When a high proportion of investors express a bearish sentiment, one may conclude it to be a strong signal that a market bottom is near.     

It is not straight forward

A question arises – ‘why aren’t more people making more money in the financial market?’ This is because people are motivated by greed when buying and by fear when selling. So people formulate scenarios based on their emotional state which prevents them from realizing that ‘their main drive is emotion.’ But having said that, trying to predict the market’s next move helps, as it gives one some directional edge which is necessary in every situation, by picking or assuming which way the market is going to turn or it will continue in the same direction.

RUMI – A DIVINE POET

Rumi’s story entails how a ‘charming, wealth noble, genius theologian, law profession and brilliant scholar’ in his thirties transformed from a bookish scholar to a seeker of universal love and truth.

Rich family heritage

Jalalud’din Muhammad Rumi’s (1207-1273 A.D.) born in a scholarly family of Balkh, present day Afghanistan, was related to the family that had links to courts, theologians and mystics.  On the one hand his parents were related to the court of the Khwarazmshah, and on the other, his family was linked to Rashidun Caliph, Abu Bakr. His father Bahaud’din, a student of Najm al Din Kubra, was a man of great learning and piety, an eloquent speaker and distinguished professor.  Unfortunately not content with the philosophers and rationalist of the day Bahaud’din seems to have indulged in political diatribes, which forced the family to leave Balkan. Another theory for their relocation is that Bahaud’din predicted the Mongol invasion.    

On the travels

On the road to Anatolia, Rumi encountered one of the most famous mystic Persian poets Farid al Din Attar, in the city of Nishapur. Attar immediately recognized Rumi’s spiritual eminence and gave the boy his ‘Asrarnama,’ a book about the entanglement of the soul in the material world. From there, Bahaud’din’s entourage set out for Bagdad meeting many scholars and Sufis on the way. After that, the family visited Mecca, Medina and Damascus, all the time Bahaud’din kept looking for a town in which he could settle in a madrasah and teach his disciples who had accompanied him along his travels. From Damascus the family moved to Aleppo and then to Malatya where they settled for four years. From there they settled in Laranda, present day Karama, south of Konya, in present day Turkey. At Laranda Rumi married Gawhar Khatun who in 1226, gave birth to his first son, Sultan Walad. Leaving Rumi and the family Bahaud’din in 1228 shifted to Konya where he worked in a madrasah until 1230 when he died.     

After his father’s death

Rumi was not only Bahaud’din’s son but also his student, and was acquainted with other Kubrawi Sufis. So after Bahaud’din’s death Rumi counted on Burhan al Din Mubaqqiq, Bahaud’din’s student, for his training. It was Mubaqqiq who persuaded Rumi to embark on a quest and immerse in the type of studies, experiences and teachings that had distinguished his father. So Rumi travelled and met other Sufi mystics, at that time Anatolia was the coming together of communities and lot of give and take was taking place among diverse groups. Rumi was already a teacher and theologian when in 1244 he came across a wandering dervish named Shamsud’din of Tabriz, the meeting proved to be the turning point of his life.

His legacy

Rumi and Tabriz stayed together for a total of two years, on two separate instances, but the meeting had an everlasting effect on his work. After Tabriz left the second time, some say murdered, Rumi fell in a state of grief and out of that pain he poured out nearly 70,000 verses of poetry. These poems are collected into two books ‘Diwan e Shams e Tabrizi’ and ‘Masnavi.’ The first book is a collection of ghazals named in honour of Tabrizi; the poems are arranged to the rhyming schemes. The other book is a collection of six volumes of poetry, in which the poems are intended to explain the various facet of spiritual life. It is believed that Rumi started Masnavi at the suggestion of his then companion, Husan al Din Chalabin.       

Trial by fire

Rumi’s serene inner state and mystical sensibilities were cultivated in large parts as a means of defense against the transience, loss and terror he endured during his childhood, no doubt helped him in becoming literature’s greatest mystical poet. He was buried besides his father in Konya.

A TALE OF HOAX

According to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘hoax’ is an industrial age addition to the English language, where it first appeared in 1808 A.D.  

The word

The English philologist Robert Nares, 1753-1829 A.D., said that word ‘hoax’ was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb ‘hocus’  dictionary meaning of which are ‘to cheat,’ or ‘to impose upon.’ ‘Hocus’ is short for ‘hocus pocus’ which magicians chant before their tricks.

