The Manusmriti and credit card usage

Our forefather Manu, the learned, had written about the Varnas, and the duties thereof, given to them. I did find a great deal of similarities that was there, in the credit card usage of oneself and the Varnas system as described in Manusmriti.

Brahmin:- Just after you get your first credit card, you have this feeling that you will not fall into the trap of debts. You have the feeling of know all, and what to do to avoid pitfalls. You spend prudently, and see that you pay all your outstandings, before the due date. You get into the details on the service tax charged for filling petrol, and also the ways to avoid paying the same in future. It is picture perfect usage of credit card.


Kshatriya:- Soon, there comes a time, when you believe in "Action". The hallmark of a true Kshatriya. Let not the fruits of action be the goal.. and you spend. This is a period of sensual gratification.. wherein you purchase on your card under the impression that you will pay it of in 3-4 installments. The spends increases from just Petrol, and other needy stuff.. to maybe electronic items, travel by air, and the brand tags... the credit card companies are happy... and they increase your credit limit...

Vaishya:- Interest. This is a period where your life is very "Interest"(ing)... The duties and qualifications of a Vaishya, beckons you. You are spending on 'forceful' expenditure, that you have nurtured in your Kshatriya days...

Shudra:- Your only duty prescribed is to serve the credit card company for your lifetime.. making the payments. You card is blocked, and the credit card collection agents are at your doorsteps.. your only aim in life is to serve without showing disrespect, conceit and make your payments regularly.

Well, there is another stage.. it can happen anytime, between the above 4 stages. This is the stage of Moksha - or enlightenment. You disappear from the city, from all the records that are there with the credit card company... and resurface after few years in new place and with a new name (in case your earlier name was Akshay, your new name can become Aakshay)... Like old clothes the previous usage of credit card is dis'card'ed.. and it is a new beginning.

This article is not intended at having a 'swipe' either at Hindu culture, or sage Manu, or the CC companies...

Happy Shopping!

Cheers

Santosh

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Indian websites - 2007

Image
Hi, This was an article that appeared in PC World India Nice stuff Santosh ------------------------------------ Technology will dominate the future and the web is clearly one of its greatest manifestations. Forget the dotcom bust that many sceptics will remind you of The Web is going to become our way of life in India . There are enough statistics to point to the rapid growth of the Internet in India – number of connections, e-mail accounts, transaction revenue – all very convincing. But who needs statistics? Just a quick look around will reveal how web is fast replacing traditional brick-n-mortar operations. Be it picking new stocks or new friends, finding a job or a bride, there’s a web way to things that is proving far more effective, and rewarding. Websites today are built with robust understanding of users and available technology. They purposefully pursue fulfilling the needs of their audience but are grounded in strong business reality. And hence, unlike the fairy-tail era gone
Read more

10 Reasons Marketing Strategy should include the Internet

It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should. 1. The Go-To Place for Information Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leadi
Read more

Teach Marketing, Yoda Can

Image
About 8 years back, I wrote an analogical article about Kung Fu Panda and digital marketing (you can read it here ). That time my kid was 3 years. Now my kid is 11 years old. As all growing kids do, he too has out-grown the Kung Fu Panda-The Lion King phase. His current fascination is The Star Wars. I guess, by now, he must have finished watching at-least 3-4 times….The Star Wars Saga - the original, sequel, and prequel trilogies, animated series, The book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, and even the Thrawn trilogy books. The next on his wish list is to own an original lightsaber… Kids are demanding! Well, this article is not about my kid or his love for Star Wars. Working from home and watching these movies along with my kid, this is about my thoughts on what Star Wars can teach us about marketing, or more importantly what marketing tips Yoda can teach “Do or do not. There is no try.” We all know that planning is very important when it comes to any campaign/project. But every great pl
Read more