This too shall pass

When there is so much noise and confusion around us, it is important to have a perspective that everything is impermanent. And no matter how dark the day is now, that too shall pass.

It is extremely sad to learn of the war and all those innocent people losing their lives because of a madness of a few. It was especially heartbreaking to learn about those 175 school girls who were mere collateral damage! The sadness of people in those war torn places is unthinkable. May god prevail over the madness of men.

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The war ravages on. It feels like the world is coming to an end. Crude oil shot up and the Rupee depreciated. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), already a scared bunch got even more scared and have been selling shares. The stock market took a big beating. Investors are seeing their portfolios bleed.

What will happen tomorrow?

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A little perspective helps.

I have been practicing Vipassana mediation for a little over a year. It is the meditation as taught by Gautam Buddha. And the key essence of the meditation is to notice the impermanence in everything. And by everything, Buddha meant, EVERYTHING. Thoughts, emotions, sensations, feelings – they are all transient.

And as you start to notice that, you realize everything around is impermanent too. Sun rises and sets. Seasons come and go. Flowers bloom and they they wilt away. Bees, birds, animals and humans – we are all impermanent.

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With the perspective that everything is impermanent, let’s look at the stock market too.

Today (9-Mar-26): The market is down -1.7%

Since 1st Jan 2026: Down -9%

But, like Buddha said, everything comes and goes. Even this redness will go away. And for that we have to zoom out over nearly 40 years. And you see that in these 40 years, the stock market has gone up 137 times! The current downturn is a small curve down.

The sharp correction during Covid that seemed so painful then, passed! In fact, since 2020, the entire market has grown nearly 3 times! Go back further in time to 2008, and it doesn’t seem so bad, now!

To me, this graph is more than just a graph. There is a philosophy in it.

1. Ups and downs are part of investing and life. They come and go. Neither has lasted forever.

2. When you are going through a downturn, at that moment it will seem extremely painful and endless. Investors who survived the crash of 2008 will tell you how painful it was and how endless it seemed, then. As will those who survived the dotcom bust in 2000. But when you look back at the graph now, those moments seems like such a tiny blip. Similarly, a few years from today, you will wonder why you even fussed over a tiny correction. Likewise, when you are going through an up swing, it will seem endless. But wisdom lies in knowing that it too will pass.

3. If Ups and Downs are both impermanent and neither of them last forever, should we not be less emotional about them and instead make them work for us? Yes and yes. This downturn will also pass. And the low stock prices will also not last forever. So – now is the time to buy. Now, is not the time to be fearful.

While Buddha was not an investor, his wisdom works in Investing too. So if you are an investor try viewing everything through a lens of transience and it will help you make better decisions.

-Cheer up!

PS: A while ago, I wrote about all the news around Indigo airlines and how that too shall pass. It did pass. It may be hard to believe, but this phase will also pass.