Human psyche

Everybody loves a good story. More unbelievable the tale, the more people are willing it to be true. Their thinking being, ‘surely nobody would go to such lengths to lie without good reason.’ It is this very thought that time and again gives motivation to certain people ‘to attempt to fool the general public.’ The hoaxes exploit human psychology by preying upon a number of human traits including good will, naivety, greed, fear and anxiety.

A disclosure

Every now and then there comes certain revelation that seems wild for people to wrap their heads around. Here are a few such tales from field of science, literature and internet, enjoy!

Scientific hoaxes

In 1725, a collection of stones on the outskirts of a Bavarian town was brought to Johann Beringer, chair of Natural History at the University of Wurburg, by a few of his students. The 2000 stones were curved in images of, lizards in their skin, birds with beaks and spiders etc. Beringer speculated that the stone was fossilized relics from the Great Flood. He was so sure that he wrote a book on it. The truth was that the stone had been planted by two of Beringer’s colleagues. A 10 foot long petrified human body, the Cardiff Giant, was discovered by a group of workers who were digging a well in William Newell’s farm in 1869. The truth was that, an atheist named George Hull had created a giant of gypsum as a prank on a fundamental minister who believed that Earth was once habituated by giants. Fragments of a humanlike skull, an apelike jawbone with two worn molar teeth, some stones tools and fragments of animal fossil, all discovered in a gravel pit by Charles Dawson in 1912. The skull was named, Piltdown man, and was hailed as the missing evolutionary link between apes and human. The truth was Dawson had planted the fossils, but was long dead when his hoax was revealed to the world. A British man named Ray Santilli in 1995 announced he had gotten the footage; of an autopsy of an alien whose spacecraft had crashed in summer of 1947, in Roswell, New Mexico, from a retired military cameraman. The truth, Santilli admitted in a documentary in 2006, to staging and recording the entire autopsy. But, he stood to his claim that the actual footage existed, and he only filmed the reenactment because the original footage was in bad shape.         

Literature hoaxes

In 1983 the newspaper Stern had announced the discovery of 60 small notebooks, claimed to be the personal diary of Adolf Hitler. On May 6th, 1983, West Germany’s Federal Archives released the results of a forensic investigation labeling the diaries to be hoax. A book consisting of 24 chapters that claimed to document a plot for Jewish world domination, the protocols of the Elders of Zion, might just be the most dangerous hoax in history. In the struggle for the control of Europe in the middle ages between the Catholic papacy and the crowned heads of Europe, the church seemed to have an upper hand thanks to the document. The Donation of Constantine, the document claimed that the church had transferred vast amount of land and political control from Roman Emperor Constantine1 to Pope Sylvester 1 in the 4th century A.D This turned out to be one of the most important forgeries in Europe history.    

Internet hoaxes

In 2001, an image of a helicopter performing a training maneuver in front of the Golden gate along with a white shark was passed along via email, claiming it be the National Geographic photo of the year. The truth was the image was a composite of two separate images; the helicopter’s and the shark’s. A 16 year old girl named Bree began posting videos blogs about her everyday life under the Youtube user name; lonely girl 16. The video gained a following when the girl’s parents went missing. This was proved to be fictional. In 2007, Household hackers hit big time when their viral video demonstrated how to charge an iPod using an onion and a glass of Gatorade. It was a fake.   

Why people create hoax

Who can forget the various Ponzi scheme’s over the years, which lured investors and paid profit to earlier investors by using funds obtained from newer investors. A hoax occurs when a person or group intentionally make up a fake story and pass it off as the truth. People create hoaxes for the following reasons: to draw attention to their fraudulent skills, to gain financial benefit through deceit, sociopathological hoaxers will either put their bait out or target specific individuals to vilify or discredit, especially those who pose a threat, to feed people’s secret prejudices and benefit, and lastly, it is fun to fool people.

GREAT INDIAN COURT JESTERS

A court jester in India is called a Vidusaka. From the stories and tales; both historic and fictional. I try to portray an Ancient Indian court jester.

Vidusakas of India

The trinity of Tenali Rama, Gopal and Birbal dominates the Indian court jester scene. These Vidusakas of Indian history were not jokers, nor were they only entertainers who lightened the ritualistic atmosphere of Ancient India courts. Their sharp wit and pity remarks were invariably backed by wisdom which was often used by Kings to good effect.

