Vivek,

>>Ideally, by this time one should have moved from 50 p.c to 35-30 p.c cash.

In an ideal world we would be able to spot monthly gainers every month and compound 400% per annum.

Everyone has different, income, risk, maturity profile, even Buffett and Karl Sethman, Leon Levy (founder of Oppenheimer funds) have booked out 100% out of long position in shares into cash/bonds/forex/own business.

There is no fear at all (greed is there ;-) ). Nobody wins in religious debate and path, realisation, achievements are inner and not external. I have read Bhagwat Gita, Bible, parts of Quran due to craze to find God and 'meaning of everything' with fanatic zeal. I had huge issues, I used to consider earning money as evil. I used to consider appearing for an interview as evil so as to out crowd fellow person out of an opportunity to get job. But then I realised it can be win win.

I cannot claim to be self realized or claim to cast away this body like a disused garment at will or have Nirbikalpa Samadhi. But I've read enormous literature, contemplated, reflected and applied / practised only a little due to unfulfilled desires which can be exhausted by knowledge or experience.

See this crazy blog entry by me in 2005


If one needs to be best in world at anything, one has to be efforlessly engrossed in it at all times, while waking and sleeping.

Actually Mahabharat isn't a story about the battle that took place in a field. I may be hurting a lot of other people's closely held beliefs but I'm sorry to say those scriptures are symbolic written by self realized personalities, with a good intention that we too can become so. It would be silly for Jesus Christ to come here and show us his powers and flaunt his achievements, his aim was to let us know how great each one of us can be if we apply our heart and mind to it. Sorry to say there was no Hanuman as an ape God, they are all symbolic.

From Bible:
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" - John 1:12-13

I can actually go on and on. Christ spoke about re-birth and re-incarnation which majority Christians and Muslims do not believe now. I can quote from Bible to prove re-incarnation is mentioned. Beliefs have ZERO value. For 100s of years people believed earth is flat, that does not make it so. Experience is everything, belief is just a toddling step towards it...

Infact in Vedic times it was prohibited to talk about anyone, speak from a book or quote any person. Only personal experiences could be spoken about. In that sense I feel Zero, unless I am myself self realized and able to realise my eternal one-ness with divine source I have no right to preach.

Think about this quiz question, for those who think in eternal heaven or hell. There cannot be infinite effect of a finite cause, right ? Same way there cannot be infinite punishment of a finite crime. Say, a child is born in slums, takes up company with gangsters, kills a few people and dies in police shootout. Now, according to beliefs of "many", this person will go to hell. Imagine this person is in hell and after 20 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion someone asks him, "Dude, what did you do to come here ?", he'll be scratching his head to think about it.

Read this interpretation if you have time, could be at your wavelength:

http://www.amazon.com/God-Talks-Arjuna-Bhagavad-Gita/dp/0876120303

or

http://www.essenceofthegita.com/


Regards




Edited by basant - 27/May/2010 at 2:01pm

Good to meet people with interests outside equities on the equity desk :)

I have read "The Holy Science" by Sri Yukteswarji and a half a dozen others. When I started reading in 1998 the family feared I may go to ashram and become fanatic. Was introduced to Paramhansa Yogananda through Autobiography of Yogi. I introduced all these works to my family and now they are steeped in it and for the last two years I am living unbalanced life and dreaming of shares....

Have you heard Yogananda's voice ? Powerhouse of energy!

Originally posted by manish_okhade Originally posted by Vivek Sukhani I am presetly reading God talks to Arjuna by Gurudev Paramhansa Yogananda. Infact, the headquarters of YSS is very near to my place in Calcutta.   Hi Vivek,   I read the "Autobiography of Yogi" and at times when Guruji was getting the opportunity fro travelling to first time to Land Of Opportunity then he found some financial obstacles and then he prayed to god that magically travel should happen (Why a Yogi to pray for such opportunity?). Second he stayed in USA for 10-15 years, why not in Africa or any other poor country?   Its an investing forum and we should avoid such topics but could not resist telling you what i read. Plz note that i have no intention of challanging your belief, just sharing my observations, i may be wrong , i dont know.   I dont know why all our Gurus, Yogis etc always look for giving peace to developed world only!

He went there to attend the Conference on Religions.