702. The Financier

Ramani and Guru went to meet Financier Shanmugam, for seeking his investment in the business venture they proposed to launch.

After listening to their business proposal, Shanmugam told them, "Your business plan appears to be good. I think I will be able to invest in your venture. But, I will confirm my investment, only after your project is approved by my business venture evaluation team, after a detailed study. In general, I will be able to evaluate the viability of a project, by having a look at the details. Til now, my judgement made after a quick study of the project details, has been endorsed by my team, after a detailed appraisal. But, I still follow the system. We need a system for anything, don't we?"  

"Fine, sir!" said Ramani.

"I will tell you what my terms are" said Sanmugam and outlined the terms of his investment. 

"Ok, sir!" said Ramani. 

Ramani and Guru got up to leave.

"You have not given me your project report. My team can decide only after going through the project report" said Shanmugam. 

"We need to give some finishing touches to the report. We want the report to be perfect, when it is given to your team for evaluation. We will finalize the report and then hand it over to you" said Guru. 

After coming out of Shanmugam's house, Ramani asked Guru, "Have we not finalized the project report? You said that we need to give some finishing touches to the project. What are there?"

"Our project report is perfect. It doesn't need any finishing touches. I said so to avoid giving the report to Mr. Shanmugam. I think it is better that we don't take any investment from this gentleman" said Guru.

"Why? Did you find any of his terms unacceptable?"

"The terms mentioned by him are the standard terms stipulated by any investor. I have no problem with them. But, I suspect that his intentions are not good. He seems to be having an ulterior motive in investing in our venture."

"What motive?"

After Guru mentioned his suspicions, "On what basis are you saying this?" asked Ramani, showing his surprise.

"It is the impression I got by listening to him and observing him. I suggest that we contact a few people financed by him already and get their feedback" said Guru. 

"Maybe, we can" said Ramani, somewhat reluctantly.

"Ramani! I am your working partner. You are the one who is investing the capital. I hope you don't consider my suggestion presumptuous" said Guru, in an apologetic tone.

Not at all, Guru. I asked you to be my working partner, because I value your advice. I am happy that you shared your misgivings with me. As suggested by you, we will contact a few people financed by Mr. Shanmugam and ask them about their experience" said Ramani, patting Guru on his back. 

After a few days, Ramani called Guru over the phone and told him, "Guru! Your misgivings have been proved to be right. I made some enquiries about Mr. Shanmugam in the business circles known to me. I also contacted some of the people financed by Mr. Shanmugam and talked to them. This is what I found. In the past, Shanmugam made attempts to take over the firms financed by him, soon after they had begun to earn profit. He successfully took over some firms. Some other firms have been resisting his takeover attempts, but their energy and resources are getting drained in the process. How did you discern Shanmugam's motive by listening to him for a few minutes?"

"We were breeding a cat in our house. When it looked at a prey, there would be a glow in its eyes, reflecting its excitement, anticipation and joy. I saw such an expression in Mr. Shanmugam's eyes. Thank God, my suspicions turned out to be right. If they had been wrong, you would have missed a good investment opportunity!" said Guru, feeling relieved. 

"They say God alone knows what lies in the minds of other people. It is remarkable that you are able to peep into the mind of another person and dig out the thoughts hidden at the bottom of his mind. This is a divine skill. Taking you as my partner was the smartest decision I took in my life" said Ramani, with excitement and pride.

பொருட்பால்
அமைச்சியல்
அதிகாரம் 71
குறிப்பறிதல்

குறள் 702:
ஐயப் படாஅது அகத்தது உணர்வானைத்
தெய்வத்தோ டொப்பக் கொளல்.

பொருள்:
அடுத்தவனின் மனக்கருத்தைச் சந்தேகத்திற்கு இடம் இல்லாமல் கண்டுகொள்ளும் ஆற்றல் உள்ளவனைத் தெய்வத்திற்குச் சமமாக மதிக்க வேண்டும்.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 702 (in Tamil):
aiyapppadAdhu agaththadhu uNarvAnai
dheyvaththOdu oppak koLal.

Meaning:

One who is able to ascertain without a doubt what is within the mind of another person is to be considered God. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhalIdu vENdAm' by the same author.) 

Verse 703 (Soon)
Verse 701