A MAGAZINE FROM THE GOPAST CENTRE FOR LEARNING

Inscriptions 33
TRUTH STAYS FOREVER

APRIL 2021
 PAGE INDEX

Page CHAPTER Topic By

3 SCULPTOR SCULPTS AN EDUCATED MIND MR R.GOPINATH

FINANCIAL PRIORITIES
PYRAMID - POLE STAR

17 GURUS SPEAK MR R.GOPINATH

Are you looking for financial

freedom and early retirement?

32 CATERPILLAR SPACE MR MAHESH PAI

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
FOR WOMEN- DON’T DREAM
35 CATERPILLAR SPACE
FOR IT, WORK FOR IT.
MS MEGHA PAI

MR KABILAN
37 WE ARE PROUD OF
THE YOGA BOY

Ms. RAABIYATHUL ADHABIYA

40 WE ARE PROUD OF THE KARATE GIRL

SCREEN SHOTS OF THE

42 GALLERY
SESSIONS IN PROGRESS
SCULPTOR INSCRIBES

R.GOPINATH
 AN EDUCATED MIND

“Can we manufacture our thoughts rather than allowing them

to be produced by default?”

R.GOPINATH

[email protected]

If there is one thing that makes humans great, it is their capacity to

think. A human thought can generate the most powerful force on
Earth. It can cause a revolution, It can fast-track evolution of
civilisations. It can cause wars. It can cause development. It can
cause poverty and hunger. It can cause peace and prosperity.

For an organisation or for an individual, his progress from position

A to position B can happen only when there is movement. If he is

static then his position will remain as “A”. This movement in

humans is triggered by his thoughts. The continuity of the
movement after having well begun also, is supported by his
thoughts.

So how do we think? How do we generate thoughts? Does it

happen automatically? Do we have any control over the process?
Can we alter our thoughts? Let us find out the answers for these
questions that commonly arise.

Look at the picture given below:

This factory produces some products and the produce is sent to

the market to get sold and earn income to the company. This
factory buys the raw materials required. Processes them and
converts them into finished goods ready to be marketed. The
quality of the finished goods depends greatly upon the quality of
the raw materials used. If a good quality cloth is required then the
factory selects good quality yarn to weave. If a third quality yarn is
used then the cloth produced is also of third quality.

Our mind is a factory that produces thoughts. The production goes

on for 24hours a day, all through our life. Information from the outer
world reaches the mind through all the Five senses that we have
and the same is processed and made into the finished product-
thoughts. We had agreed in the above example that the quality of
the materials produced will be dependent on the quality of the raw
materials. Let us apply the same principle here and see what
happens?

If a person gets to hear demotivating, discouraging, depressing

speeches, repeatedly or gets to view news of such nature, this
information gets into mind of this person and by default the
thoughts that get produced are also “Not so confident”
“Hopelessness about the future”, “Scared about what can happen
to this future”. In short, they are negative and depressing.

Look at the opposite. If a person gets to hear motivating, inspiring

stories, encouraging words and gets to view great achievements
from around him. This information gets into his mind and by default
the mind produces thoughts like “I can do it” “ I must aspire for
that”, “The future seems to be great” and so on…

So the first step we need to ensure is that we get good quality raw
material, so that our finished product also can be of good quality.
Normally in factories the quality control department will do its job
after the materials are produced and waiting to be shipped. But
when it comes to our mind factory this quality control department
should be BEFORE the entrance gate of the unit (Mind) and not at
the exit gate.

Having understood the basic science here, now let us look at

advance level concepts related to manufacturing of thoughts.

This is how a child’s mind works most of the times. But as adults
we have one more department in the factory called as
“Understanding” This department has other names also
“Interpreting” and other similar names. Let us now examine how it
works. Please take a look at the picture given below.

As the information from the outer world enters through our senses
(Audio, Visual, Kinaesthetic, Olfactory and Gustatory) It passes
through this Unit called “Understanding” and then gets sorted out
to pass into two major channels. For further processing and the
other “To be junked”. Let us pay special attention to this unit
“Understanding”. As the efficiency of this unit grows, the mind is
able to weed out poor quality inputs and able to use good quality
inputs in manufacturing thoughts.

How to improve the efficacy of this unit “Understanding”?. One

primary and the most useful factor that improves this unit to near
100% efficiency is called “Education”.

Simple definition of “Education”:

Process of acquiring knowledge.

The common definition of education is ”the process of receiving

systematic instruction, especially at a school or university”. But
education is much more than that. It is a process of continuous learning
which can be acquired anywhere at any time and any age. Education
can be in a specified field or generic. The education from academies
are mostly specific to certain fields. A small portion of our education is
gained from academies but a major part is gained by reading, learning,
reflecting and exploring. Such an education provides us the generic
understanding of life, world and universe.

Education develops in us a perspective of looking at life and the world

around us. Without proper education our eyes act as mere cameras,
just capture and transmit. But an educated mind does not (only) see
what the eyes are showing to it, but also what the eyes are not able to
show to it. The invisibles become visible and the Visible things get to be
analysed in a correct perspective.

An example will amplify this point well. A normal person sees in a

company’s balance sheet statement lots and lots of numbers. Whereas
an educated accountant even before working the ratios, is able to see
the trend, variations and contradictions (if any).

Education helps to differentiate the various attributes. Please see the

table below:

DIFFERENTIATE

RIGHT WRONG

USAGE WASTAGE

TRUE FALSE

ABILITY DISABILITY

An educated mind explains profitability of our concern is correct.

