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Is STOCKMARKET FOREX GAMBLING????

Posted by Kapil Dev on May 30, 2016 at 5:50pm in Modern day life
Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obessiences, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
 
My Question is on Gambling. Though I do never gamble, never buy lotteries or gone to casino or done betting.
 
However the question arises about my profession. I am a graduate and have done a degree in International Banking and Capital Markets, I am employed by a well known Investment bank as a Currency Trader, in addition I am also a mentor to new members in the organisation. Few of my devotee friends tell me that because I am into stockmarket and Forex Trading, it is gambling, therefore I am not eligible t be in KC
 
I  want to pursue my career as well as my spiritual practice within ISKCON. I read Bhagavad Gita everyday and Chant 16 rounds and also abide by the 4 regulatory principles.
Today the entire economy is powered by the financial services, FOREX and STOCKMARKET volume daily is worth $4.5 TRILLION Dollars, Everyone is related to stockmarket. If Investments stops then the world stops......... we go back to stone age!, we now have a population of nearly 8BILLION, I know of many initiated devotees who are in FOREx Trading, Investments, hedge fund managers.
 
Is my profession classed as Gambling? please help as I am very confused!

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  • Kapil Dev July 15, 2016 at 3:20pm

    Thank you so much for your balanced reply Krsna Dasa Prabhu and Walter Cloud ShaktimanahDasa Prabhu

    This has helped me tremendously, and i am greatly appreciative for this.

    I nearly gave up my ISKCON spiritual service and spiritual study as I was getting so many conflicting advise.

    Your guidance has helped me a lot to continue on the path of Krishna Conciousness

    Thank You.

    Hari Bol

    Kapil

    • Volunteer
      kŗşņa dasa > Kapil Dev July 20, 2016 at 8:41am

      A pure devotee of the Lord never thinks of himself as the proprietor of his home. He surrenders everything unto the supreme control of the Lord, and thus he has no fear for maintaining his family or protecting the interests of his family. Because of this surrender, he no longer has any attraction for wealth. Even if there is attraction for wealth, it is not for sense enjoyment, but for the service of the Lord. A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment. Thus the acquisition of wealth by a devotee is not a source of anxieties, as is the case for a worldly man. And because a pure devotee accepts everything in the sense of serving the Lord, the poisonous teeth of accumulation of wealth are extracted. If a snake has its poison removed and bites a man, there is no fatal effect. Similarly, wealth accumulated in the cause of the Lord has no poisonous teeth, and the effect is not fatal. A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldly affairs even though he may remain in the world like an ordinary man.

  • Walter Cloud ShaktimanahDasa June 15, 2016 at 9:18am
    God is good & without fail rewords us accordingly in relationship & proportion to our reciprocation with Him. Hence do, include krishna in the equation as you distribute the/any wealth you aquire this is one prescription for dministrating sincerity & devotion.
    Thank you for your association!
  • Volunteer
    kŗşņa dasa June 14, 2016 at 4:43am

    Hare Krsna,
    My obeisances to all devotees, guru and gauranga.

    I am in no way a learned person but Kapil prabhu i would like to provide my input.

    Prabhu, there is absolutely nothing wrong in pursuing your career as a currency trader. Its a job, if you enjoy the challenge, please do it.

    Now since you aspire to also have a spiritual practice in your life, you will be walking on a fine line between materialism and spiritual activites and practice. Since you are also following your sadhana strictly, Krsna will assist you both materially and spiritually by guiding you properly on how to use your profession to progress towards Krsna.

    Now coming to your gambling question: You are employed to handle the bank's money to make them profit. This is speculation but you are still doing just a job. The clients who give the money to the bank to make them more money is not your responsibility although you are involved in the process as again, its just a job. If you are using your own money for speculation, even that is acceptable if you are in financial hardship and trying to make some money to (lets say) provide for your family or fund your children's education. But here again there is a fine line, if it crosses the line where you are pouring money just to make profit or just speculating to make money, then it is gambling and it will become a habit. As a devotee, you will know when you have crossed the limit.

