Share trading - 3 Blind men with the Elephants

A Hindu folktale tells of three blind men encountering an elephant. "It's a tree," says one, stroking a leg. "No, no, it's a snake," says another, feeling the trunk. "No, this must be a house," insists a third, spreading his arms against the bulk of the elephant's body.

All three had a different perception of the elephant based on the part they examined, and all three conclusions were wrong. The elephant was larger and more complex than any of the men realized.

A similar tale is told everyday in the market. Each market participant has different needs, agendas, histories, perceptions, and sees the market completely differently. As with the three blind men examining the elephant:

The Bear saw Friday's drop as a great vindication of his view and recovery of his position.

The Bull saw the action as a short pullback to add to or enter a long position.

The Day Trader saw the morning gap up as a great short set up, and the long saw the gap as a great exit from Wednesday's trade.

This is one of the challenges of our market debates; each one of us has a different perspective from which we are examining the same elephant. Each of us has a reason to interpret what we see and say to influence others or convince ourselves that we are right. No one is right or wrong but human nature is subjective, and thus leads to the creation of the market whereby both buyer and seller feel that they've been enriched 

ENTER THE HEART - Ramana Maharishi

A devotee who had suddenly lost his only son came to Bhagavan in a state of acute grief, seeking relief. He asked a few questions in which his grief was evident. Bhagavan, as usual, asked him to enquire into the Self and find out who is grieving. The devotee was not satisfied. Bhagavan then said, “All right. I will tell you a story from Vichara Sagaram. Listen”. 



TWO YOUNGSTERS BY name Rama and Krishna, told their respective parents that they would go to foreign countries to prosecute further studies and then earn a lot of money. After some time, one of them died suddenly. The other studied well, earned a lot and was living happily. Some time later the one that was alive requested a merchant who was going to his native place to tell his father that he was wealthy and happy and that the other boy who had come with him had passed away. Instead of passing on the information correctly, the merchant told the father of the person who was alive, that his son was dead, and the father of the person that was dead, that his son had earned a lot of money and was living happily. The parents of the person that was actually dead, were happy in the thought that their son would come back after some time, while the parents of the person whose son was alive, but was reported to be dead, were in great grief. In fact, neither of them saw their son but they were experiencing happiness or grief according to the reports they received. That is all. We too are similarly situated. We believe all sorts of things that the mind tells us and get deluded into thinking that what exists does not exist and that what does not exist exists. If we do not believe the mind but enter the heart and see the son that is inside, there is no need to see the children outside.