Optimising the profits for the concern is right. But profiteering is
wrong. Exploiting the situation of demand and supply or compelling
situations of the customer to gain an undue profit is wrong. This may
not involve the knowledge of debits and credits. But having understood
the business as a whole coupled with knowledge gained from gurus,
epics, scriptures gives this understanding.

A well educated person junks an inflammatory news appearing in a

news paper about a communal incident. He knows it is wrong to take
the side of violence.

The way people use their resources or waste their resources also is the
outcome of their education. Money, Time, Relationships are some of the
very valuable resources that we have. Education helps in prioritising the
usage of all of these. For example education differentiates the value of
the money spent on gaining competence and comparative value of the
money spent on entertainment or showing-off. In this way education
decides if that advertisement entering the mind as raw material
should be allowed to be processed or is to be junked?
Education helps to select the (correct) Right equation and the wrong
equation from these two, even though mathematically both the
equations are the same.

Income - Expenses = Savings (Wrong equation)

Income - Savings = Expenses. (Correct equation).

When a Rate of Return on an investment is high and yet the product

provider presents that there is no risk involved in that investment and
supports his “Safe Product” stand with historic performance charts. An
Educated person will quickly grasp it as a False statement made to
appear like Truth.

Let us look at the another resource- “Time”. Time is not storable,

Time is not transferrable, therefore prioritising the use of time is
pertinent. A social media post is an input that reaches the mind
through his eyes. It has the quality to attract (distract?) him to respond.
An educated mind quickly sets the priority to a task on hand over the
attractive posting in the social media. That way if could process the
information trying to reach the mind, and quickly send it to junk folder
for now. This was possible because of the education the person had
got, that Time is not storable, not transferable and time is irreversible.
Gone is gone. Does not come back again. The temptation for instant
gratification gets junked and the discipline to stick to the task for a
delayed gratification is allowed to the processed in the mind factory to
produce purposeful thoughts.

Quite a number of times we keep hearing these types of dialogues

(sample 10):

1. You can not do it, even stronger people have failed in this

2. You are having ‘this or that’ handicap, so you better don’t

attempt at such things

3. If you think you can do it, then tell me all these years why nobody
could do it?

4. It is only in tales that magical moments happen and dreams

come true, but that does not happen in real life. So better not
dream about big future and get disappointed

5. Failure is shameful, because it happens in public. Not attempting

is known only to self therefore it is safe not to attempt

6. You are too young for this…

7. You are too old….

8. You are weak…

9. In this country, merits are not recognised only connections

matter..

10. This place is only for rich and influential, not for simple people
like us…

Such information enter our ears quite often. Most of the times these
statements are made by known people. When this information becomes
raw material for an ordinary mind, it tends to take these things
seriously and allows it to be processed. What could be the finished
product of such a raw material (Thoughts). Possibly, “Better not try” “It
may not be possible for me”

Q) What type of bodily actions will such negative thoughts initiate?

Ans) “Inaction” or “Half-hearted efforts”

But an educated mind will junk such information and does not allow the
mind to process them to produce thoughts based on them. It will cite
examples like what the world said to whom and how they disproved
them:

They had said to Sachin Tendulkar, “You are too young for playing
international cricket”.

To Amitabh Bachchan,“Your voice is too hoarse, you can not become

an actor with this voice, better try other professions”

To Dhirubhai Ambani, “ Your background is very poor, you have no DNA

for business flowing down the genes for the previous 7 generations,
better become a school teacher, that will suit you well and will feed your
family”.

India’s 102-year-old female athlete

wins gold medal at World Masters
Athletics Championships;
Twitterati cheer
This is not the first time she has won the medal.
Last year, Man Kaur won 100m gold at the World
Masters Games at Auckland, New Zealand.

While many athletes start their career early, Man Kaur started hers at the age of 93. (Source:
Milind Usha Soman/Twitter)

Let us reproduce the picture again here before we go deeper into this
topic of “Education”

The quality of the finished products is akin to the quality of the raw
materials. In the factory of mind the finished product is our “thoughts”
and the raw materials are “Information”. Third quality raw material
results in third quality product.

But in stage two we saw the filter called “Understanding” which sorts
out the information for further processing and the ones to be junked.

Q) How quick does this action of sorting out take?

Ans) Microseconds.

Q) How correctly does it sort out?

Ans) Both the speed and the correctness depends upon “Education”.
For an educated mind the sorting out is near 100% correct and makes
it in micro of micro seconds of time.

The scope of our education can be classified into two spectrums 1)

Specific (Specialised) and 2) Generic (all encompassing, like morality,
spirituality, common sense, general knowledge, conventions and
traditions …

The major source of Specialised knowledge like Mathematics, Medicine

etc is educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities.
Apart from the classroom lectures they also use laboratory practical
exercises to educate the students. While it is utterly important to
specialise in particular spheres in this World it is equally important to be
educated in the generic aspects of life. It is this generic awareness that
makes a specialist, a wise man. The education in this area improves the
efficiency of that filter called understanding which classifies the
information for consumption.

How to get educated?

1) Ask: Ask for details, ask to be explained about how it works. Never
pretend to know. Seek help. Knowing more is not harmful. Shed the
Ego that stops from asking to be explained. Never be shy to get to
know things. It is a well known fact that even the most
knowledgeable person has more things to get to know about. Other
than God Himself no one can claim to be Omniscient.

