TiruKural - Thiruvalluvar's Moral Codes for Human Behavior

[Guest guest]

We the members of this list want to learn from each other on how to

become better human beings. We are fully aware that we should remove

negative tendencies and develop positive attitude in our daily life.

Positive mental attitude is a necessary ingredient for Spiritual

growth. Mind serves as an agent of the sense organs and it registers,

stores and releases the messages of the sense organs. Corrupt messages

will contaminate the mind. Spiritual growth requires purity of mind and

we can preserve its purity by avoiding pollutants. Why not we start

from today to divert our attention toward focusing on ideas that can

enrich our life and soul. To realize our True Human Nature, we need

purity of mind. How can we maintain peace if everyone other than us in

this universe is not at peace?.

 

Let me share with you the wisdom of Thiruvalluvar, a Tamil Saint who

wrote TiruKural which describes the various aspects of human virtue.

The first ten verses presented below describes the importance of using

pleasant words in daily communication. The second ten verses explain

the advantages of avoiding pointless discussions. The seers and sages

of Vedic Period always displayed love, kindness, and tolerance toward

their fellow citizens. People who lived during the Vedic Period were

able to enjoy their life by sharing and bearing. The Vedic spirit of

sharing and bearing was wide spread from the northern foothills of

Himalayas to the southern ocean beaches of Kanyakumari. Thiruvalluvar

presents the Vedic Spirit through Kural in the following verses.

 

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Importance of writing pleasant words

Holy Kural: chapter 10

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Pleasant words fall from the lips of virtuous men,

Full of tenderness and free from deceit.

 

Better than a gift given with a joyous heart

Are sweet words spoken with a cheerful smile.

 

A kindly countenance and sweet words

Spoken from the heart are virtue's way.

 

Poverty-provoking sorrow will not pursue

Those who speak joy-producing words to all they meet.

 

Humility and pleasant words are the jewels

That adorn a man; there are none other.

 

If a man seeks good works while speaking sweet words,

His virtues will wax and his vices wane.

 

Words yield spiritual rewards and moral excellence

When they do not wander far from usefulness and agreeableness.

 

Sweet speech which is stranger to pettiness

Imparts pleasure not only in this life, but in the next.

 

Why would anyone speak cruel words,

Having observed the happiness that kind words confer?

 

To utter harsh words when sweet ones would serve

Is like eating unripe fruits when ripe ones are at hand.

 

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Significance of Avoiding Pointless Writings

Holy Kural: Chapter 20

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Everyone is disgusted by a man

Who offends one and all with meaningless chatter.

 

Uttering useless words to crowds is worse

Than committing unkindnesses toward companions.

 

A long and pointless discourse itself declares

To all the speaker's lack of worth.

 

Worthless words are doubly unprofitable: the listeners'

Enjoyment is lost, and the speaker's own virtues vanish.

 

Prestige and popularity flee the best of men

The moment they speak inane and useless words.

 

Do not call him a man who enjoys displaying

His own empty words. Call him rather the chaff of men.

 

Let the wise, if they deem it necessary, speak even unpleasant words,

But it is good if they always refrain from pointless speech.

 

In search of extraordinary gains, the wise

Will never speak trivial or ungainful words.

 

The wise, faultless and free from ignorance,

Never utter pointless words, even forgetfully.

 

In your speaking, say only that which is purposeful.

Never utter words which lack purpose.

 

The Holy Kural was written by Thiruvalluvar, a weaver who lived with his

wife, Vasuki, in what is today a part of Madras in South India during

first century B.C. This was Tiruvalluvar's only work, and though it is

relatively short, it was sufficient to bring renown to a humble weaver,

making him a venerated sage and lawgiver of the Tamil People. In the

Tamil language "Tiru" means "holy" or "sacred," and "Kural" means

anything that is brief or short. In this case it describes the very

difficult and disciplined venpa meter in which the verses were written.

Each verse is extremely short, containing only two lines of fourteen

syllables. In fact, it is the shortest form of stanza in the Tamil

language. In many ways these couplets are similar to the Sanskrit sloka.

The entire scripture consists of 133 chapters with each chapter

describes a different aspect of human virtue or human fault. To properly

understand his perspective on a subject, each of the ten couplets must

be read, for they are like facets of a gem - all reflecting the light of

his understanding slightly differently and adding to the richness of

his comprehension. (This summary introduction also comes from the Web

page referenced below).

 

Reference: Kural a Tamil literary work on Human Ethics is available

in the Internet at: http://www.magna.com.au/~prfbrown/kural/

Copyright 1995, Himalayan Academy, .

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