    Just think of kubera who handles all the financial needs of denizens of the heavenly planets and handle trillions of trillions of money worth but in GOLD, Kubera is also just doing a job, like a banker, right? But if Kubera gets boasted on the wealth, then he too falls down.

    Your mind on the job should be mainly to do what you are responsible for. Dont worry too much about how the money drives economy and what the world stands to gain or lose if money flow stops. Throughout history, the economy has always moved in waves and will continue to do. How this affects the world, that is Krishna's business to handle, its His creation after all. Your work is to handle your time, consciousness and sadhana. Just stick to these and you will progress in both paths.

    Make sure you use the money (not the clients ofcourse haha) in spreading kc or kc activities depending on your financial stability and circumstances.

    Please dont take any offense for my response prabhu.

    Chant and be happy.

    Srila prabhupada ki jai..

    Hare krsna

  • 3ruf705dlznca June 13, 2016 at 3:38am

    Matthew 6:24
    '' No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. ''

    ------------------------------------------------------

    SB 3.30.30 — After leaving this body, the man who maintained himself and his family members by sinful activities suffers a hellish life, and his relatives suffer also.
    SB 3.30.31 — He goes alone to the darkest regions of hell after quitting the present body, and the money he acquired by envying other living entities is the passage money with which he leaves this world.
    SB 3.30.32 — Thus, by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the maintainer of kinsmen is put into a hellish condition to suffer for his sinful activities, like a man who has lost his wealth.
    SB 3.30.33 — Therefore a person who is very eager to maintain his family and kinsmen simply by black methods certainly goes to the darkest region of hell, which is known as Andha-tāmisra.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      By serving demoniac Banking system, what benefit on karma bank account can someone expect .
    • Kapil Dev > 3ruf705dlznca July 15, 2016 at 3:17pm

      Thank you for your reply Dean Prabhu and greatly appreciate this. But do you not think that this is an extreme view? which can take away many AWAY from Spiritual activities, would you agree?  Just look around your day to day lifestyle, and I bet that 90% of it would not have occurred without the laxmi from stockmarket

      > You are using this internet the funds came from stockmarket

      > Do you use a mobile phone? the funds came from stockmarket

      > Do you have a mortgage? The funds came from banks and money market

      > Do you go shopping to your local supermarket? The funds came from stockmarket and investors.

      So would you stop using internet? would you stop going to your local tesco? would you stop using your phone?

      Food for thought.

      • 3ruf705dlznca > Kapil Dev July 16, 2016 at 8:53am
        Bg 16.13-15 — The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.
        Bg 16.16 — Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, they become too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and fall down into hell.
        -----------------------------------
        SB 6.11.22 — Persons who fully surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always think of His lotus feet are accepted and recognized by the Lord as His own personal assistants or servants. The Lord never bestows upon such servants the brilliant opulences of the upper, lower and middle planetary systems of this material world. When one possesses material opulence in any of these three divisions of the universe, his possessions naturally increase his enmity, anxiety, mental agitation, pride and belligerence. Thus one goes through much endeavor to increase and maintain his possessions, and he suffers great unhappiness when he loses them.
        SB 6.11.23 — Our Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, forbids His devotees to endeavor uselessly for religion, economic development and sense gratification. O Indra, one can thus infer how kind the Lord is. Such mercy is obtainable only by unalloyed devotees, not by persons who aspire for material gains.
        ----------------
        For materialists money is sweeter then honey, but because they steal the honey from hard working bees, painful result in the future should be expected.
         
         

         

  • Kapil Dev June 12, 2016 at 3:18pm

    Please need guidance on this, can a learned person please guide me.

    HariBol

  • 3ruf705dlznca June 2, 2016 at 1:31pm
    Lord Shiva said ones the human society is the society of two sides, cheaters and cheated, therefore if you need to take a side choose carefully, otherwise serving demons will turn celestials to be your enemies. 
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