The great Saint Thiruvalluvar in his creation called Thirukural says:

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-849 395:

Just as a poor man stands before a wealthy person

asking for help, we must also seek knowledge from
masters. Feeling shy to ask for will keep us remain
poor.
-Couplet 395

 People possessing knowledge are more than willing to

communicate what they know to any serious, sincere person who
asks. The question never makes the asker seem silly, rather, asking
gets the respect of the other person

2) Search: Search and you will get it. Today searching is easy. The
search engines on the internet have made information on any topic
available right on our desks.

3) Read:Reading is a way to absorb other people’s perspectives, no

matter what subject they’re writing about. It gives you an insight into
the way other people think that’s impossible to get in any other way.
Reading up on both sides of important matters gives you the
information you need to form valid opinions and make reasoned
decisions.

4) Research: What ever information gathered by asking and by

searching will contain contradictions, variations and differences. For
example one source says Coffee is a good stimulant, while the other
says Coffee can not stimulate, it is only a illusionary feeling that it
does so. Therefore you continue your search and thrash out the
facts (so called) with supportive data from various sources.

5) Reasoning: Animals have knowledge. But only men can reason. The
better you can reason the farther you separate yourself from
animals.

The process by which you reason is known as logic. Logic teaches

you how to derive a previously unknown truth from the facts
already at hand. Logic teaches you how to be sure whether what
you think is true is really true.

Logic is the supreme avenue to intellectual truth. Don’t ever despair

of possessing a logical mind. You don’t have to study it for years,
read books and digest a mountain of data. All you have to
remember is one word — compare.

Compare all points in a proposition. Observe the similarity — that

tells you something familiar. Notice the difference — that tells you
something new. Then take the new things you’ve found and check
them against established laws or principles.

6) Experiment: Try it out. In the process you get to know even what the
books have not revealed. You develop a unique style of doing it and
gain the confidence of teaching it to others.

7) Teach: Teaching is a very good form of learning. The amount of the

preparations that go into the pre-stage-appearance teach the finer
points of the subject

8) Observe: Probably the most of what we learn comes from this

action only. Provided ofcourse if we are keen to notice.

By using all these 8 avenues we can become well educated so that our
MIND factory produces good thoughts which will gives us a good life.
Such thoughts which will keep us progressing. Such thoughts which
will make us feel happy. Such thoughts that will make us work hard,
lovingly. Such thoughts that will make us kinder, humbler and gentler.

To conclude this write-up I would like to mention a Sloka in Sanskrit

(Estimated to have been written before a few thousands of years from
now)

िवद्या नाम नरस्य कीितर् रतुला भाग्यक्षये चाश्रयो धेनुः कामदु धा रितश्च िवरहे नेत्रं तृतीयं च
सा । सत्कारायतनं कुलस्य मिहमा रत्नैिवर्ना भूषणम् तस्मादन्यमुपेक्ष्य सवर्िवषयं
िवद्यािधकारं कुरु ॥
Transliteration:
Vidya Naam Narasya Kirtirtula Bhagyakshaye Chashrayo Dhenu:
Kamadudha Ratishcha Virehe Netran III. Satkarayatanam Kulasya
Mahima Ratanarvina Bhushanam Tasmadnyamupayakshya
Sarvishvayam Vidya Adhikaran Kuru
Translated:
Vidya (Education) earns you incomparable praises; Even if destiny
is destroyed, it gives shelter, it provides all that you desire for, it
is like a water for the throat that is thirsty,, Vidya is the third eye,
It is a temple of hospitality, there is total glory, there is no
comparable jewel or ornament; Therefore, leave all other subjects
and become a master of Vidya (Education).

This adequately explains the need to get educated, not just

academically on certain specialty subjects but also on Generic matters
so that we can manufacture our thoughts, which are sculpting our life
Etymology
Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin word
ēducātiō ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from ēducō ("I educate,
I train") which is related to the homonym ēdūcō ("I lead forth, I take out;
I raise up, I erect") from ē- ("from, out of") and dūcō ("I lead, I conduct").
[1]

GURUS SPEAK

R.GOPINATH
 FINANCIAL PRIORITIES PYRAMID - POLE STAR

R.GOPINATH

[email protected]

Pole Star shows directions even during the dark nights. The same
way the act of mapping the financial priorities act as pole star for
the financial planners and for the clients as well. This approach can
be called as Financial Priorites Pyramid approach.

When we are dealing with a resource, that is available in limited

quantity, the first thing to do is to prioritise its usage. That is how
we can manage tangible resources like Electricity, Water, Battery
power, Oxygen and even intangible resources like Time,
Relationships, etc. We first list out the most important things to be
achieved with these resources, and then we sequence them in
order of their importance’s.

It is therefore Prudent to use the same strategy (Prioritise) when it

comes to Finance. Most of the worries that men, women, families,
institutions and even Governments are facing have some root level
connection to Finance (shortage). Finance is a limited resource.
Even a person possessing Millions still has only so many millions.

In this article we are going to primarily focus of Personal Financial

Planning for individuals and their families, even though most of
these principles are applicable to corporates and governments
also.

In this article wherever I have mentioned as his or him should be

understood as his/hers or him/her.

Corporates engage Professionals to help them to prepare Revenue

Budgets, Capital Budgets, Long-term plans, Short-term plans,
Rolling plans etc., Governments also engage qualified personnel to
help them draw their Budgets. Both the corporates and
Governments invariably avail professional help, either in-house or
out-sourced. But when it comes to personal/family finance, mostly
financial planning is done (if at all done) by the self. Sometimes in
consultation with friends or colleagues, who may not be qualified
to advice on Financial matters.

