Happy Diwali: Lighting the Lamp Within

I read this beautiful couplet from Sant Kabir this morning –

जब मैं था तब हरी नहीं, अब हरी है मैं नाही,

सब अँधियारा मिट गया, दीपक देखा माही |

Translated, it means that when I was immersed in my ego and arrogance, I could not see God (the supreme power). But when I illuminated the lamp of knowledge within myself, all darkness of ignorance vanished, ego went away, and I found God in the light of knowledge.

On the auspicious occasion of Diwali (the festival of lights in India), if there is anything I wish for you today, this is it.

May you illuminate within yourself – and around you – the lamp of knowledge so that the darkness of ignorance vanishes, ego and arrogance goes away, and you find God in that light of knowledge.

May you find peace amidst the noise all around by lighting your own “inner light” and using it as your guide to become more sensible, smarter, and independent in your decision making – in life and investing.

This Diwali, may you light the lamp of love, abundance, compassion, and knowledge in your heart, to serve yourself, to serve others, and to dispel any darkness around you.

There is no better long-term compounding than when you invest in yourself and those around you.

I am sure you are already on that journey. But if you are just starting out, you know where to begin. And today is a great day to start.

Happy Diwali.

I recently announced admission to the January 2024 batch of my most comprehensive classroom course in Value Investing titled – Value Investing Blueprint.

This residential course is scheduled to be held from 11th to 14th January 2024, at the campus of Pune-based FLAME University. The last date to apply is 10th December, 2023.

Click here to read more and apply if you are interested in joining this course.

Since it’s a classroom course, seats are limited.

The course will take you through the entire process of practicing value investing to identify long term wealth creating stocks. This includes helping you:

• Create the right value investing mindset and build a behavioural framework to avoid biases and create the right investment thought process.
• Assess business quality – separating good from gruesome
• Analyze financial statements to find well-performing businesses
• Calculate intrinsic valuations using various methods
• Identify competitive moats and whether they are sustainable
• Build a portfolio of sound, wealth-creating businesses

Click here to read more and apply if you are interested in joining this course.

I have started work on a series of short videos – titled The Inner Game – to share my thoughts around investing, decision making, learning, and just the practice of trying to live a good life. You can watch them on my YouTube channel, including these recent ones –

You can also find these and all past sessions on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.

Hope you like these and find some value. Please let me know your feedback and/or suggestions for improvement. Thank you.

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Happy Diwali.

Regards, Vishal