*This blog will talk from a philosophical perspective and will talk about the mindset that matters and more. I wouldn’t want you to expect that it gets into the analytical part of the markets.
Arjuna, the warrior prince of Indraprastha, one of the five Pandavas, son of Indra, a cousin of Shri Krishna and the greatest archer of his time. Someone who was destined to win the Mahabharata, restore dharma in the world, and leave his mark for thousands of years; that sounds like a life that you or I will never live and can’t even imagine, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be a modern-day Arjuna. You are Arjuna living in 2023, you aren’t a warrior prince nor are you a Pandava, but you certainly are an individual with responsibilities, you're not the greatest archer, but you are trying to be a great investor and you aren’t at war in kuru-kshetra but you are at war with your inner emotions in the stock market. Does this analogy not make us similar to Arjuna? I think it does. Now the question arises, what can the modern-day Arjuna learn from the legendary Pandava about investing? This is exactly what this blog will attempt to answer.
Mahabharata is a timeless epic; at a shallow level, it is a fight between two factions who try to get the best of each other and claim a kingdom that they believe is rightfully theirs. At a deeper level, it is a multifaceted work that tackles numerous philosophical struggles that aim to make us better humans. These life lessons are impactful and apply to various parts of our lives( such as investing) and are beautifully integrated into stories that are so simple. So what do these stories teach us about investing?
Relentless focus
One day when the Pandavas and Kauravas were training under Drona, they were asked to step ahead, declare what they saw and strike the target on the tree. Duryodhanna was the first to go, he said “ I see a parrot on the branch of the tree that is under the sky, may I shoot?” Drona denied him and asked Yudhishtira the same, he said “ I see a bird on the branch, I see my brothers and I see you.”
Drona denied him too and asked Arjuna “What do you see?”
Arjun replied “An eye.”
“That's it?”
“That's it.”
He shot the arrow and sure enough it hit its mark.
Arjuna’s ability to shun the noise, avoid all distractions and focus on the target makes him one of the greatest archers and the best amongst his clan. This story is a larger metaphor for Arjuna’s life. Arjuna was obsessed with archery and kept following Drona for lessons he didn't teach anyone. His thirst for refining his skills through learning is what sets him apart. Such focus can do a lot of good in our lives.The mental model of relentless focus works in two ways in our lives as depicted in the story.
The first is about us as investors. To become a good investor, one must be ready to dedicate tremendous amounts of time and energy towards it. There are no free meals in the market and we have to work hard to get them. We might put in a hundred hours of studying and yet see a failure, the key is to learn and put in a hundred hours more :)
The ability to be relentless in the pursuit of your goals is perhaps the most rewarding for anyone in their field.
The second learning is specific to an investment. While trying to be an investor, I used to believe that the hardest part was to find a stock and the easiest was to wait. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The market strives to shake off weak hands before making a big move. It is our duty as good investors to block out the noise from social media, news channels and daily price fluctuation and only focus on the variables that matter. These variables can be anything, it could be a growth in margins, a capex going live etc. We must learn to avoid making mistakes motivated by fear and greed and instead act on rational decisions.
Make Kuru-Kshetra your dharma-kshetra
Why was the Mahabharata fought in the first place? It was because of power, property and oppression which stemmed from two primary emotions: fear and greed. These emotions dictated the minds of both sides but not Arjuna. Instead, He was covered in an ethical dilemma. Arjuna could not find dharma in killing his uncle, brothers and his teacher. The intensity of the dilemma went to such a point where he contemplated abandoning the battlefield. This is when the Gita, the song of the god was spoken. (sidenote: Gita is the best piece of literature I have ever read) This is also the point where Arjuna begins to see the Kuru-kshetra as Dharma-kshetra. A battleground where he must fulfill his duty and rise above greed, fear and rage. Arjuna had to conquer these emotions to conquer the battleground.
Gita says there are three layers to a human, the core is our mind, followed by our body (beauty, height etc) and then the social layer which consists of our status and property. It is often said that getting rich is easier than staying rich(lottery winners barely ever manage to conserve the winnings). I believe it is because one must expand the core layer first and then only can they manage to expand the other layers. Arjuna had to expand his mind and then only could he manage to win. Similarly, modern day Arjuna needs to learn and grow beyond the hundred biases in order to accumulate wealth. We must learn to love the process, focus on our actions, tame our emotions, not expect anything and that's it. The stock market is not about winning or losing nor is it about profits and losses, it is a film unfolding the reality. To beat the flock, we must beat the prejudices and biases that dictate them. We are not rational creatures who feel, we are emotional beings who attempt to rationalize.
Indian mythology has a lot of mental models that aim to teach us how to think and behave; the texts are a culmination of knowledge and understanding of the past which have stood the test of time. I believe there is a lot to learn from Hindu mythology, which blog is nothing but a fragment of it.
Key takeaways:
We are no different than Arjuna, we just a modern day version of him, fighting our battle in the stock market.
The story of Drona teaching Pandavas and Kauravas is a lesson of relentless focus. Success requires focus and unwavering dedication to keep learning.
To beat the markets, we must beat the emotions that rule them: greed and fear. Only by conquering our minds, we can tame the markets.
コメント