Baba's and there confused disciple

Let me start with a disclaimer that i am not a follower of any of the baba's (when i say Baba please read them as spiritual guru or simply a preacher) nor i am against of it since birth not related to any of the baba's org directly or indirectly. I just want to make it clear that i am a neutral observer. Here i will not defend or abuse any so called organisation or there activist.

If you stay here at least once you will be persuade by few to follow a group. In Hindu's mythology we have 330 million gods and these so called Baba's increase the count. No documentation is there but i am sure this figure will definitely shoot up by 1 more million. We used to make fun in our parlour that go to varnashi and do the crash course for a month get a certificate to be a Baba. You speak something, in a logical dressing i am sure there will be dozen to follow you. The more the crowd the more popular he is. So what about there career growth? Gather few bureaucrats, few politician. then the crowd grows. Once it reach to a level you get hefty donation. Make an ashram (don't create a picture of small hut as in Ramanand sagar's Ramayan, its equipped with all the amneties you can think of) for cozy living and preaching once or twice a day. If "word of mouth" works then he keep on growing. Next level is the preaching on TV. It keeps the disciple growing on an exponential rate and so is the donation and the respective land/accounts and all. People make the baba as GOD.

Each time i turn on the switch i am amazed to see a new face and thousand of people at other side listening as if a scantily clad woman serving beer in a bar where beer can run out at any moment. There is nothing wrong in it. They dont speak rubbish. If you listen intently and use your logical brain its practical. Its just the people wants to be told by someone and that makes them the preacher or the path finder. They can be implemented in daily life for a peaceful living. But where lies the problem, why they keep disappearing and why some or other bad incidents happening to them. Lets do a step by step analysis of the whole fiasco.


Here i am referring to the two infamous incidents. One with Asharam Bapu and the other is Swami Nithyananda. In Bapu's case its the child death (due to drowning) and Nithyananda in a compromised position with an actress. After this there is sheer chaos on around there ashram. Few people create fuss to gain the social/political advantage of this situation. same applies to Nithyananda's case. I dont blame them. I blame them who are once there own disciple and now creating havoc on a news or incidents. How can someone change its color so quickly. If i am talking nice, helping or guiding you socially or spiritually, you make me god and then next moment a "pinch of doubt" will pull the faith from GOD to a criminial?? Is this the way you treat your god? I am thankful that i dont belong to that catergoty.

One thing people don't understand that there so called god don't claim themselves as god, its you who are making them as god. And by making them god doesn't mean that there souls are eternal nor doubting or abusing makes them ephemeral either. So as a follower i might not like my guru to be lying with a girl (i dint see much of offensive stuff though) but thats not the takeaway for me. For me they are as normal man as i am. I would love to ignore the incidents and followed remaining 100 things he might told me to do or follow. Its the faith in any religion makes the god more real and practical. If you believe the stone is gonna help you, and if your faith is pure it will. Thats why we have 330 million of gods (i doubt whether we have that many compound material exists on earth). These incidents puts a disciple in a litmus test and if u flunk you dont qualify to be a disciple.

Cheers
(I am bad at preaching though)

Should you invest in ULIP ?

"Where principal gets eroded
along the time can't be
called as investment" - Me :)

This is exactly where the ULIP fits in. This article is written for the audince with little or no knowledge about the staock market and different mode of investment, and for them who are planning to do some investment for sake of saving tax or without it. I am damn confident that atleaset 8 out of 10 who have invested in ULIP (Unit linked insurance Plan) hardly knows how it function and what so bad about it.

It's like Mutual fund+Insurance in a single go. Since it falls in two category i.e. mutual Fund under SEBI reguration and Insurance under IRDA, so no one really bother to take care of this ULIP as a whole. And there is a reason of telling **ULIP are bad** and why it is bad?

Ok Assume Mr X is on a ULIP where he pays a premium of 20K per year. So if that ULIP has a Unit calue of 10 he will get 2000 units. As on when stock market goes up the unit value also increase. So if lets say the NAV is in proportion with sensesx. So if sensex goes up by 20% in 6 months so is NAV from 10 to 12 and your current asset should be 2000 X 12 = 24000 INR. But in reality it is not. The NAV will shoot up but not your asset.

1)Fund allocation: They use a funny word as fund allocation. if the ULIP says fund allocation is 60% that means the guy who just convinced you to take the policy will eatup 40% of your premium.

That means you invested =20000
Commision of the agent (40%) =8000

Net money that are invested is =12000

2) Account maintenance: Another jargon. They are maintaing a account for you and doing an investment. Its not free. Since they keep your money its there right to deduct to MAINTAIN the account. In simple terms to feed the executive, office maintenace and all. It can vary, no documentaioni found. In the tune of 3-10%.

