Financial Insecurities & Its ultimate consequences

More than twenty years ago, I had to face a close acquaintance who acted in a manner my inexperienced brain was not trained to understand its complexity. Why she behaved, the way she behaved and poor me; I was the target of her worst fear. When it became too hard for me to get a clue about her behavior, I shared it with Bernhard, the only wise man, I ever knew in my life. Then he said, its because she is facing some financial problem.  Although, I did not know her real financial issue in her life, as compared to me she was a lot better financially off and rich and acted rich. But that understanding helped me to keep close eyes on those, who seem to have money yet fear of losing it or overreact when there is sudden shortfall of it. Those people behave very strangely, when fear of uncertain future comes close by. If you have not noticed them closely then you should pay close attention to them, its almost as worse as watching those who are drug addict. Yes, there will be slight different in behavior issue than those of drug addicts.

Now, I am full grown and my keen interest in analyzing human behavior, which has only grown over the years had lead me to watch crime shows, mostly Indians. But, to understand it, I have to watch English shows too, if not similar shows then CNN to find the proper words to describe the situation; as they are pretty good when it comes to articulation. Here are some of the real life incidents of financial insecurities  and its ultimate consequences.

About a year ago, I read in news paper, that an army officer, who was on training in China had come to Nepal, just to kill his divorced wife. He had killed her first at her home and then burned her dead body on a road side of a highway. Geeta Khanal, was mother 10 year old boy was divorced from her husband couple of years ago. Locals of that area got suspicious, when he returned next day to check the remains and then they handed him to police.

After reading this news, one question really nagged me, when they were already divorced, then what could have gone worse between the estranged couple, that he had to take the harsh step to kill her ?  Later more news came in this case and in different newspapers. She had been successful in obtaining the huge chunk of property from her husband, after the divorce, which she had won in court cases.  But, as if obtaining most of the fixed properties was not enough for her, she also had filed for 50% of his current salary, which court had ruled in her favor too.

More news came about him too, that the man was dating with another woman. No one had to elaborate this that after losing everything to his divorced wife including half of his salary too, he had almost nothing left to start resettlement with new wife. It was kind of almost impossible for him to settle down again, due to his financial condition.

I found myself asking how much she should have enjoyed winning [him], in court cases. She won all the claims she made. They say, here in Nepal, court make sympathetic decision towards single women, than the real justice to those who involved in the case. She did win all the court cases but all that made her lose her life.

Here, I am not trying to justify what this man did is good, I am only trying to understand the situation, why the man found himself in a situation after divorce to kill his estranged wife ?

In another crime case, that happened in India. A policeman who had been sub-inspector almost half of his life and had sorted out many criminal cases in his thirty-two years of careers, had planned and executed the murder of his own daughter.

He was portrayed as a cruel, ruthless, abusing and full of doubt for his wife of more than forty four years, who had left him about two years before his retirement. When she was about to leave, he came to know that she had saved and bought one house in her elder daughter’s name and then the house they were living had transferred in the name of her youngest daughter.  And this mother of two daughter felt kind of deep sense of pride in this act of hers, for securing her daughters future from their own father.

This left nothing to this man after his retirement. To a man whose lifetime required him to read all the people for criminal purpose in life, was unable to guess what was going under  his nose. So, it should not surprise anyone, when he learned about all this, it shook his self knowledge of believing that, I can read people and sniff the upcoming trouble.  At the end of his life and career he had nothing, not his wife and not even home where he can stay or say its my home. He did not like sharing the house with her own daughter.

Fear of uncertain future, dominated his thought and manifestation of his behavior stunned the society. He must have thought, his house is what was his life time earning; and his own wife and daughters were treating him like strangers and it was not acceptable to him. So, he planned a murder of his own daughter.

It was a very complicated criminal case that challenged intelligence of investigating police officers to crack. It is because, that was the intention of this policeman. However, I won't tell you the details of crime because, I study complex human behaviors, when they are thrown in difficult conditions like this and read how they behave, like in the two above cases. As a writer who has keen interest in analyzing human behaviors, it's not my work to tell you, how the crime unfolded, because that is exactly not the intention of this post. Besides, you can always switch on to Sony channels, which telecast this shows for that kind of story.

