A Little bit of 'Samatva'

“Samatva”

-Balance, sameness, an evenness of mind, equipoise

I first came across this word at the weekly Gita classes at the Chinmaya Mission in Hong Kong. In verse 48, Chapter 2 of Gita, Krishna urges Arjun to perform actions while remaining ‘balanced.’ Actually, Sri Krishna was asking for a lot more – he wanted Arjun to ‘perform actions abandoning attachment, remaining the same to success and failure alike.’ But then Arjun was a much more ‘evolved’ disciple. For me, ‘balance’ is a good start. 

Control over time

Today marks the first anniversary of my being officially unemployed. When pressed for a reason in my exit interview, I mumbled something about wanting to leave at a high point, but mostly, I wanted to take control of my time, as this post explains.

So, what have I been up to since then? Mostly, I traveled a lot. Of the last 365 days, I was on vacation for 94 days. Besides traveling I read a lot (no, not about finance or investments or self-improvement, but mostly fiction), and attempted to write a book (and still attempting to sell it). I also set up my own fund, “Samatva Opportunities Fund.”

Blog

And finally, this blog. 

I have been thinking about blogging for at least last six months, and I would still not have put my words on paper, were it not for this excellent blog article that I came across a few days ago, A guide to young people: What to do with your life. A must read for parents of teenage children, but sensible advice for just about anybody. For one, spurred me to stop procrastinating  -- my wife wouldn't agree to such a sweeping statement -- but at least, I've made a start.

What do I intend to write about? Just about anything I wish to chew on. Everyday finance. Things that I’m figuring out. Notable posts I find on the blogosphere, and some other things I don’t know yet. How often? I don’t know. Whenever inspiration strikes.

See you soon. Until then…...stay ‘Samatva!’