Weakness turned into strength

Officially a Vidusaka held no authority in court, normally perceived as a drawback, but it was precisely this absence of rank that allowed the jesters to be free with their opinions, since their words could be considered jokes. However, they needed to be careful not to overstep boundaries and suffer the wrath of their Kings. These jesters were trained musicians, actors or artists, some of them became trusted and valued confidants in courts, and some jesters like Birbal even fought in wars for their King. These skilled entertainers often used clever gibes at the enemies of their King’s and also directed their King’s attention to the problems of the society.        

A jester at work

The following story best illustrates how Vidusaka goes out about their daily works. A visiting King is very pleased by the entertainment provided by the court jester. The visiting King asks the jester to say something new and if pleased, then the King would reward the jester with some gold coins. At first the jester declined the offer, citing fewer gold coins as the reason. But the jester finally agreed to take up the offer only when the visiting King raised the stakes; parting with the bag of gold coins. At this moment jester declined to take the bag of gold reasoning that the King has pleased the jester with the act of big heartedness. Then the jester started to bad mouth his King as miser and stingy. This resulted in the whole court breaking into laughter. The visiting King laughed because of jester’s flattery, the host King laughed because the jester has conveyed the truth, but in a humorous way, and the court laughed because both Kings were happy. In the end the jester was handsomely rewarded.  

Some of the gems

The famous Indian court jesters are: Tenali Ramkrishna, Gopal Bhar, Birbal, and Gonu Jha. Pundit Gonu Jha of Bharona village is thought to be one of the earliest court jesters in North India. Tenali Ramkrishna, 16th century, the South Indian jester of King of Vijayanagar is said to be a Shivaite; worshipper of Shiv by birth, but converted to Vaishnavite; worshipper of Vishnu. Birbal was initially called Mahesh Das, 1528-1586, before becoming one of the nine navaratnan of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Gopal Bhar or Gopal Bhand was the court jester of the court of King Krishna Chandra Roy of Nadia, 1710-1783. It is believed that Gopal is a legendary personality. But a reference has been found. There was a body guard of the King of Nadia, who was given special status by the King. Gopal Bhar’s statues can still be seen in the palace of Krishna Chandra and in Ghurni, Krishnagar town. 

Concluding thought

Great Indian jesters were always on the side of common people in fighting oppression against the rich and powerful, with their unique weapons: wit and humour.

VISCERAL FEAR OF STUDYING MATHEMATICS

Mathematics is not terrifying, yet it tends to cause anxiety in the group, that needs it the most, ‘students.’

The term Mathematical anxiety is defined as the feeling of anxiety, in which one cannot perform efficiently in situation that involves the use of mathematics. During this the student feels tension and worry that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in academic sessions as well as in ordinary life situations. 

Normally, the principles of mathematics are understood by children at an early stage. Preschoolers understand counting, and by kindergarten it is common for children to use counting in a more sophisticated manner by adding or subtracting numbers. Around six years of age children begin to perform addition and subtraction mentally. And, by eight years of age they can retrieve mathematical answers from memory. Thereafter, with proper training normally functioning children acquire these basic mathematical skills and are able to solve more complex mathematical problems with more sophisticated training. Truth is not as simple. It is however, correct that children learn certain mathematical skills by certain ages, but with these mathematical expertise students often develop mathematical anxiety in school, from teachers who are themselves anxious about their mathematical abilities. 

Stress which comes from anxiety is bad for one’s health as well as for one’s performance, in the area causing the stress. A severe anxiety may lead to phobia, such as mathematics phobia, where it is common for students to make statements like – I can’t do math or I hate math. Mathematical phobia is chronic disorder characterized by excessive, long lasting anxiety and worry about mathematical situation such as test and general mathematical performances. Neurophysiologic; the branch of physiology and neuroscience that is concerned with the study of the functioning of the nervous system, studies suggest that, mathematical anxiety brings out emotions and pain related activation during and before mathematical activities, and the negative emotional response to mathematical anxiety weaken processing efficiency. The birth of mathematical anxiety can be traced back to the period where the fundamental aspects of mathematics are taught. At the time, a set of negative experiences are created around the subject that heightens the fear of mathematics in children or student, that builds up throughout life, and may trickle into adulthood, when the student is pursuing higher education.  

Mathematics is usually taught as a right and wrong subject. In contrast to most subjects, mathematics is often taught as if these were a right way to solve the problem and any other approaches would be wrong, even if students got the right answer. While in learning, understanding the concept should be paramount, but with right or wrong approach to teaching, students are not encouraged to experiment and take risks. By the use of the standardized teaching method, student who have different learning pattern tend to be ignored, this leads to their falling behind the class. And, this indifference to mathematics only increases the pressure on students to do well by their parents and teachers, leading to the development of anxiety.           

