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After sometime, a doctor came to the room, examined Ramkumar and asked him, "How are you now?"
'You should tell me what my condition is!' thought Ramkumar. "What happened to me?" he asked the doctor.
Ramkumar felt as if the intensity of his pain had increased many times.
"You fainted suddenly. Now you are alright. I will come and see you again" replied the doctor tersely and left.
In the next few hours, Ramkumar had several visitors including his wife Girija, a few relatives and friends.
From what his wife and others told him and kept from him and from the sensations in his body, Ramkumar understood what had happened to him and what his physical condition was.
From what his wife and others told him and kept from him and from the sensations in his body, Ramkumar understood what had happened to him and what his physical condition was.
Three days back, Ramkumar suddenly fainted and fell down in his house. The doctors diagnosed that he had had a stroke. The right side of his body was paralyzed and there was intense pain in the left side of his body.
"What is the date today?" Ramkumar asked Girija.
"April 20" said Girija.
"April 20" said Girija.
"My God! We were supposed to have left for Switzerland today!" said Ramkumar, dismayed.
There was a sob from Girija. Ralkumar wondered whether the sob was caused by Girija's distress over his health condition or by her disappointment at the Switzerland trip having been aborted.
At the time of completing his Engineering degree, Ramkumar had an ambition. It was to set up a manufacturing unit and make it grow into a corporate firm.
In keeping with his financial position at that time, Ramkumar set up a small engineering unit, investing a small sum of money as capital. By working hard and gaining the confidence of customers, he succeeded in making his firm grow well within a few years.
When Ramkumar was thinking of ways to take his firm to greater heights, he got the acquaintance of a business consultant. Ramkumar sought the consultant's advice on the strategy to be adopted to make his firm grow big, within a short time.
"You have immense potential for growth. Even people with no impressive track record set up companies and promote them in a big way, using sheer paper work. You have a solid factory, with assets like building and machinery. You have shown excellent performance, by growing very fast in a span of ten years. Your turnover and profits have grown manifold. Just prepare a scheme for expanding your firm. Using that scheme, we will go for a public issue, by offering shares to the public at a premium and transform your small firm into a corporate company" said the consultant.
When Ramkumar was thinking of ways to take his firm to greater heights, he got the acquaintance of a business consultant. Ramkumar sought the consultant's advice on the strategy to be adopted to make his firm grow big, within a short time.
"You have immense potential for growth. Even people with no impressive track record set up companies and promote them in a big way, using sheer paper work. You have a solid factory, with assets like building and machinery. You have shown excellent performance, by growing very fast in a span of ten years. Your turnover and profits have grown manifold. Just prepare a scheme for expanding your firm. Using that scheme, we will go for a public issue, by offering shares to the public at a premium and transform your small firm into a corporate company" said the consultant.
"I have already prepared a plan for expansion of my business. How much time will it take to issue the shares to the public?" asked Ramkumar, enthusiastically.
"Two years" said the consultant.
"It will take so much time!" exclaimed Ramkumar, feeling disappointed.
"We can arrange for public issue within a couple of months. The two year period I mentioned was to make some adjustments."
"What adjustments?"
"You had invested ten lakh rupees. But the networth of your firm is one crore rupees, now. Am I right?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"The first thing to do is to increase the value of your networth from 1 crore rupees to 3 crore rupees."
"It can't be done in two years!"
"That is why I mentioned by the word 'adjustments.' We need to make some book adjustments. Your books should show that in the next two years you would be investing substantial sums of money, for creating additional assets like new buildings, machinery and other assets."
"That is why I mentioned by the word 'adjustments.' We need to make some book adjustments. Your books should show that in the next two years you would be investing substantial sums of money, for creating additional assets like new buildings, machinery and other assets."
"How is it possible? How can I show a source for the additional investment to be brought in?"
"Don't worry about those aspects. There are ways to do things. You don't have any loan now. You can show part of the funds coming by way of capital from you and part by way of loans from your friends and relatives. We can also take a loan from a bank by pledging your assets and show it as being invested in your business, to create new assets. In the next two years, you can show higher profits and show the profits as being invested in the business to create more assets. Since you can claim depreciation on the 'new assets' shown in the book, you will end up paying a lower tax, in spite of an increase in your profits. I will take care of all these adjustments. The only additional expenditure you have to incur is the consultation fee you will have to pay me!" said the consultant, laughing.
