Another Lesson from Mahabharata

The title is of this note makes it clear that this is another rambling story on the connection between an epic and trading. Despite that if you have opened this note and do not want to carry on reading, I will leave you by saying that I am short and will cut my short position and go long above 5331. So now without further ado, I move to tell you the story that was at heart of Mahabharata.

Devavrata was standing before Satyavati and her father, the fisherman, and asking him for permission to marry her off to his father Shantanu who was in love with her. The fisherman reiterates his worry that the sons born to her would never be given the Kingdom. Devavrata is intent on securing her hand for his father and so he vows never to be king and to forsake forever his right to the kingdom. The fisherman is not satisfied with this. He says that while Devavratha can forsake his right, Devavratha's sons might not. They would claim it. To counter this, he makes his now famous vow. He vows to remain a celibate throughout his life and never to marry another woman or know conjugal bliss. This way he would never have children who could claim the throne. Not just this, he also vows to always see his father's image in anybody who rules the throne of Hastinapur and always work for and support the kingdom. This famous vow gave him the title with which he is now better known-Bhishma.

Bhishma did what he thought was the right thing to do for the sake of the king as well as the kingdom. A king who is lost in love and depressed is hardly in a position to rule well. He took these terrible vows not only as his duty towards his father but also as his duty to the kingdom of Hastinapur. He did what he thought was the right thing but the final outcome of his decision was his blind loyalty to the throne of Hastinapur and his inability to prevent injustice to the Panadavas which finally lead to the Great War of Kurukshetra.

In various ways, the epic of Mahabharata continues to highlight this familiar theme. One can only undertake what one believes is the right course of action. The outcome of that action need not be good nor can one have control over the outcome. It is now immortalised in the famous quote in Bhagavad Gita,the holy book of the Hindus where Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna to go to war with his own cousins, elders and teachers

“Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Maa phaleshu kada chana

Maa Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani”

Loosely translated the verse means “You have a right nay a duty to perform your action but you have no right to the fruits of your action” The second line admonishes Arjuna to “Never consider yourself the cause of the consequences or results of your actions and to never be attached to NOT doing your duty"

On the face of it this might all seem totally unconnected to the process of trading but in reality this is the essence of all trading. A trader has to have the ability to know what is the right course of action and to take it regularly without worrying about the immediate outcome of it. Once the trader has fixed on a particular methodology to trade, it is his duty to repeat it regularly without worrying whether that particular trade will result in a profit. It is also incumbent on the trader to disregard all other information (actually noise, since anything that is not part of his defined methodology is noise for him).

But as in the story of Bhishma, a trader who follows this disciplined approach to trading is not guaranteed success... he only enhances his chances of success. However, whatever the outcome of the trade itself, the trader is guaranteed the solace of knowing that he did the right thing.

While doing the right thing seems like a simple injunction to follow, like most simple things, it is not an easy thing to do on a regular basis. It is really tough to stick to this. Luckily for me, being ignorant of all other methods of trading and investing has been a boon. I know of no other way and therefore, whether easy or not, am forced to stick to my method of trading.