A student with mathematical anxiety doesn’t necessary lack ability in mathematics; rather they cannot perform to their full potential due to the interfering symptoms of their anxiety. This anxiety manifests itself in many ways like physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms. Mathematical anxiety also affects working memory, when solving mathematical problem, a large portion of this capacity is dedicated to problem solving. However, in students with mathematical anxiety, much of this space is taken up by anxious thoughts, thus compromising the individual’s ability to perform. Research have shown that student’s mathematics ability differs across countries, for example, students of India, Korea and Singapore show higher mathematics solving capabilities. The reason is that people who develop a growth mindset believes that everyone has the ability to grow their intellectual ability, learn from their mistakes and become more resilient learners. Parents in these countries tend to set high expectations and standard for their children. Mathematics is often labelled as a masculine ability; as a result girl students often have low confidence in their mathematical ability. This gender stereotype can reinforce low confidence in girl student and can cause mathematical anxiety.     

The primary aim of education is to serve as an equalizing instrument for society. So to develop student’s interest in mathematics teachers and parents need to adopt certain measures that will help them in engaging the students to mathematics in a more attractive manner. A major complaint that students have about mathematics is the inability to see it in action in everyday life. So, by infusing real world examples with mathematical concepts teachers can help students view mathematics from an entirely different point of view, for example, fraction can be taught by physically showing the division of a chocolate bar, geometry can be linked to the drawing students make in their art class etc. The teacher needs to adapt multi format teaching method, as students respond differently to different teaching methods. So, when it comes teaching mathematics concepts, teachers should adapt varied aids to combine visual, auditory or physical learning methods. This process can enable teachers to customize their teaching methods to suit each student and connect mathematical concepts to relatable objects that students encounter in their everyday life. Another reason for the fear of mathematics for students is their inability to understand the problem. This occurs because of the lack of holistic and multi faceted exposure to different concepts of mathematical concepts taught to students in schools in their childhood.  Students must be taught to consider each problem as a collection of individual elements. And, by understanding each element separately, students can be taught to look at a problem as a combination of concepts that are present in other problems also. It is also important to teach each student that mathematics is a language of its own. And, if students can’t speak the language fluently, they don’t really understand the fundamental concepts. For example, using a sentence structure such as, A ____ has four sides and four corners, or one metre is equal to _____ centimeters, etc. during warm-ups allows students to develop fluency in mathematics vocabulary, which will help the students in a attaining a deeper understanding of different mathematical concepts. One of the easiest ways to reduce the student’s mathematical anxiety is for the parents to be involved in their child’s education. This is because parent’s perception on mathematics influences their child’s perception and achievement in mathematics. This means that, if a parent makes it apparent that they do not enjoy mathematics, this can influence the way child views mathematics.

Teachers and parents need to remember that children are curious by nature, so it is alright to except questions, like, why do we do it this way, and not that way? It becomes better if both parents and teachers respond positively to these sorts of questions, and use them to help the children and students deepen their understanding of mathematics by examining alternative methods, so the students can chose for themselves which they prefer.

A little change in attitude will make the student love mathematics and build self confidence knowing that the student has passed over and reached the mathematics loving community.            

JOHANN GUTENBERG THE MAN AND HIS STORY

Johann Gutenberg the man responsible for introducing printing press in Europe.

The man

Johann Gutenberg a German craftsman and inventor was born in Mainz in around 1398 A.D. in the aristocratic Gensfleisch family; the part owner of the Mainz mint that produced official coins, medals and jewellery for the city.  As a young man Johann trained as a gold smith, metal worker and gem cutter. There was a custom to take the name of one’s house as one’s surname, he lived in a house named Hof zum Gutenberg, so the young Johann began using Gutenberg as his surname. Even though Gutenberg is wrongly credited as the father of printing press, as he did not invent the printing press or the printing ink or even the movable type, but he did built on the work of others, starting with the existing tools and devices, which he modified, refined and perfected.   

The idea

Before Gutenberg’s printing press, the scribes used quill pen to copy a text word for word on a piece of stiff parchment, which led books to be rare and expensive. Gutenberg while working at the mint stuck an idea, producing books mechanically that would allow multiple copies of a book to be printed at the same time instead of being hand copied one by one.