Had he not knocked the door of police department repeatedly, the police officers who were once his colleague, could not have cracked the case. Therefore, one more thing also make me think hard, in this case. If it was his fear for uncertain future, which forced him to kill his own youngest daughter, the one who had got the house which should have been in his name, then had he become too arrogant in his own perfect plan, to keep knocking the door of police to find the murderer of his own daughter ? At the same time, it also made me wonder had should the mother feel still proud of her work to secure the future [with financial securities], due to which one of her daughter has to lose her life ?

Another case which again happened in India : a girls in her early twenties was killed and then her body was thrown in an open pit on the quiet area of a locality. After  investigation, it was learned she was killed by a man in his late twenties, son of a man with whom this young woman was dating. The fact was that she was dating with a man who was almost thirty years older than her. This old man had a sick wife, he sure did took care of his wife as a duty. Needless to mention, this older man’s wife was on bed for many years by now and was not showing any chances of recovery.

Police officers normally had to find out the motif of kill, what is the reason behind the kill ? when police asked the young man in his late twenties those questions, he had countered questioned police officers, “what would have my mother think about all this ‘filthy relationship’ and  this kind of ‘sin’ going on behind her back ?” If you watch The mentalist like me, that answer seems a pure lie.

Again the question nagged me : why this girl was a threat to the young man, that he had to kill her ? More deeper analysis would give us answer that justifies the kill. His mother was dying and after her death, his father would have re-married to this young woman. He would have lost everything, I mean his father’s property to this young woman, which he would have got after the death of his father. So, to secure his ancestors property, this young man must have thought had to kill the love of his father. Oh, yes his young sister was also involved in this case.

Does the secure future has all the answer that rest in family properties ? Is this what they call financial security ? And people will do anything, I mean anything even to kill near and dear ones ? Could there be any other reasons behind  above crimes ?

Although, my zodiac sign is balance scale, however; its not my job to judge people based on their criminal activities. I only study how they manifest their behaviors. And just because I watch many crime shows, it does not make me police to question, why they killed someone like this or that, there are police department to do this kind of work. And last but not the least, I am not a religious leader to say this is a sin, because for that kind of work there are plenty of judgmental people to give their opinion for this kind of act.

As a writer and a person who has keen interest in analyzing human behavior, I self study it and its my work to understand why they did what they.  

Fear, fear of uncertain future; do have tremendous power to change the whole incident to a different level. Its ultimate result do shake our conscience as a human being. Is this the real face of most intelligent creature on earth or this is just an excuse to do something horrible acts that happen in the above three cases ? Is financial security is everything ? It seems to me to some it is.

Is concept of Karma is misconception ?

Delfina’s is an eighteen year old normal teenager, but the only thing that differs her from rest of the people is, when she cries she cries blood tear. Her story came in Discovery Channel, Body Bizarre, as an effort to understand the medical anomalies some people face like her. There are so many people, who have such medical problems in their life. All of them have different and compelling story to tell but my attention was caught by Delfina’s case, she not only cries blood, but, also sweats but blood also gushes out from her nose and ear when she is tensed even slightly. It started when she was fifteen years old and now she is only eighteen. The TV channel team followed her everywhere to cover her story not only in her house  but also when she went to see doctors.

Her visit to many doctors did not offer any clue to the problem she was going through. Doctors could not find anything wrong inside her body, besides there was no such major physical complications she was facing, even after she bled from all parts of her body. Yes, due to excessive bleeding, she had lost her hairs, like those who goes through chemotherapy. During one of such visit in a clinic when doctor could not find any problem in her system, she was referred to psychotherapy department. This suggestion was something that made her bleed instantly from nose and ear just as she stepped outside from the doctors room. It panicked attending doctors who had seen her first time and trying to understand what is causing her bleed like that, but to Delfina it was kind of usual problem.

This cluelessness of her mysterious disease reminded me of one story, which I have read on the study of the Edgar Cayce. This story talks about concept of karma rebounds. Cayce was a divine healer, with his super sensory vision under the spell of hypnosis, he could help sort out many medical mysteries like Delfina, of course in his time. He was consulted of many such medical mysteries during his lifetime and he used to offer help and also tell them, why they were suffering from such troubles in their life.

