Mahabharata is one of the greatest epics written in Hindu literature. It has served several valuable lessons to individuals in their lives. The great battle of Kurukshetra between Kauravas and the Pandavas taught many lessons about life, vision, and the importance of family to many across the world.
In line with the teachings of the Mahabharata, several investment lessons can also be drawn from the great epic.
Here are the top 5 investment lessons from Mahabharata that can help you in your investing journey:
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- The focus should be on the end-goal
It was during one of the training sessions that Dronacharya took the young Pandavas and Kauravas in an open area. The teacher then placed a wooden bird on the tree and asked all the disciples to aim for the eye of the bird. Before any of them could shoot, he used to ask them what they can see. Many said that they can see the bird, leaves, trees, etc. It was only Arjuna who said that he can only see the eye of the bird. It was only Arjuna who got the permission to shoot for the eye and he was able to hit the target with a single arrow.
A similar kind of focus is required in your investing journey. It is important to identify your investment goals and stick to them in all situations. Your focus should only be on the end goals and not anything else that is distracting your vision.
- Knowledge is the strongest weapon
Yudhishthira, Arjuna, and Bheema undertook the hard and challenging journey to obtain divyastras before the great battle of Mahabharata. It was these divyastras that helped the Pandavas a lot during the battle against the Kauravas. Similarly, Arjuna never stopped learning in his life. After taking military lessons from Dronacharaya, Arjuna didn’t stop and went further to learn divine weapons from Indra and always sought guidance from Krishna and Yudhishtra.
Like Pandavas made knowledge their strongest weapon, you should also focus on knowledge as the strongest weapon in your investing journey. It is important to keep learning about new concepts and understand all concepts thoroughly so that you can continuously learn and stay on course with your financial goals.
- Follow a strategy
When Abhimanyu was entering the Chakravyuh he only knew an entry plan that he had heard from his father Arjuna when he was in his mother’s womb. However, before he could hear the exit plan, Draupadi went asleep. As a result, even as he entered the Chakravyuh, he did not have an exit plan and was thus killed in the battle.
For investing, it is important to have an entry and exit plan in place so that you can make full use of the available opportunities. You should follow a strategy and know the reasons behind making the investments. Along with timing the market and selecting the right mediums, it is equally important to have a strategy in place that helps you stay focused on the course and not get distracted.
- Do not take decisions based on emotions
It was during the popular game of dice when Yudhishtira took decisions based on his emotions against Shakuni and end up losing his kingdom, other assets, and his brothers and wife. Even after Dhritarashtra restored their wealth once, Yudhishthira again lost it in the second round and were then sent to exile for 13 years.
You should not take decisions based on emotions in your investing journey as well. You should not get lured with promises of unreal returns and short-term gains. You should take rational decisions after weighing all the pros and cons.
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- Past performance does not guarantee success
Kauravas had everything working for them on paper. With veterans like Drona, Bhishma, Karna, and many other battle warriors including the Narayani Sena from Lord Krishna. Duryodhan was overconfident before the battle began that Pandavas will not able to face the wrath of these warriors and he will be able to comfortably win this war. But as they say, past performance does not guarantee success.
A similar pattern can be applied to your investing journey. You should not only look at the past performance when selecting the mediums for investment. Be it the past performance of a mutual fund, stock, or any other medium, you should consider factors like your end goals, the amount of risk involved, and what can be done to reduce the risk.
These are some of the investing lessons that can be taken from Mahabharata. Several other life lessons can help you shape your lives for the better from Mahabharata.
