Shubh Deepavali

Why the flame always points up

Tilt a diya any way you like. The flame still rises.

Our elders said that is the nature of the atman, the self. Knocked down, turned around, it still reaches upward. Whatever this year bent in your life, may it find its way back up.

Five nights, five lessons

Diwali is not one night. It is a five-day course in how to live.

1. 
   Dhanteras

   We buy a little gold or a new vessel, and thank Dhanvantari, the healer. The lesson: health is the first wealth. Everything else is counted after it.

2. 
   Naraka Chaturdashi

   Krishna defeats Narakasura, the demon who kept others captive. The lesson: before the new year, set free whatever has been holding you back. Old grudges, old fears, old pending work.

3. 
   Lakshmi Puja

   Homes are cleaned, lamps line every door, and Lakshmi is said to enter only where there is light and order. The lesson: prosperity is invited, not chased.

4. 
   Govardhan Puja · Bestu Varas

   Krishna lifts a mountain to shelter a whole village. In Gujarat, it is also our New Year, Saal Mubarak. The lesson: real strength is the shelter you give others.

5. 
   Bhai Dooj

   Yamuna feeds her brother Yama, and even the lord of death goes home blessed. The lesson: in the end, our people are the only balance sheet that matters.

A note from my desk

Here in Gujarat, on Lakshmi Puja, traders close the old chopda and open a new one. On its first page they write two words, side by side: शुभ लाभ. Shubh, then Labh. Goodness first, then gain.

I have spent my working life inside account books, and I have never found a better business philosophy than those two words in that order. The numbers that last are the ones earned the right way.

Krishna put it more simply in the Gita: कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन Your right is to the work, never to its fruit. Do the work well, and leave the rest to Ma Lakshmi.

Thank you for letting us be a small part of your work this year. May your new chopda have more shubh, more labh, and fewer surprises. And if anything is weighing on you before the year closes, message me. Festival or not.

Durgesh

CA Durgesh Chavda · Bharat Quantum Prospera

that’s me!

Before 31 December

Before the lamps go out: five dates to remember

Hover, or tap on your phone, to flip a card.

The question we get every Diwali

“Is this gift taxable?”

Trading on Diwali? There’s a one-hour Muhurat session on Sunday, 8 November (check the NSE or BSE notice for the time). Markets are shut on Tuesday, 10 November.

Free, no sign-up

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