The Irony here is that, Corporates and Governments have more

sustainability, have multiple sources of income, continuity of
income, and support of hundreds of stake holders compared to
The families which in contrast are dependent on limited sources of
income (mostly singular), are less sustainable, have discontinuous
phases due to illnesses, layoffs and have very few people to
support the unit. The former uses qualified professionals whereas
the later is hesitant to seek professional advice. When corporates
know Finance Management is a science, Individuals feel it is just
common sense.

This is the simplified version of the priority pyramid when it comes

to allocating the available and the would be available money.

 THE FIRST PRIORITY:

The priority pyramid starts with “Duties and Responsibilities”

We all know that animals and birds love their children and family
and are emotionally attached to them. So do humans. But what
differentiates the animals in relation to their families and humans in
relation to their families is the aspect of “Responsibilities”.
Humans carry immense responsibilities like getting the children
educated, setup a good career prospect for them, arrange for their
marriage, take care of the necessities of the elders in family and so
on.

The monetary requirement to meet the duties and responsibilities

can we divided into two major classifications:

1) That are on-going which require a regular cash flow to meet.

2) That are major responsibilities which require lump-sum monies

to meet.

Both these needs have to be met with in all the circumstances. If

the person is alive and earning, then through his income or with
earmarked assets. Even if the person happens to die, his
responsibilities do not die. They get fulfilled only when they are
met with at the right time.

When companies run out of money, they close. But when

families run out of money they live and they suffer. As a
responsible person, it does not augur well to leave the beloved
family to fend the odds of life. An event predictable or
unpredictable can not take away their dreams/goals. Goals and
dreams are mostly unconditional and are also time-bound.

EXAMPLES OF THE TWO TYPES OF MONETARY REQUIREMENTS

ONGOING REQUIRING REGULAR CASH FLOW MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES REQUIRING

OF MONEY LUMP SUM MONIES

FOOD/CLOTHES CHILD BIRTH

HOUSE RENT/MAINTENANCE CAPITATION FEES/DONATIONS FOR

PROFESSIONAL/ PG EDUCATION

ELECTRIC/ENERGY BILLS GRAND AUSPICIOUS MARRIAGE OF CHILDREN

SCHOOL FEES/BOOKS/BAGS/UNIFORMS/ OTHER CEREMONIES LIKE UPANAYANAM,

EDUCATIONAL TOURS/EXHIBITIONS/EXTRA SASHTIABDHAPOORTHI,SEEMANDHAM, Etc.,
TUITIONS

COACHING CLASSES FOR ARTS/SPORTS/

HOBBIES

GYMS/ENTERTAINMENT AVENUES/TEMPLES INITIAL CAPITAL FUND FOR CHILDREN STARTING

AND WORSHIPS BUSINESSES/ FURTHER CAPITAL REQUIRED

DOMESTIC MEDICAL EXPENSES MARGIN MONEY FOR BIG LOANS LIKE HOUSING
LOAN
THE FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS FOR THE FIRST PRIORITY

STEPS CONSIDERATIONS FINER POINTS

INCOME AND ASSETS OWNED WITH

SOURCES CLASSIFICATIONS
1 INVENTORY (THE PRESENT SITUATION)
EXPENSES ARE OUTSTANDING
CURRENT LEVELS LIABILITIES

2 PROJECT THE FUTURE LEVELS OF THE

ON-GOING DUTIES TOWARDS THE
BELOVED FAMILY CONSIDERING
INFLATIONS AND PREDICTABLE TRENDS

3 MAKE A LIST OF MAJOR GIVE A SAMPLE LIST ARRIVE AT A

RESPONSIBILITIES THAT MAY REQUIRE TO SELECT FROM DESCENDING ORDER
LUMP SUM MONIES IN AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF
WITH THE PROSPECT AND CONCERNED PRIORITY, THE MOST
FAMILY MEMBERS IMPORTANT AT THE
TOP OF THE LIST AND
NOT SO IMPORTANT AT
THE BOTTOM.
 STEPS CONSIDERATIONS FINER POINTS

AGREE ON THE CHRONOLOGICALLY

AMOUNT OF MONEY SEQUENCE THESE
REQUIRED TO FULFIL MONETARY
THESE AT THE REQUIREMENTS LIKE
MINIMUM LEVEL, 2022, 2027, 2030 AND
REASONABLE LEVEL SO ON.
AND ASPIRATIONAL
LEVEL. THESE VALUES
CAN BE TAKEN IN
FUTURE VALUE TERMS

4 ARRIVE AT THE PROTECTION NEEDED ALL THE ABOVE NEEDS CONSIDER THE
AGAINST EVENTS THAT CAN IN TERMS OF PRESENT EXISTING INSURANCE
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE EARNING VALUES BY COVER BY THE SELF,
CAPACITY OR CAN SIGNIFICANTLY DISCOUNTING THE BY HIS EMPLOYER OR
CONSUME THE ASSETS HELD NOW FUTURE BY THE STATE (GOVT.)
(DEATH, DISABILITY, CRITICAL ILLNESS, REQUIREMENTS AT A AND THE CONDITIONS
MAJOR ILLNESS) SAFE RATE OF APPLICABLE TO THEM.
INTEREST.

