16^th March 2026

 

Karna Used his Arrow on Ghatotkacha. The Middle Class uses their Arrows on Show off. 

 

Dear Fellow Travellers,

 

Namaste! If you check the literature – tons of books have been written on one character of Mahabharata and that name is KARNA. There are praises for ARJUN and PANDAVAS in general but for KARNA people have SOFT CORNER. He has the love of the masses according to my understanding. People really feel bad for KARNA’s plight in his life. Today I am taking one incident near to my heart and trying to relate the same to the middle class of the current time. 

 

The Story: - 

 

Karna had KAVACH and KUNDAL by birth. They made him secure from death in any war. As long as he has KAVACH – he can’t be killed. 

 

Lord Indra, worried for his son ARJUN, knew this. So, he became BRAHMIN and went to ask for alms from KARNA. He asked for KAVACH and KUNDAL in the donations. KARNA – the great giver – knowing that the INDRA has come as a BRAHMIN – he removed them and gave the donation. 

 

Now, INDRA felt the GILT. He revealed himself and said I have come to ask for the same to save my son ARJUN in the war from you. But I want to give you something in return. Indra gave one ARROW to him and said – this arrow will kill anyone you shoot on him. Karna kept that arrow for ARJUN. 

 

Krishna came to know about the same. So, the next day he asked BHIM to call his son - Ghatotkacha. He was a terrible DEVIL. He started to kill and trouble the KARAV SENA single handedly. Duryodhan came into tension and asked KARNA to use that arrow on him. Karna said – I have kept the same for ARJUN. But he insisted and KARNA used that arrow on the Ghatotkacha. He was killed. But – in the end – KARNA was also Killed by ARJUN!!

 

How does this relate to the middle class? 

 

15-20 years back when the person used to earn Rs.5-10 lakhs – his goal was to buy the car. Now, he was buying the car – because everybody else in his circle was buying the car. He didn’t need the car / he was using the car for weekend travel – but he bought it as it was adding to his social status of having a car. 

 

Today people don’t have patience to wait to collect that much money. They simply go to the market – pay the down payment with the CREDIT CARD and buy the car on Loan. They got the instant success of buying the car. Their ego felt happy that they could buy the car instantly. But now – they have to pay the monthly instalments and worry every month.

 

This happens to almost anything. As per the bank statistics – loan for the consumption is on rise and loan for the investments is on decline.  

 

As a middle class – let us see what are our ARROWS: - 

 

1.   Our time: - Age between 25 to 50 is known as GRIHASTHA ASHRAM. Many youngsters keep waiting for the RIGHT JOB. They want a certain kind of job / Job title / work profile and 5 figures starting salary. When they are not getting – they keep on waiting. They are not realising that the TIME will not come back. 

 

My grandfather had taught me one simple truth – if you don’t have education at age 20, Money at age 30 and Social status at age 40, stop dreaming big at age 50. Live life as it is. 

 

So, if you want to do something great in your life – the time is 25 to 50.

 

2.   Our Money: - Money is the most important arrow for the middle class. We save little every year to meet the expenses for our kids' education and marriage. Now, the new generation believes that this is useless. They preach – who knows whether we are going to be alive tomorrow or not? So, enjoy today. ( in other words – waste your money on consumptions and not investments). 

 

How one Birth V/s. Many birth beliefs shape your life and investments? 

 

There are two major religious beliefs in the world. Western world says there is only one birth. The Eastern world says we have N number of births and we are moving in cycle. 

 

Those who have beliefs of one birth – they have no FUTURE. So, they go all out and spend the money. They take out loans and spend money. Look at the US deficit of USD 35 trillion or so. It is the result of this belief.

 

In India – our parents save for their GRANDKIDS. So, the planning is for 30-50 years and investment is generational and not for the self. When you have invested the money for GRANDKIDS -  this automatically takes out the money on hand to spend in the current time. 

All our advertisements are targeted to motivate the consumption so that the companies become more profitable and when the companies make money – the owners of the company also become RICH. Have you seen over a period of years – rich becomes more rich and middle class becomes poorer? 

 

The world is after your two ARROWS – your time and your money. 

 

Most middle class young people want to sell their time for a fixed salary. They destroy their chances of becoming rich on the first day of the job. They want security over progress. 

 

The same way they invest their money in FD so they get regular interest – many times lesser than the inflation rate. They are getting poorer each day but they are okay with that as long as they get 6% fixed interest!!  

 

Your Time and Your Money are your KAVACH and KUNDAL. If you can use them wisely – you will not be killed in the war of life. You will not be dependent on your kids / government or social donations. 

 

Make your choice.

 

Follow me on Twitter @hiteshmparikh / WhatsApp - +91-9869425399.

 

Learn a Lesson. Live with Passion & Invest with Reason.

 

Hitesh Parikh.