The Strasburg years

Due to problems between the patrician and the guild Gutenberg was forced out of Mainz. In 1430’s he resurfaced in Strasburg, France. In that period, devotional object’s market was flourishing, so he set up a workshop and worked on three projects. Two out of them were public knowledge, one was a new method of polishing precious stone, the second, a way to manufacture holy mirror, for the pilgrims of Aachen, as well as wood cuts and gems depicting saints. The third project, a printing press, was not known to public. Money ran out so he took on three partners – Andreas Dritzehn, Hans Riff and Andreas Heliman who invested on his projects. In 1939, after the death of Andreas Dritzehn he faced lawsuits from Dritzehn’s brothers claiming a share of the partnership of printing press. As during the case, rumours of Gutenberg’s secretly working on a printing press were prevalent, a local carpenter confessed to have assisted on the building of a wooden press, and a gold smith announced that Gutenberg had bought large amount of printing material. Nevertheless, he managed to avoid giving testimony. 

The breakthrough in Mainz

In 1446 A.D. he returned to Mainz and found financial backing from Johann Fust who loaned eight hundred guilders, which allowed him to go ahead with his project. Along with his assistant Peter Schoffer Gutenberg worked on the types, as he wanted the letter type to be perfectly flat and all type to be absolutely regular. Breakthrough came with a brilliant idea; he broke up the text in constituent parts, letters, punctuation marks, and frequent combinations known as ligatures. These were then combined to form the block for printing words, lines and pages. The characters were cast in new combination time and again. In 1952-53 Gutenberg along with Peter Schoffer began printing, workers operated two or three presses at one time, while compositors prepared the type and labourers hung the printed sheet to dry. He first printed works were official documents, papal decrees, a Latin grammar school book Ars Minor, by Aelieus Donatus.

The process

On the end of the metal rod a mirror image of the letter is engraved. This is then pushed into a soften cooper producing a pit in the shape of the letter. This matrix acts as a mould for the actual type which is cast from lead, in order to manufacture the many letters needed quickly and in required quantity. Gutenberg also made the hand casting instrument. This instrument consists of a rectangular channel, in which the matrix is inserted at one end and molten lead poured onto another. When the instrument is opened the letter cast in lead is ready to be used. As the matrix is reusable an unlimited number of identical letters could be cast. The type setters combine the letters into lines, in the form of the page layout as desired. The form is then inked in printers ink; Gutenberg used a mixture of lamp black varnish and egg white. He used special press for printing, but derived the principal from the traditional wine press. Finally, the illuminators add coloured initials and drawings. For his mammoth work, sometimes also attributed to Fust and Schoffer, the 42 line Latin Bible, he cast more than hundred thousand pieces of type for first edition of 180 copies. The text was printed in black letter or gothic type based on the handwriting of that time.      

The final years

Although Fust had loaned him additional eight hundred guilder, disaster struck as Fust took him to court on the non payment of money. The court decided in Fust favour and allowed Gutenberg to keep only a single set of metal type. Gutenberg was effectively bankrupt, but found some solace in his final years when the Archbishop granted him the title of Hofmann which produced a salary and some privileges for service rendered. He kept working there till his death on February 3, 1468 A.D., and was buried in the church of the Franciscan convent.

BOOK REVIEW: The Talent Sutra, an Indian Approach to Learning by Devdutt Pattanaik.

Book: The Talent Sutra, an Indian Approach to Learning.

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik.

Language: Englsih.

First published: Aleph Book Company in India in 2016.

Page: 126

Price: Rs. 399/-

Devdutt Pattanaik’s book focuses on sutras (the word or concept) relating to creativity in the work place, nurture talent and the importance of teamwork. Although these sutras are Indian in origin, but are very much applicable for the business world, as they withdraw attention from profit, and concentrate on humanity.

The author says our identity; how we see the world, and how we imagine our self. This interpretation of identity and world view leads to imagination; which keeps changing. The fluttering imagination leads to fear as we constantly seek an endorsement of our identity; and adores those who see us as we imagine our self. But, nature refuses to abide by that, as it does not differentiate between a doorman and a president. So, in order to transform we need to stop, clinging to or to control our imagination, and let knowledge; Saravati, flow so that we rise from tamas through rajas towards sattva. And, for that to happen smriti; external voice, must became shruti; inner voice. Pattanaik says we can appreciate the gaze; discovering our potential within and finding resources everywhere, by exploring isolation, reflection, expansion and inclusion which he explains by the use of stories from Hindu mythology, Buddhist and Jain folklore.