So Now each quarter they will deduct lets say 5%, so annual 20% which translates to 2400, so after this

Net money invested is = 9600

3) Term Rider: its logical. They are doing insurance for you as well. So that premium is also going to be deducted from the premium. Again depends on what is teh sum you have insured. Assume 500 per year.

Net money invested is = 9100

This is the money that goes for investment. So the day you pay the premium you make sure you loose more than 50% irrespective of the market. So if the sensex goes from 9000 to 18000 under a hypothetical case, and propotionately the net investment goes to 18200 but cant be able to touch your principal. Now you decide is this a worth investing. And can you believe the amount of money they are managing in India 15000 crore.

Let me be silent about dozen other hidden rules when u want to pre-close the account. You are gone.

Note: Finally last month SEBI has banned 14 organisation to stop ULIP with immedia effect

Cheers

My Heart goes out for Abby

Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old American attempting to sail solo around the world, is feared lost after all contact with her boat ended while she was 400 miles off the coast of Madagascar.


I Wish she is safe. Will update if receive any news.
UPDATED####
(She was found and in good health. Thank God.)

Why you shold not join IBM India?

I know the moment you are reading the title, if you are an employee you will be nodding your head, and if you are planning to join it will be a eye opener for you. I have stayed in this company for nearly 40 months and thats a good amount of time to give a feedback if not neutral. If i will start writing i know i need a series to finish this off, but let me brief for today and will explain in detail. Thank god i am not in there anymore but still it hunt me in my dream.

Ok lets do the de-section of my experience starting from my interview to my exit (i never felt the elation of leaving a company as i had) which should normally be little awkward and emotional
considering the fact you wont get to come to the campus, meet your old friends and all that. Ok its hopefully Sep 2006 i had this interview. The manager, remember HR don't negotiate in IBM, its the manager. He told me several benifits of joining IBM which can be "trade off" of joining less than what i was getting earlier. lets mention it in bullet points

During Joining - Aug 2006
a) IBM provides unlimited training without any commitment or contract.
b) There is a concept of Unlimited Sick leave, can take as much as you can in certain health ground.
c) You can change the projects if not fitting to your profile or interest.
d) IBM will pay a Fixed+Variable>Current salary, though i asked him to put the variable part into the fixed part and he said the system doesn't allow us to do that. (IBM fixed sal was less than my that time current fixed salary)

During Exit - Jan 2010
a) IBM stopped free training. On need basis.
b) I don't know how many will fall into this category.
c) You need to complete 18 months in a project for you to legally eligible to switch to other project. Even after completion the source PM and destination PM should agree to make this movement possible. Might screw your appraisal (They call it as PBC) if you have shown ur caliber and source PM is not interested in leaving you.
d)My fixed remain fixed for 3 full term PBC and one partial PBC. 2 years i was told "I was getting more than the market standard". For someone who joined less than the earlier one, you can sense the desperation. The moment i heard the excuse i thought of slapping, and slap very hard (sorry there is no PM, its PeM who does the appraisal, might be a person who is no way related to you). When i show my agitation as usual the "bloody corporate lingo" comes into play. You should do this, that, to come to the limelight. I thought am i here to work for 9-5 or bloddy in a race to take the initiative.

This is the validation of what i was told and what has happened. Now come to the point why you should not join? IBM is NOT a company where you expect much of money. Yes if you are desperate for a change it could be used as a stop over or for them who cooked there resume little bit here and there for them as well. In case you have planned to join IBM and manage to squeeze IBM while joining, now rest assured after that its IBM turn. During my later days i was so restless of leaving the org. Each day i swipe in it feels like i am cheated in broad daylight. There is no one to address your issue. There is no point in shout as well. Unless you tell or spill those bad moments i am sure it would keep me hunting. Thanks to the technology that provide a nice platform to do so. OK. I know my shout can never go through there deaf ears. So during my last days was almost indifferent to whats happening around. Stopped attending the meeting, never care who says whatever. Tried to create my own rule without paying much of damn. But deep inside me the desperation was having a toll on me. Now when i look back i blame IBM for the negativism it added to my attitude. I was a free person all across, never change the company for money, nor for policy, but not with IBM where i have stayed for the longest. So all these experience comes with a price and pain, so use it judiciously.

Before i publish the series in detail two points the HR might not tell you while joining

1) when your performance is reviewed, at the end you have to accept with comments. There is no DECLINE option. His\her review is final.
2) Good for the married lady having school going kid, can settle there. I doubt whether they wish to grow, god save the asses of the pour souls working for them. Cheap Labor? Is that the reason why IBM does the "Women Drive" who are in a break in there career. To start afresh with kids going to school and can use the free time at IBM. Don't know though. Just guess.

Cheers
Ex-IBMer

Must read - Part 2 - Why you should join IBM India?