"Don't worry about those aspects. There are ways to do things. You don't have any loan now. You can show part of the funds coming by way of capital from you and part by way of loans from your friends and relatives. We can also take a loan from a bank by pledging your assets and show it as being invested in your business, to create new assets. In the next two years, you can show higher profits and show the profits as being invested in the business to create more assets. Since you can claim depreciation on the 'new assets' shown in the book, you will end up paying a lower tax, in spite of an increase in your profits. I will take care of all these adjustments. The only additional expenditure you have to incur is the consultation fee you will have to pay me!" said the consultant, laughing.
Acting as per the advice given by the consultant and 'increasing' the value of Ramkumar's firm's assets to three crore in the next two years, Ramkumar went for a public issue.
The consultant revised the cost of Ramkumar's expansion scheme from 20 crore rupees to 25 crore rupees. He presented calculations to Ramkumar, showing that he would be able to pocket 4 crore rupees, out of the increased sum of 5 crore rupees, after spending 1 crore rupees as commissions to various people.
"Is this not wrong? Does this not amount to cheating the people, who will be subscribing to our public issue?" asked Ramkumar.
"People who invest in shares do so, out of greed. They hope to earn big profit from their investments in shares, but they are aware that there is a risk of loss and that they may even end up losing their entire investment. So, there is nothing immoral about our strategy" said the consultant.
Ramkumar was not convinced by the consultant's explanation. He was taunted by the thought, 'I have already overstated the networth of my company by 2 crore rupees. Now, I am overstating the cost of my expansion scheme by 5 crore rupees. How is this justified?'
However, he subsequently convinced himself that after venturing into an action, he should not give any room for such disconcerting thoughts.
The public issue of shares was a big success. The shares were allotted in due course and Ramkumar's firm got transformed into a public limited company, with thousands of shareholders.
The public issue of shares was a big success. The shares were allotted in due course and Ramkumar's firm got transformed into a public limited company, with thousands of shareholders.
With the company having grown big, Ramkumar, acting on the advice of the consultant, appointed a Managing Director, accepted the honorary position of the Chairman of the company and got himself relieved from the day to day activities of the company.
For the first time in his life, Ramkumar found himself in a situation, in which he could use both his time and his money, as per his discretion. It was after he had planned to visit Switzerland, with his wife, son and daughter and made all arrangements for the travel that he was struck by stroke.
Ramkumar was able to hear the conversation his wife Girija was having with the doctor.
For the first time in his life, Ramkumar found himself in a situation, in which he could use both his time and his money, as per his discretion. It was after he had planned to visit Switzerland, with his wife, son and daughter and made all arrangements for the travel that he was struck by stroke.
Ramkumar was able to hear the conversation his wife Girija was having with the doctor.
"When will he be cured completely, doctor?"
"I can't say whether he will be completely cured. One side of his body has been paralyzed. It may take several months, even several years for him to be cured of the paralysis. The more severe issue is the pain he has in the other side of his body. He has to live the rest of his life, with that pain. Even if the intensity of the pain gets reduced to some extent, you should feel relieved" said the doctor.
"I can't say whether he will be completely cured. One side of his body has been paralyzed. It may take several months, even several years for him to be cured of the paralysis. The more severe issue is the pain he has in the other side of his body. He has to live the rest of his life, with that pain. Even if the intensity of the pain gets reduced to some extent, you should feel relieved" said the doctor.
Ramkumar felt as if the intensity of his pain had increased many times.
Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue
The Path of Virtue
Chapter 18
Not Coveting Others' Belongings
Not Coveting Others' Belongings
Verse 177 (In Tamil)
vENdaRka vehkiyAm Akkam viLaivayin
mANdaRku aridhAm payan.
mANdaRku aridhAm payan.
Meaning:
Do not desire the gain obtained by coveting others' wealth. The enjoyment of the fruits of such wealth will not bring you any good.
(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ninaippadhellAm nadandhu vittAl' by the same author)
Verse 178 (Soon)
Verse 176
Verse 176
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