In Isolation author states, we want to be seen by others, but fail to see others our self. In Mahabharata, Duryodhan is seen as the villain but take note that Duryodhan feels unloved, the market is a frightening place, we are afraid of being cheated and exploited. Kaikey, in Ramayan, is unable to see kubija and only hears Manthra’s words. The market is full of kubija which makes employees insecure, and the only way to have a secure job is to be loyal by poisoning their ears against others. A cruel gaze focuses on our compliance rather than our capability, in Ramayan, Hanuman answers his mother, Anjani, that no one asked, when she questioned why didn’t he finish the war with a single blow? In market employer needs to pay attention to the potential of employees. We refuse to see our self as villains, Indira is always in need of Krishna’s help, but is unwilling to part with even a tree. In the market people come to us only when they want something. We use work to get attention, like Valmiki, in Ramayan, who gets depressed when he hears Hanuman’s Ramayan. In the market we need to understand that our official work is to satisfy customer, employers, shareholders, and family and unofficially our purpose of work is to satisfy our self, feel noticed and alive. In the market leaders are consumed by their personal values and agenda, and except their followers to be excited about.    

Pattanaik’s reflection means, when we genuinely see others, we realize that they are often responding to their perception of us. After the Kurukshetra war, to settle the arguments, who the greatest warrior was, they turn to talking head, who said he only saw Vishnu’s discus severing heads and earth goddess drinking their blood. How we see others reveal who we are, in Ramayan, Ram explains to Lakshman the good deed of Shabri; giving only the sweet berries, a work place if full of Lakshman’s who are ready to judge and instruct others. Others seeing us reveal who we are, Surya, the sun god, was horrified that the woman in his home was not his wife, but her shadow, Chhaya. On knowing, that she ran away because she could not bear his celestial radiance, Surya, realized that in his story he was the victim, but in his wife’s story he was the villain. In market behaviour of people around us is a reaction to how they perceive us. Our presence impacts those around us, while we may think we are helping while the other thinks we are patronizing. In Mahabharata, king Virata of Matsya is celebrating, as his son Uttar has defeated the Kaurva army, despite being repeatedly told that his son had help, but the king doesn’t want to acknowledge the harsh truth. The ability to communicate with king with deference and dexterity is known as, Sabha chaturya, in Sanskrit. Our imagination binds us and blinds us; we get trapped and don’t see our limited gaze. 

For expansion the author says, growth happens when we make journey from being dependent to being dependable, in Ramayan, while Hanuman seeks to realize his potential, not increase his resources, and on the other hand, Ravan, believes he is perfect and only needs more resources. Growth is when we give than take, there are two cases of vastra haran; stealing clothes of milkmaids, Bhagvat Puran and Kaurva’s stripping of Draupadi, Mahabharata, involving Krishna, in both case something is being taken but the bhaav is different, in the first Krishna takes so that they outgrow their fear, and in the second, Kaurva takes to instill fear. Expansion happens when the in-significant become significant, in Mahabharata, Krishna cares for the horses by telling Arjun to shoot arrows in the ground to bring water, and keep the enemy at bay so that, Krishna have time to bathes and waters the horses, in market we must take care the office boy, canteen boy, security guard, peon and others who help run the offices. Growth happens when we include those whom we once excluded, in Mahabharata, we see the transformation in Yudhishtir, when the stepbrother is the first he gambled away is also the first to be resurrected during their exile in the forest. When we seek to uplift others growth happens. Dharma is about realizing our potential, while all creatures grow at the cost of others, humans can grow by helping the other grow as well.     

Inclusion according to the author means, it is easier to learn than to teach, it is easier to expand our mind than get others to expand their mind. Vedic scriptures divide life into four phases, brahmachari; student, householder; grihasthi, retire; vanasprasthi, and renounce the world; sanyasi. Our time in a particular job can be seen as a lifetime, where, when we get the job we are born and we die when we leave that job. But, to grow into the next job, we have to create talent from someone downstream who will replace us and make our self available to someone upstream. We seek to inherit things, not thoughts, in Mahabharata, at the end of the war Krishna advises Pandavs to ask Bhisma question as he has a lot to tell and they have a lot to learn. Discourses never transform us, in Mahabharata, Arjun loses his nerve time and again Krishna had to goad him to kill Bhisma, Drona, and Karna. In market, we like to believe that training programmes will transform people but it doesn’t. Wisdom according to Pattanaik is having the faith and patience to create an ecosystem where the mind can bloom at its own pace.

Pattanaik says that Hindu mythology warns against chasing Lakshmi; the goddess of wealth, instead make our self attractive to her affection and auspiciousness.