5 ARRIVE AT THE SAVINGS NEED BASED TO DO THIS YOU WILL NOT NEGOTIABLE
ON THE AMOUNT REQUIRED AND THE HAVE TO CONSIDER GOALS AT MINIMUM
TIME AVAILABLE FROM NOW TO REACH THE RISK FACTOR ON LEVEL HAVE TO BE
THAT TARGET AFTER CONSIDERING THE THE INVESTMENTS FUNDED THROUGH
PRESENT VALUES OF THE ASSETS MADE. FINANCIAL
HELD INSTRUMENTS THAT
CARRY NO RISK OR
THE MINIMUM RISK,
WHILE REASONABLE
LEVELS CAN BE
FUNDED WITH
MODERATE RISK
BEARING
INSTRUMENTS AND
THE ASPIRATIONAL
LEVELS WITH
AGGRESSIVE RISK
BEARING ONES

6 CHECK THE SUITABILITY OF THE WEED OUT THE NOT

EXISTING ASSETS IN TERMS OF THEIR SUITABLE ONES AND
NATURE PARTICULARLY FROM THE ARRIVE AT AN
USER BASED MODEL. ( EXAMPLE: IF THE AGREEMENT WITH THE
BENEFICIARIES ARE MINORS OR VERY CLIENT ON SHOULD
YOUNG CAN THEY HANDLE THEY BE ENCASHED
COMPLEXITIES THE ASSETS WILL POSE NOW TO FUND MORE
TO SUCH USERS) SUITABLE ASSETS OR
LET THEY REMAIN IN
THE BALANCE SHEET.

7 GAPS IDENTIFIED
 STEPS CONSIDERATIONS FINER POINTS

8 RECOMMEND SUITABLE INSURANCE CONSIDER THE AFFORDABILTY,

PRODUCTS TO MEET THE PROTECTION FINANCIAL STRENGTH COST OF THE

NEEDS OF THE INSURANCE PRODUCT,

PROVIDER, THEIR ELIGIBILITY OF THE

LEVELS OF SERVICE CLIENT,

PARTICULARLY TAX IMPLICATIONS

CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
PROCESSES.

9 RECOMMEND SUITABLE SAVINGS/ CONSIDER THE RISK TAKING

INVESTMENTS PRODUCTS TO MEET FINANCIAL STRENGTH CAPACITY OF THE
THE SAVING NEEDS (BETTER BE DONE OF THE PRODUCT CLIENT,

GOAL WISE RATHER THAN TO BE PROVIDER, THEIR AFFORDABILTY

BUNCHED BASED ON IRR) LEVELS OF SERVICE LIQUIDITY

PARTICULARLY PROVISIONS,

CLAIMS SETTLEMENT COST OF THE

PROCESSES. PRODUCT,

ELIGIBILITY OF THE
CLIENT,

TAX IMPLICATIONS

10 PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TIMELINE TO START PAPER WORK

RECOMMENDATIONS THE VARIOUS INVOLVED, THE
RECOMMENDED PROCESS OF
PRODUCTS UNDERWRITING AND
THE LEGAL
UNDERTAKINGS ON
THE PART OF THE
CLIENT AND THE
SERVICE PROVIDERS

11 THE PROCESSES OF REVIEWING THE PREFERABLY ONCE IN MODIFICATIONS

PLAN AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THE 6 MONTHS REQUIRED BY
PRODUCTS ALTERING THE
EXISTING PRODUCTS
OR REPLACING SOME
OF THEM

12 CELEBRATE THE PROGRESS TOWARDS

THE GOALS

THE SECOND PRIORITY:

The second level of the Priority Pyramid is: Self Reliance.

When the children grow up, start earning, become independent,

get married and settle down in their lives, a major portion of the
duties and responsibilities towards the family would have got
fulfilled. But at this stage the earning capacity of the client would
have come down substantially. Particularly in terms of the physical
abilities. There are also employment conditions which force-exits
people at a specified age (example: 60years of age). The
opportunities to get employed again at that age are also limited.
Even if a person is engaged in running his own business, it is still
advisable to provide for alternate source of income. So that at
advance ages he will not be compelled to take the stress of
managing the business well to produce income to support himself,
his spouse and other dependents.

Most of the times people do not realise this need till the come
closer to their ages of retirement. Initially their focus will be on
taking care of their family requirements. Since family requirements
are elastic, they consume all the money that is available then and
there. Even after spending all the money earned on the family
(sometimes even borrowed money), it still leaves a feeling of
inadequacy because we constantly compare ourselves with more
affordable persons around. With technology developing rapidly
many household products become obsolete soon forcing to buy
the latest. All these factors result in overconsumption of the income
leaving very little scope of providing for the post retirement income.

It is very much important to live a happy, peaceful and healthy life

at the senior ages. It is equal in importance compared to the pre-
retirement age. Living together with the whole family, the children,
grand children, great grand children is the best that anyone can
ask for from God in return for all the hard work put in during the
younger days. But living together is different from dependent on
them for living. The best of those years can be gained by living
together while being self reliant financially.

The financial planners should therefore engage the client’s

attention to this need simultaneously while providing for their duties
and responsibilities. Even if it can be distributed at 20% for self
reliance need versus 80% towards younger days duties and
responsibilities, it is better than using 100% of the income for
fulfilling duties and responsibilities and hoping to catchup with the
retirement needs after the children settle down in their lives. It is
too big a risk to be taken. We have covered in detail in the previous
issues of inscriptions about this aspect.

The provisions for Self Reliance also will contain two major
requirements 1) The ongoing requiring regular cash flow of monies
and 2) Major necessities requiring lump sum monies to meet.

