Ganesh Chaturthi 2022: 5 important lessons for young stock market investors

August 31 marks Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi this year. This day is celebrated as the arrival of Lord Ganesh on earth from Kailash Parvat (Mount Kailash). The word Chaturthi means the fourth day of the Bhadrapada (sixth month of the Hindu calendar -- Bhadon month).

According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that the arrival of Ganpati (Lord Ganesh) removes all obstacles from our paths to success. The elephant-headed Lord is considered as a symbol of good fortune, wisdom and intelligence. Ganpati is popularly known as Vighnaharta (divine dispeller of hurdles and hindrances).

Here are 5 important lessons for young investors on this auspicious day:

* Start is important: Lord Ganesh is always prayed to before starting any auspicious work, as per Hindu rituals. He is revered as the God of beginnings. So, those who want to start investing in markets may use it as a positive sign.

* Wise and timely decisions: There's a very popular story of Lord Ganesh which tells us how he won a competition against his younger brother Karthikeya. Lord Shiva asked his sons (Ganesh and Karthikeya) to take three rounds around the world and the one who finishes first would receive a special fruit of wisdom and knowledge. The race began and Karthikeya climbed upon his peacock and set off to take the rounds around the world, but Ganesha asked for permission of his parents to revolve around them as he considered them as his universe. This wise decision made Lord Ganesh win the fruit.

This implies that while investing in stock markets, it is very much important to take wise and timely decisions.

* Don't get carried away: There's another interesting story that included King Kuber (Lord of wealth) and Lord Ganesh. Kuber was very proud of his wealth and once he organised a feast and invited all the Gods at his palace. Lord Shiva and Parvati decided not to visit and sent Ganesh instead. Lord Ganesh visited the palace and ate all the food Kuber had prepared for the Gods, forcing him to seek forgiveness for his ego.

* Intellect and wisdom: Lord Ganesh's big ears signify good listening skills while his elephant head indicates an open mind. Investing also requires intellect and wisdom.

* Understand before investing: Some believe that stock market investment is all about luck. No, it's not only luck. One must also understand a stock or a fund before investing. Some of the important parameters before investing include understanding the debt-to-equity ratio of a company, studying dividend sharing pattern and annual reports.

Further, there are also a few who believe that investments aren't for common people. This is not true as anyone with a trading account can start investing in the stock markets. Yes, there's an element of risk involved, but an investor must know the difference between risk and volatility.

For instance, stock markets plunged sharply during the Covid-19 first wave (in 2020), however, indices made a strong comeback and are currently at their record highs.