Bhagyam says, Hinduism is an Investment Programme!

Rajesh Govindarajulu

Bhagyam was taking a walk at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru. She had just devoured some bisibelabath in a traditional food outlet. The garden city was not known to Bhagyam. Damu had brought her to Bengaluru several times and both of them had enjoyed their visits to the old city. Bhagyam was walking in the park and was anticipating Damu. Both of them were supposed to visit the Vasavi Temple as guests of honor. The ladies of Bengaluru had wanted Bhagyam to talk about Bharatiya culture. She was keen to speak to everyone but concerned with the youngsters. Bhagyam had told the organizers that they should make the best use of her visit. It was thereafter her ability to keep them interested.

Damu arrived in his friend's car and picked up Bhagyam. " You see Bhagyam, the entrepreneurs and traders of Bengaluru are an interesting lot. They are very successful and have contributed much towards the development of the local economy. Please remember to make your speech and interactions as lively as possible. Our culture is ancient and we need to put the gist of it in the best manner possible. You should not make them yawn while you speak. Several leading speakers must have enlightened the people of this lovely city, " smiled Damu.

" Yes , I am aware of that. However my address will be a surprise for you also. I am taking a unique approach and this may become path breaking, " winked Bhagyam. Bengaluru was known for its business community and they had excelled in the fields of jewelry and silks. Old families like Yadalam, Kota and Pathi were popular. The Pathi family had done very well in the silk arena. The Vasavi Kannika Parameswari Temple was dear to all of them. The deity was known to be benevolent and powerful. A mill owner family from Coimbatore had got united due to the blessings of Vasavi. The huge silver chariot was a wonderful masterpiece. Several members of the Verandah Club had been devotees of this deity. Devi Vasavi had blessed the citizens of Bengaluru with a rare virtue - family unity.

Damu and Bhagyam reached the Vasavi Temple and they were given a warm welcome. Both of them sought the blessings of Vasavi. The priest did one archana for them and offered them some kumkuma prasadam. The devotees were very happy to meet the wise couple. Both of them were cordially introduced to the gathering. Bhagyam was presented with a silk saree from Pathi Silks and Damu got some fine silk kurta fabric as a gift. The star of the day was Bhagyam and everyone present was eager to listen to her speech. The crowd consisted of the entire cross section of the society.

" Namaskaram ", began Bhagyam. " I am glad to speak to all of you today. Devi Vasavi has been blessing me from birth. I am glad to learn that her birthday ( Vasavi Jayanthi ) is being celebrated as the "Entrepreneurs Day" nationally. My appreciation to www.theverandahclub.com for having enabled this declaration. I have been asked to speak about the importance of our culture. It is important that this message reaches the earnest youngsters. I hope that my speech will draw their attention away from their mobiles. The desi app ' Vayam ' is taking this speech online today. This will be edited and available to one and all.

Continued Bhagyam , " Bandhus. Let us look at the benefits that may arise for adherents of our ancient culture in an innovative manner. Since the gathering consists of business people, my approach is a bit different today. I am springing a surprise on everyone today and that includes my husband too. First of all, let us take a different approach to our cultural components. There are several stories, epics and puranas connected with our land. If Hinduism is the stock exchange for taking forward our Sanskriti, each of these stories will make up the stock index. Of course , the Ramayana and Mahabharata will be the blue chips and will carry the highest weightage. "

" Reading stories connected with our culture, doing poojas and attending lectures will be like doing an investment plan. Sponsoring renovation of temples will be like reviving an old venture. Putting up a Veda Patashala or a craft center can be compared to a start up. The donors will be the ones who offer private equity. Well, you want to know about the bonuses, dividends and rights issues ! The satisfaction and joy that we gain will be the dividend. The opportunity to do more will be the bonus issue and to continue will be the right issues. Of course the demat account is operated by Devi Vasavi herself. ''The audience gave Bhagyam a thunderous applause.”

"A liability is built because of bad karma and repayment is by atoning and doing good deeds. Well, karmic interest will accumulate if we do not take the right steps. Penal interest will accrue if we do not take corrective action. We will become an NPA ( Non Performing asset ) if we continue to do bad karma. Our societal good will get lost and our name will get auctioned. The society is the DRT ( Debt Recovery Tribunal ) and the sentence given by Yama will be akin to the decision of NCLT ( National Company Law Tribunal ). Chitra Gupta happens to be the eternal accountant."

The people present gave a standing ovation and Damu was pleasantly surprised. He was happy to witness the public acceptance of Bhagyam's wisdom. Had not Gargi , Maitreyi , Kunti, Draupadi and Jijabai done well in the past.

" Listening or reading the other puranas and upanishads can be compared to investing in mutual funds. Oh then what about capital gains ? The sponsoring of this material or the lectures after enjoying them can be called ' capital gains '. How does the stock become a blue chip then ? Bandhus, if our own acts or the acts of others become praise worthy, they will become blue chips. While we have the stories connected with the Ramayana and Mahabharata as blue chips, the stories from Maha Bhakta Vijayam have also joined them. The story of Tukaram was a blue chip that got added to the index much later. Yeah, our financial market is old and eternal. It has witnessed countless transactions and has been number one since time immemorial. " Bhagyam's delivery took the audience by surprise. They wanted her to speak for some more time.

"The Dakshina or Sambhavana that is given to the teachers and speakers are the management fees. Schools and Gurukulams which teach all this can be compared to the Ivy league institutions. Savings accounts can be identified with the motives that are not seeking great returns but wish to be part of something that is good. Then what about recurring deposits and fixed deposits. They are the motives which are strong and which surface regularly. The daily poojas and the celebration of festivals at home can be part of the daily collection system of savings."

The youngsters were awed by the speech of Bhagyam. They suggested that Bhagyam and Damu create an app which will help them to seek wisdom through this approach. The elders and entrepreneurs present offered to fund the initiative. This was a case of promoting social entrepreneurship and was happening in the temple which was home to deity who nurtured and blessed entrepreneurs - Vasavi Kannika Parameswari. Damu was elated and he had tears of joy in his eyes. The applause received by Bhagyam reverberated across Bengaluru.

India, that is Bharat, is getting back to being the number one country.

Mr. Rajesh Govindarajulu is one of the founding members of The Verandah Club Pvt. Ltd. He is a leading columnist, historian, jeweler, entrepreneur, and a heritage enthusiast who is earnestly working to revive the past in the light of the present. Experiential learning about the history of Coimbatore is his main course of interest and he is also a panel member of many colleges in the city.