THE FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS FOR THE SECOND PRIORITY

STEPS CONSIDERATIONS FINER POINTS

ESSENTIAL EXPENSES CURRENTLY INCURRED ASSETS EAR-MARKED

ON SELF, SPOUSE AND DEPENDENTS (OTHER FOR USE AT SENIOR
THAN CHILDREN) AGES (EXAMPLE:
RESIDENTIAL HOUSE,
1 INVENTORY VEHICLES, ETC.)

INCOME ARRANGEMENTS IN PLACE FOR THE LIABILITIES THAT

SENIOR AGES EXTEND BEYOND THE
WORKING AGE

2 PROJECT THE ESTIMATE THE CORPUS REQUIRED FOR THAT HERE AGAIN
FUTURE LEVELS CASH FLOW AT AN ESTIMATED RATE OF CLASSIFYING IN
OF THE ON-GOING ANNUITIES TERMS OF MINIMUM
ESSENTIALS FOR REQUIREMENT,
SELF, SPOUSE REASONABLE AND
AND DEPENDENTS ASPIRATION
CONSIDERING REQUIREMENT WILL
INFLATIONS AND HELP IN SELECTING
PREDICTABLE SUITABLE FUNDING
TRENDS OPTIONS

3 WHAT OTHER LIKE MAJOR HOSPITALISATION EXPENSES OR AGREE WITH THE

CONTINGENCIES SOME RITUALS RELATED TO CHILDREN/GRAND CLIENT THE ORDER OF
NEED TO BE CHILDREN PRIORITY IN WHICH
PROVIDE FOR THEY SHOULD BE
THAT MIGHT PROVIDED FOR.
REQUIRE LUMP
SUM MONIES

4 THINGS THAT LIKE TAKING A WORLD TOUR, A WILD LIFE WHETHER REGULAR
THEY WISH TO DO, EXPEDITION, PAINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY ETC CASH FLOW REQUIRED
WHICH THEY OR LUMP SUM MONIES
COULD NOT DO REQUIRED OR BOTH.
DURING THEIR
WORK LIFE

5 EXPLAIN THE 1) ACTIVE INCOME

DESIGN A SUITABLE
CLASSIFICATIONS 2) SEMI ACTIVE INCOME
MIX OF THESE
OF INCOME 3) PASSIVE INCOME BUT NOT GUARANTEED AND
INCOMES TO MATCH
4) PASSIVE INCOME AND GUARANTEED. THE NEEDS OF THE
CLIENT

6 GAPS IDENTIFIED
 STEPS CONSIDERATIONS FINER POINTS

7 RECOMMEND CONSIDER THE OPTIONS OF ALLOWED RISK TAKING CAPACITY

SUITABLE FINANCIAL STRENGTH IN PRODUCTS LIKE
OF THE CLIENT,

SAVINGS/ OF THE PRODUCT IS IT A LIFE ANNUITY?

AFFORDABILTY

INVESTMENTS PROVIDER, THEIR IS IT A DRAW-DOWN LIQUIDITY

PRODUCTS TO LEVELS OF SERVICE METHOD?
PROVISIONS,

MEET CORPUS PARTICULARLY CLAIMS LUMP SUM COST OF THE

REQUIRED SETTLEMENT WITHDRAWALS PRODUCT,

PROCESSES. ALLOWED? ELIGIBILITY OF THE

CLIENT,

TAX IMPLICATIONS

8 PLAN OF TIMELINE TO START THE VARIOUS PAPER WORK

IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS INVOLVED, THE
OF THE PROCESS OF
RECOMMENDATIO UNDERWRITING AND
NS THE LEGAL
UNDERTAKINGS ON
THE PART OF THE
CLIENT AND THE
SERVICE PROVIDERS

9 THE PROCESSES PREFERABLY ONCE IN 6 MONTHS MODIFICATIONS

OF REVIEWING REQUIRED BY
THE PLAN AND ALTERING THE
THE EXISTING PRODUCTS
PERFORMANCE OR REPLACING SOME
OF THE OF THEM
PRODUCTS

10 CELEBRATE THE HAPPY SENORITY SELF RELIANCE

PROGRESS
TOWARDS THE
GOALS

THE THIRD PRIORITY

The third stage in the priority pyramid is “AMBITIONS”

During the working life and earning period when the earning
capacity is at the peak and the opportunities around seem to be
everlasting, people find a big pull towards providing for bigger
things in life. People also compare themselves with others and try
to match their life style (possessions) even it amounts to borrowing
money to secure them. I have come across many clients who while
talking about financial plan and the products talk about the Return
on Investments and often comment that it is too low, but when it
comes to borrowing they don’t even look at the Rate of Interest
that they have to pay on the amount they are going to spend on a
big car or a gadget.

People often mixup with an ambitious goal with duties and

responsibilities. For example a client feels buying a top-end brand
car is his duty towards his family. They will be very happy and
proud. In the process takes more loan to fund that buy. Whereas he
still has a gap in his Protection needs (Insurance) Savings needs
(for major responsibilities) and Self Reliant life (Retirement). A
bigger house, a big car, a holiday on a luxury cruise are all
examples.

It is absolutely necessary to consider such ambitions in a financial

plan. Only that the priority given to be given to funding them have
to be carefully decided. It can not be done at the cost of first stage
or the second stage of the priority pyramid.

THE FOURTH PRIORITY:

The fourth stage in the Priority Pyramid is “Legacy”.

