Tuesday, November 18, 2014

"The Man Who Spit In Buddha’s Face "

A story which I found on net
The Buddha was sitting under a tree talking to his disciples when a man came and spat in his face.
He wiped it off, and he asked the man, “What next? What do you want to say next?” The man was a little puzzled because he himself never expected that when you spit on somebody’s face, he will ask, “What next?” He had no such experience in his past. He had insulted people and they had become angry and they had reacted. Or if they were cowards and weaklings, they had smiled, trying to bribe the man. But Buddha was like neither, he was not angry nor in any way offended, nor in any way cowardly. But just matter-of-factly he said, “What next?” There was no reaction on his part.
But Buddha’s disciples became angry, and they reacted. His closest disciple, Ananda, said, “This is too much. We cannot tolerate it. He has to be punished for it, otherwise everybody will start doing things like this!”
Buddha said, “You keep silent. He has not offended me, but you are offending me. He is new, a stranger. He must have heard from people something about me, that this man is an atheist, a dangerous man who is throwing people off their track, a revolutionary, a corrupter. And he may have formed some idea, a notion of me. He has not spit on me, he has spit on his notion. He has spit on his idea of me because he does not know me at all, so how can he spit on me?
“If you think on it deeply,” Buddha said, “he has spit on his own mind. I am not part of it, and I can see that this poor man must have something else to say because this is a way of saying something. Spitting is a way of saying something. There are moments when you feel that language is impotent: in deep love, in intense anger, in hate, in prayer. There are intense moments when language is impotent. Then you have to do something. When you are angry, intensely angry, you hit the person, you spit on him, you are saying something. I can understand him. He must have something more to say, that’s why I’m asking, “What next?”
The man was even more puzzled! And Buddha said to his disciples, “I am more offended by you because you know me, and you have lived for years with me, and still you react.”
Puzzled, confused, the man returned home. He could not sleep the whole night. When you see a Buddha, it is difficult, impossible to sleep anymore the way you used to sleep before. Again and again he was haunted by the experience. He could not explain it to himself, what had happened. He was trembling all over, sweating and soaking the sheets. He had never come across such a man; the Buddha had shattered his whole mind and his whole pattern, his whole past.
The next morning he went back. He threw himself at Buddha’s feet. Buddha asked him again, “What next? This, too, is a way of saying something that cannot be said in language. When you come and touch my feet, you are saying something that cannot be said ordinarily, for which all words are too narrow; it cannot be contained in them.” Buddha said, “Look, Ananda, this man is again here, he is saying something. This man is a man of deep emotions.”
The man looked at Buddha and said, “Forgive me for what I did yesterday.”
Buddha said, “Forgive? But I am not the same man to whom you did it. The Ganges goes on flowing, it is never the same Ganges again. Every man is a river. The man you spit upon is no longer here. I look just like him, but I am not the same, much has happened in these twenty-four hours! The river has flowed so much. So I cannot forgive you because I have no grudge against you.
“And you also are new. I can see you are not the same man who came yesterday because that man was angry and he spit, whereas you are bowing at my feet, touching my feet. How can you be the same man? You are not the same man, so let us forget about it. Those two people, the man who spit and the man on whom he spit, both are no more. Come closer. Let us talk of something else.”

Monday, September 15, 2014

Market, Assets & Bankruptcy

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.
  1. There were 3 citizens living on this island country.
    A owned the land.
    B and C each owned 1 dollar.
  2. B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.
    1. The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.
  3. Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.
  4. A saw that the land he once owned has raised in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.
    1. B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
    2. C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
    3. The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.
  5. B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A. * As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
    1. B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
    2. C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
    3. The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.
  6. Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.
  7. One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. 'Hey,what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more.'
  8. A also thought the same way.
  9. Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.
    1. So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
    2. B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
    3. C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
    4. The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.
  10. So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.
  11. B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.
    1. A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
    2. B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )
    3. C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
    4. The net asset of the country = 3 dollars.

 

End of the story; BUT, There is however a redistribution of wealth. A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared. A few points worth noting:
  1. When a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
  2. This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.
  3. An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
  4. When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
  5. If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land go up and down like a see saw.
  6. When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
  7. If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A ) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.
  8. As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.
  9. The actual worth of land or stocks depend largely on psychology.

Hyderabadi Lingo


Monday, September 08, 2014

Flipkart :: Is this the beginning of their fall?

I am very active into e-shopping. I buy regularly from Flipkart, Amazon, Snap Deal, Shop Clues, FirstCry and others. Among the Indian e-commerce I used to swear by Flipkart. Personally I used to buy from Flipkart from 2012 and have introduced the site to lot of friends, relatives. Things changed when I made a purchase last week.

I am a Flipkart first account holder, which means by default all my purchase will be In a day. Last Saturday when I added the items to cart, it showed delivery next day. Being confident with Flipkart I made the payment, and voila, after the payment was processed Flipkart screen said delivery within one week, and that too not via Flipkart but through Delhivery Courier Service. Confused, I called up Flipkart customer care, the guy replied Sir, no next day delivery in your area, and he said he wont be able to help.

My point is what happened to Flipkart? I knew them as an honest e-commerce company, it seems they have lost it. At least for me, I will think before shopping with them.

Update: I have again purchased few products on Flipkart, and this time I mentioned COD. The product was delivered by Ekart and within 24 hrs. So, conclusion, if you purchase on Flipkart ensure the product is sold by WSRetail and ask for COD. You will get the product faster.


Friday, August 22, 2014

Autohona - Hire an auto

Finally call auto service in Hyderabad. 

If you need to hire an Auto, Simply call 040-6723-2030. Avoid Useless bargaining tension with auto drivers and get auto services from your doorstep at government rates. The service is called Autohona.

For more details either check Autohona website or check out article on The New Indian Express.

Update: Called up Autohone last Sunday (21 Seput), the call center guy was courteous enough and patiently listened to my requirement and booked the auto. He said I will receive an SMS within 15 min confirming the booking. When I called them after 40 mins, they said no auto available so they wont be able to send any. When asked why they didn't bother to inform me, they replied the call didn't get through.

First experience was really bad, so no more Autohona for me. As start-up, expected to give better service.