Here is one story of a young woman, who was suffering from obesity and at one point it became too miserable. Once she visited Cayce to know about her condition. His finding : two births ago, you were a famous athlete in Rome and used to make fun of those who could not run as fast as you could because of obesity. Lest, you should hurt people again in this manner, you yourself are so fat now. This story is told n the book of learn to live - 2.

That karma rebounds concept sounds really believing at first sight, and being born as a hindu, I am so tempted to believe this concept until I look into my own life and trying to rubbish the people who believed that my life was part of curse, but let me tell you another story before I tell you mine, which I find in the book, think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill.

The writer talks about his son, who was born as deaf and mute, who not only did not have physical ear, but when doctor operated him there was no sign of hearing in his lifetime. But the writer was in denial to accept the truth, so he was determined that his son will hear and speak. He asked this question to himself how ? and he, only he could have found the answer. Although, he was clueless about it, he was convinced that he will find it. His single minded determination came from Emerson saying, “The whole course of things goes in teach us faith, we need only obey. There is guidance for each of us and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right words.” For him ‘desire’ was the right word, he desired his son would not be deaf and mute.

When his son was just an infant, he would fill his minds with a burning desire to hear and speak. At one point in the book, he admitted that he infused a deceit into the mind of his son and he believed him. After about twenty years his son was able to hear with the help of an electronic hearing machine and talk just like a normal person.

“The little ‘white lies’, I planted in his mind when he was child leading him to believe his affliction would become a great assets on which he could capitalized, have been justified.”

He further writes down that in his book that, when Blair was an adult, Dr. Irving Voorhees a noted specialist on such cases examined him thoroughly. The doctor was surprised, when he learned how well Blair could hear and speak, and said his examination indicated that theoretically the boy should not be able to hear at all.

It was his statement that, if you desire, you can outwit even mother nature.

I started writing my blog to know me better, but, more than that to know my surrounding and I started digging more about things that is so perplexing truth that nagged me for a long time. Because there were something, in the notion, I am not convinced. The concept I grew up hearing it, I simply refused to believe, what I have been infused to believe. we were told that we landed up in Bal Mandir because of our past deeds and bad work in our past life. The story of Blair by his father is a prove that, if injected properly how it works so perfectly, I would like to quote him again, “it is my duty and privilege to say, I believe and not without reason, that nothing is impossible to the person who backs desire with enduring faith.”

The only difference between this father and the people who injected so much negativity in our young subconscious mind of fully able body, during my childhood in Bal Mandir is; he was sure of what he was doing and wanted a sure fire result of it. But majority of those didis and housemothers and others, who always passed nasty and negative comments to us, were so ignorant of its lasting impact of it in the mind of a child's subconscious mind and later in life.

Don't get me wrong, I have a huge respect for  Edgar Cayce and his divine works. But after reading the book, think and grow rich which has so much similarity of my own thinking and condition I have found myself, I am forced to ask this question, to my readers is the concept of karma is true or it is just a wrong diagnosis of a situation ? What is more interesting is, that these two good men, both are Americans and were in the good work at the same time. Cayce died around 1953 while Hill died in 1970.

Beyond the Corporate Humour

A Chinese man is about to show his martial art skill, and out of nowhere his facial expression changes into pain. Camera draws back to show his hands, which he had stretch to perform. There is an Indian man biting his hand. Just then the slogan ask you on your screen, hungry for Chinese food ?

Are they nuts to make ‘stupid ad’ like this ? You must have asked this type of questions  many times, whenever you see ‘senseless’ advert like this on TV. Let me tell you, making an advert [ in foreign country as well as in India] cost them a heck lot of money than you earn in a year. If, only if you are you are in good paying company that too in management. As for your curiosity to know how much they spend playing those ads on TV ?  Its way big money than a CEO of multinational company makes in a year. Yes, even Unilever CEO.

But then, why big company spend that huge budget to make an advertisement, which not only sounds and looks ‘stupid’ but also seems total waste of money ? Here are some examples of such advertisement and along with reasoning why they spend huge money on it.