When a person leaves this world after having a fulfilled life, he

would like to leave assets in legacy to his children/grand children to
other beloved relations.

This aspect has to be considered in his Financial Plan. But in terms

of priority it will be allowed the fourth space. When we have fulfilled
our duties and responsibilities we have done our best to the
children and other dependents, whatever more we are going to
leave behind is only an extra to that.

An example of the misplaced priority is when people opt for Return

of Cash option in selecting annuity policies for themselves. If they
would have opted for Life annuity they would have got a higher
annuity amount which at their old age can be very valuable. That
little extra, would have given more dignity. As far as children are
concerned, they have been already provided with the best in terms
of education and settling down support. Any extra cash receipt
always brings happiness. But the trade-off between more dignity
and the surprise happiness of this legacy is an incorrect stand.

Same is the case with accumulating more real estates with a notion
of leaving behind for the next generations. I acknowledge that it is
a good gesture. But if the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd stages are not yet
provided for adequately, still focussing on the 4th stage in the
pyramid can end up as a “Hyperopic” situation in life.

You can understand from the discussions above that it takes a

comprehensive view to do a financial plan for the client. Planning
for one or two or a few needs, or buying products based on the
attractive features projected in the promotional literature can be in
short called “Hazardous” approach. Therefore Agents/Advisors
should always try to promote a complete financial plan and try to
sell products that suit the overall plan. If there are products that a
single tied agents can not provide for his clients, never mind, still
draw the financial plan and guide the client with the correct
approach and suggest that he get served from other service
providers for such solutions that we can not offer, but required for
him to reach his goals.

Selling Pre-designed products of the Insurance companies, Mutual

funds and other investment products is comparatively easy. It
increases the sales volume and helps agents/advisors to reach
their targets surely.

Look at the brightest features of those products and see how it fits
into a specific need of a client and show him the “Fit” is a good
sales strategy. It gets more “yes” from the clients.

For example a life insurance product offering waiver of future

premiums upon death of the proposer and also provide 1% of the
sum assured as cash flow to the child and also provides for the
maturity benefits as if the full term premiums have been paid can
be quite appealing to person with a young child. The product
features are fantastic and it also suits the education need of the
client.

But has he taken care of his other needs also? Is there a very
important goal that has been ignored in providing for this policy?
Are the other essential expenses that are fulfilled with the income
of this person taken care of? Will the death or disability of this
person affect the minimum level of lifestyle if his income stops?
Will the cost of this insurance policy handicap him from providing
for the rest of the needs?

Constructing the Priority Pyramid will take a long time. The process
will seek deeper involvement of the client, which many people may
not be willing (Initially). But that is the correct approach for both the
planer and the client. Even though selling product features showing
how fitting they are to certain needs of the clients is much easier
and quicker, we should still try convincing the client for the need to
construct the Priority Pyramid and then proceed with purchasing
financial instruments.

Priority Pyramid approach is quite rewarding. Because the

quantum of investments that will bring in will be multiple times
bigger than the product sell approach. But this benefit is only a
byproduct the core product is the satisfaction of the client and the
professionalism of the advisor that has been achieved in this
process.

Let me quote from Thirukkural a creation of 1330 couplets written

by a great Saint called Thiruvalluvar during the 1st Century. This
Kural is written keeping a king in the mind, but it is equally relevant
to a leader in the family.
CATERPILLAR SPACE

MR MAHESH PAI
Are you looking for financial freedom and early retirement? Mr. Mahesh Pai

If financial freedom and early retirement is the goal then financial literacy is how you get
there. You can’t have one without the other. Early Retirement planning is an art. A well
designed plan will allow one to retire early. The earlier this retirement plan is carried out, the
easier it is to get there. With the power of compounding interest, early commitment to a
retirement plan allows you to retire early and very easily. Planning for an early retirement
is not an option but a necessity.

Early retirement doesn’t mean you’re supposed to stop working, it means achieving financial
freedom to work on things you like, Lots of people would like an early escape from the rat
race and pursue a passion project, start a business, travel the world, volunteer, or just stop
working. A lot of people say they want to retire early, but they don’t actually paint a picture
of what early retirement looks like for them. Knowing your goals for your early retirement
will also dictate how much you need to save.
There are people who have retired before 40. You may think that they were extremely
intelligent who must have probably come up with some start up and sold it and earned crores
and that’s how they achieved their early retirement. But that’s not the fact. A normal salaried
employee can also attain financial freedom and early retirement if they plan for it wisely.
But there are times when a business owner who earns more than a salaried employee yet is
unable to save for his retirement. The only difference is discipline. A person with average
intelligence but above average discipline can actually make more.
Traditional retirement
We have seen our elders retire at 60 and by that time they would likely accumulate enough
money that would last for the rest of their lives. There were two reasons why our elders
would work till 60, one would be having loans to be repaid and second, most of their saving
would be gone half way due to child’s education and marriage.
So now are you wondering how to retire early?
A careful planning and a strict financial discipline and a regular investment can definitely
help you in the long run. You have to create a corpus and make enough returns on that corpus
that you and your family can live off the returns and yet the principle will remain with you
forever. For that we have to invest into products which will not only beat inflation but also
cover annual expense.

Traditionally people believed and followed this simple rule of Income – expense = savings
but to achieve early retirement and other financial goals the rule changes a bit. It turns into
Income – savings = expense. Consistency is the key to reach any financial goal, you have to
first save from your income and then spend. When you try to save what remains by the end of
the month, you end up saving an amount which doesn’t fulfil your early retirement fund. You
have to accumulate money which has to last for 50-60 years.
The future is filled with uncertainty. Whether you are working in your 20s, 30s, 40s, you will
never know what’s is going to happen when you finally retire.

