Moksha Lies in Money Gyaan – Master Financial Literacy Today

Pyaare bhakton - and those still calculating their credit card bill minimum amount due:

Welcome to Arthik Gyaan Sabha.

Close your Amazon cart, mute that Zomato notification, and listen carefully.

Because today's pravachan can save you from poverty faster than any baba's magical yantra.

Let me start with the ultimate truth of Kaliyug:
Knowledge is power.
Money is survival.
And knowledge about money? That, my friends, is moksha.

For in today's India, ignorance is not bliss — it is bankruptcy with 40% GST added.

First Pravachan: The Golden Past of Guaranteed Returns

Once upon a time, our fathers and grandfathers slept peacefully. Why?

Because they had LIC endowment policies, Post Office schemes, and fixed deposits that behaved like obedient sons. 'Put money today, get double-digit guaranteed returns tomorrow' — simple as dal-chawal.

But those golden days are gone. 

The guarantee nowadays has fallen to low single-digit yields. Banks change FD rates more often than our netas change parties. Even the Post Office schemes are linked to G-sec rates and can change every quarter.

The nirvana today lies in embracing the unpredictability and uncertainity.

And yet, what do many Indians do? They avoid equities and mutual funds — the most 'predictable' wealth creators — like they avoid vegetables at a wedding buffet.

Listen carefully: financial literacy today is like learning to read the pitch before batting. Otherwise, one googly from the market, and you'll be clean bowled — standing there like a confused debutant blaming 'system kharaab hai.'

Second Pravachan: The Temptations of Consumption

Now, let us turn to the great modern mandir: the shopping mall. Or, if you're too lazy to get out of your sofa, the temple of Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra.

Once upon a time, shopping was an event.

Twice a year — Diwali and maybe a cousin's wedding — you bought clothes. Today, every day is Big Billion Day. Free delivery, one-day delivery, 10-minute delivery — arre bhai, even Hanuman ji took more time to bring Sanjeevani!

And of course, every week there's a new mobile model. Why?

Because your old phone, bought merely six months ago, is now supposedly 'outdated.' Clothes change faster than film stars' marriages, and home décor upgrades are advertised like prasad from Tirupati.

But remember, my disciples: if you don't put a budget laxman rekha around your spending, your wallet will vanish faster than prasad after an aarti.

Financial literacy here means knowing when to splurge, when to save, and when to say 'bhaiya, bas ek kilo aloo dena.' Otherwise, welcome to the Great Indian Vanishing Money Trick — salary credited at 10 AM, balance zero by evening.

Third Pravachan: The Maya of Easy Finance

And now, the greatest modern illusion — Easy Finance.

In our parents' time, the word 'loan' was like Raavan: the one who must be dreaded. Borrowing money was considered worse than failing board exams. Forget holiday loans, even for a scooter you needed to beg, plead, and produce character certificates.

But today? Banks, Apps, NBFCs — everyone is dying to give you a loan. Want a vacation? Loan. Want a fridge? Loan. Want to buy sneakers worth '15,000'? Madam, just three easy EMIs!

Borrowing has become as normal as ordering chai. And thanks to 'affordable EMIs,' many youngsters think, 'arre, kya farak padta hai.' But let me tell you, when half your salary goes to EMI, you will realize farak padta hai — and kaafi padta hai.

So hear this truth: loans are not evil. But borrowing blindly is like eating 10 plates of pani puri — you won’t feel it at first, but later you will regret it with full force.

Financial literacy teaches you when to borrow, how much to borrow, and when to firmly tell the loan agent, 'nahin, mujhe credit card nahi chahiye.'

The Closing Aarti of Financial Wisdom

So, my dear congregation of swipers and spenders, here is aaj ka money gyaan:
The financial world is not a garden, it is a minefield. Step correctly, and you may grow wealth. Step wrongly, and boom — you're in financial ICU.

That is why, apart from IQ (Intelligence) and EQ (Emotion), you need FQ — Financial Quotient.

Without it, you'll be like that poor soul who invests in 25-year insurance plan for 'tax saving' and receives below-savings-account-interest-rate as returns.

Remember the words of sage Benjamin Franklin: 'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.'
And I, your humble desi preacher, shall add: 'An investment in ignorance pays only EMIs.'

So go forth, budget thy spending, review thy investments, and control thy borrowing.

May Dhanlakshmi bless your savings.
May Kuber protect your portfolio.
May you never fall for 'zero down payment' traps.

Om sampati, sampati.