A man was walking on the street, suddenly he was hit and thrown of the road by a moving car. An ambulance appears on the scene out of nowhere, and two men came out with a stretcher and then, they picks a packet of Bingo from the floor, puts it on the stretcher and then gleefully waking takes it into the ambulance, while leaving the man laying on the floor.

If you are wondering how it works for the marketer, here is the answer, when you go to the market to buy snacks, that ad which lingers in your head without your permission [it remains in your subconscious mind] will scream in your head to buy Bingo over others that is available in the racks of supermarket or other grocery stores. As long as you keep buying Bingo, their job is done.

Have you seen a movie star Saif, asking a hen to give him three eggs, so that, he can make omelet ? The hen which is inside his kitchen, where he is about to make omelette gives him only two eggs and then he asks it in English, “I said three don't you understand Hindi ?” then the hen gives him one more egg instantly.

If I am not mistaken this is the advertisement of Amul banyan [undergarment]. But, even if I am mistaken, because Saif is the brand ambassador of this brand and he has been of this for quite some time so what is good for a brand is, star association with a product. Because it plays a huge role in sale of a product and adds brand value to any brand, not just ‘banyan’.

One of my favorite adverts of recent time is, an Indian man goes in a restaurant in China and then he embraces the big fat chicken that was dancing in front of its door. On the table inside the restaurant there was a small cute bowl with a picture of a rooster’s head. He orders his food from the menu and starts eating. His bright and happy face tells it, how much he loved it. As he was enjoying his meal, he sees a chef pass by him. He tries to communicate with the Chinese chef by flapping his folded hands saying the puck - puck taste good ! To his horror the chef communicates back with the same manner that its not the puck-puck, its bhaw bhaw showing a dog’s picture on the wall.  His look suddenly changes, which looked he was about to throw up with disgust.

Its a very good story told by the ad maker, which I never get tired of watching every time it come on my screen but, as long as I don't know or remember which company it advertised for what kind of service or product, its a total waste of money and despite the good story or good reviews it may have earned by viewers,  it fails to deliver the good result in the end to its marketer. Its just the another case of selling a story instead of a shoe.

A boy was seen with a cup filled with Pepsi up to the rim. Although, he was on the moving roller coaster, he did managed to hold his cup with Pepsi without dropping a drop of Pepsi from the cup. All this time, the logo of Pepsi on the cup can be seen. As he climbs down a sweet young girl comes to him and ask him what’s the time ? He absent mindedly pours the Pepsi out on the floor,  as he tries to see the time on his watch [it's a bit old ad].

Blue star AC ran this summer an advert : a man in his office throwing all his tantrum and at the same time his wife at home is behaving equally irritated and throwing all the tantrums, as everything and everyone seem to be annoying them. Suddenly the switch of ac is on, at the both places and there mood swings instantly. Now they seem happy and communicate in very jolly and lovable manner. It does not make any sense at all as it has no story line, but the way they did it, makes you laugh every time you see it. How a mood swings instantly  if the not air changes into cool in a room.

Good advertisement not necessary do have a good story to tell, but it also give high  importance to a branding strategy for a product as well as its best quality. The maker of the advertisement not only sold the story to you, but, branding was equally huge part of the above two advertisement making. So next time if you want to go to buy something, you will remember one such particular adverts and will choose the product that stays in your mind long after you thought you forgot seeing it, over their competitors brands.

If you think they are joking, then you got it totally wrong. Big corporate house intention is to make you buy their product by seducing your conscious or subconscious mind at the same time.

I want to win the race

I want to win a race, but I know for sure

I can't win it with a horse, which has defeated mindset.

I want to take part in this winning race now,
but, I don't have the horse, which believes he can win the race.
Should I start the race with the horse,
which doubt its not going to win the race ? or

I should train my own horse to win the race.

My only challenge is that, the race is  a very long journey,

and I can't do it alone, therefore,

I need a horse which thinks, it can help me win it.

I want to win the race, but I know for sure

I can't win the race with a horse,

which has defeated mindset.

Long distance journey and my own life being at stake

with this race, left me no choice,

but to train my own horse

Whatever time it may take, to make it believe

it will sure win the race, if only it makes its mind.

All I have to do is to breath the belief in its ear

until it believes, yes I am the horse which can make you win the race.