Taken for a ride!

Taken for a ride!

One of my acquaintances sent me this sent me this post on my WhatsApp: 

This Saturday has 24.5 hours, Sunday has 25 hours. This happens once in 1600 years, and is called Dollar sacks. Send his (whose? Perhaps, it is ‘this’ and not ‘his’.) message to at least 25 people, money will arrive within 9 hours. Send within 3 mins of reading. 

This gentleman must have sent this forward to at least 24 other people and must be still waiting for the wind fall. He must have now realized, after those agonizing 9 hours, that no good fortune will ever come in this manner. Whether the poor chap has realized or not that he has been taken for a ride, I do not know. He has spent from his own pockets for sending these 25 (minimum) messages instead. I do not know as to how many of these 24 others to whom he has sent the said message, have responded by sending messages to another set of 25 people. Imagine the number of messages being sent in this manner Your guess as to who makes the fortune in the process,is as good as mine!
[Scientists have reliable data on the Earth's rotational speed, based on observations of the sun's position in the sky during solar eclipses, going back some 2,500 years. Although the rotational rate hasn't declined smoothly, over that period the average day has grown longer by between 15 millionths and 25 millionths of a second every year. Even at the faster rate, it will take 140 million years before the Earth's rotation slows enough to necessitate a 25-hour day.]

This reminds of another sales gimmick. This was many, many years back. There was this Japanese Marketing Company. They had launched their sales drive to market some branded mattresses in India in a big way. They were marketing/ selling these mattresses through individuals, especially house wives, retired people. The individuals would get one mattress free for the sale of every 5 they sold. Simple ‘funda’, isn’t it! What’s more interesting was the individuals were supposed to invite their prospective customers to the sales seminars, which were usually held at Hotel Taj, pay token fee of Rs. 300/- per each customer. Lunch would soon followed by three –four hour talk, when different speakers, doctors, sales people and customers would elaborate on the merits, health benefits, the ‘magical’ quality of the product and their experiences. All the owners (those who had purchased these mattresses) were allowed free entries of every such seminars. These mattresses were supposed to give you comfort, sound sleep, cure you of all ailments and disorders, insomnia and what not. Through one of my office colleagues I was invited to one such session. After enjoying the Taj food, I was compelled and obliged to give a patient hearing to their talks. It was the most boring session that I have ever attended. There were several speakers. At last, it was the turn of the last speaker. He started his sales talk and when he came to the point of disclosing the cost price of that mattress. I could not believe my ears. It was whopping price – amount of Rs.125000/-, would you believe! My colleague unwittingly had fallen prey, and along with him his sister, his brothers and one of his friends and God knows how many others had been taken for a ride. .
It is not only the greed to make a fast buck (pardon the American slang) which makes these people fall prey to such gimmicks. Some times it could even be fear psychosis. Once my mother received a post card with the following message:

स न वि वि ,
साक्षात ब्रम्ह देवाने आपल्याला हे पत्र पाठवण्यासाठी मला प्रेरित केले आहे. ह्या पत्राची प्रत काढून ती आपल्या १५ आप्तेष्टाना पाठण्याची आपणास खुद्द ब्रम्ह देवाची आज्ञा आहे.

हे पत्र मिळताच आपण १५ दिवस उपास करून ब्रम्ह देवाची उपासना करावी, १५ भिक्षुंना अन्नदान करावे आणि वरील आज्ञे प्रमाणे पुढील १५ दिवसात आपण १५ जणांना असेच पत्र पाठवावे.
असे केल्याने आपल्या सर्व मनोकामना पूर्ण होतील. आपल्या मुलांची उत्तम प्रगती होईल. आपल्याला धन प्राप्ती होईल व भरभराट होईल.

सावधान! पण आपण असे न केल्यास १५ दिवस आपल्याला वाईट अनुभव येऊ लागतील. नोकरी धंद्यात फार नुकसान होईल. ह्या घटकेला देवाची माफी मागावी आणि वरील प्रमाणे व्रत पूर्ण करावा. आणि तरी तसे न केल्यास आपल्या मुलगा मृत्यूमुखी पडेल.

आपला स्नेही,

देवभक्त

When my mother showed me this letter, I read it and then simply tore it and asked my mother to forget about it. But she was apprehensive. It was written that my mother was advised to follow certain rituals to please the Gods and if she did all that - feeding 15 bhikshus (beggars), send photo copies to 15 other people,etc. she and her family would benefit, and was warned that if she failed to carry out this command from the above, great misfortune would befall on her family and she would even lose her son. My mother was worried for my well-being. She must have spent many a sleepless nights. I was in my teens then. My mother is dead and long gone since, but her son is still very much alive. I do not understand what that person, who initiated this, must have got. He must be a sadist to induce fear psychosis in people and that, too, on a such a mass scale! Perhaps he got just the satisfaction of taking people for a ride.

                                                                                         VINAY TRILOKEKAR