Major problem for people while retirement planning is the belief that they don’t need it in the
first place. Many of them think that their high income will be able to sustain them for a long
time and own assets which they feel will generate income regularly. But according to
statistics these sources are likely to dry up in the long term.

Here are 5 questions you should ask yourself when it comes to understanding when should
your retirement starts.
• What is your duration to work? - How many years do you wish to work?
• What is your ideal age of retirement? - At what age would you want to retire?
• How long will be your duration of life? - How long do you possibly think you can live
considering the improvement of technology and health care?
• How long will be your duration of retired life be? - How many years would you stay
retired?
• Will you be financially dependent or independent? - Will you require your future
generation to take care of you?

Answering these question will potentially help you identify the right age of retirement

Can you retire early and still work?

Early retirement is not about stopping to work, but rather gaining complete control of your
time.

The Bottom Line

Plan your retirement in such a way as though you are going to live for 100 years. Many
people would like to retire early, but few have the financial resources, planning skills, and
discipline to do so. Work with a qualified and professional financial consultant who can help
you manage your finances before and during retirement so that you can live a stress free life.
Choosing the right company and the right product is the key.
CATERPILLAR SPACE

MS MEGHA PAI
 FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE FOR WOMEN- DON’T DREAM FOR IT, WORK FOR IT.
Ms. MEGHA PAI
The modern Indian woman today are breaking old barriers and meeting new challenges, both
personally and professionally. More and more women are coming into workforce and taking
charge of their lives and careers. From excelling in areas like the science, sports, governance
to pursuing the professions of their choice, from winning the country with the beauty and
grace to landing in space and beyond, women have come a long way in empowering
themselves. Yet when it comes to handling their finances, a lot of women still leave it to the
men (if not entirely, partially) in their lives.
Traditionally finances have been considered a man’s domain. But times have changed. Most
of the women understand the importance of being financially independent but some lack the
confidence in their own ability to manage finances well. However, women should know and
believe the fact that they are equally good if not better at making sensible decisions
pertaining to finance. It is extremely important for all women - be it married, single,
separated, widowed or divorced to be financially independent. A monthly pay cheque in your
bank account alone cannot provide you of meeting all of your financial goals. It is how you
plan and manage your finances which will result in success of goals later in life.
Financial Independence
Being financially independent does not mean that need to go to space or become the president
of have extremely huge ambitions or get Nobel prizes, you just have to find your power, You
don’t have to create this crazy opportunity to thrive but you can thrive anything you choose,
you just have to find that confidence within yourself.

The first thing to do if one wants to be a financial independent woman is to have a clear sense
of one’s income and expenses. Switch from spending’s to savings. This is ultimate and
irrespective of men or women. The idea is to help you monitor whether expenses are
overshooting in a particular month and to hopefully curb them in the following months.
However this doesn’t help your savings budget, for that you can follow the simple rule of
30:70. After you receive your pay-check for the month, save and invest 30% of it and the rest
you can spend. You must not spend first and then save whatever remains. This simple method
will definitely help in the long run

As a working woman you act as a role model to the family. You contribute to the income
stream of your family. A woman who can support the needs of the family financially, socially,
emotionally is also a role model for her children and other younger generations. Children
learn from what they see. If kids see that their mothers are financially independent, they will
also understand the value of money and be inspired to be self-sufficient in life when they
grow up.

Everyone wants to be financially independent but taking the first step towards it is what
makes you successful people. Here is to financially independent women, may we know them,
may you be them and may we raise them.
PROUD TO BE
ASSOCIATED

MR KABILAN
THE YOGA BOY
I R. SUBRAMANIAM proud to be associated with GOPAST. I am one of the
participants doing MDRT (36th batch). I get valuable guidance & support to
improve my agency carrier from Sri R Gopinath. I would like to share the
achievements of my son Master S. Kabilan studying in 8th Std at Bharani Park
Metric Higher Secondary School Karur. He is very passionate towards Yoga and he
has won the Tamil Nadu State First & 4th place in the National Level. . We thank
you for sharing the space in your valuable E magazine Inscription which is viewed
by many people. This motivates him to achieve more.


PROUD TO BE
ASSOCIATED

Ms. RAABIYATHUL ADHABIYA

THE KARATE GIRL


Ms. RAABIYATHUL ADHABIYA class Ten SHAMROCK MATRICULATION

Hr.SECONDARY SCHOOL Chennai is a grand daughter of Mr. JAFFER ALI a specialist in
Royal Enfield & very familiar among the people those who are very passionate in Royal Enfield
Bullet. Also he has mastered in the Martial Arts Karate and many times he has been in the judging
pannel and given training to the Indian Border security Force . Having thought to have a successor he
motivated his grand daughter and she also got inspired , strived hard and was able to attain this special
achievement . Apart from this she is very creative & good at arts & crafts . All her creativity is
uploaded in her you tube channel Omar Creations.

NEWS AND GALLERY

EVENTS AT GOPAST
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A GLIMPSE OF THE SESSION IN PROGRESS


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THE BRANCH MANAGERS, REGIONAL MANAGERS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF SBI LIFE
AHMEDABAD REGION

AT THE 4TH SESSION OF “LEADING FROM THE FRONT”


GENIUS COURSE FOR THE LISC KOLKATA IN PROGRESS