SwamyVerse: Kural

Showing posts with label Kural. Show all posts

27 Apr 2017

Avvai KuRaL 203 ~ Guru & ShivA

Avvai KuRaL 203 ~ Guru & ShivA

குருவின் அடிபணிந்து கூடுவது அல்லார்க்கு
அருவமாய் நிற்கும் சிவம்.

Guruvin adipaNindhu kooduvadhu allARkku
AruvamAi nhiRkum Shivam.

Without surrendering to a Guru and remaining connected with him/er in some way, it's not possible to experience the divine.

In the culture of Bharat, i.e. SanAthana DharmA, which emphasises that Mukthi or liberation is the true purpose of life, the Gurus who offer ways and methods to attain liberation have always been given an exalted position in the society. Even in the present era, when people madly chase victory in everything, there is no change in a Guru’s importance.

The reason for that is, Gurus know the ways and means for liberation, through direct experience inward, known as Self-Realisation or Enlightenment. Those who've attained Self-Realisation are celebrated as Realised Beings & Masters in this ancient culture.

Such realised beings & Masters know that ShivA or the omnipresent divine or Parabrahmam isn't in the deities worshipped in temples but resides as a living reality within each and every piece of creation, experientially. The saying “GuruvEy Shivam,” i.e. Guru is ShivA, also emphasises the revered state of the enlightened beings.

Since they're aware that the blissful experience of self-realisation is a possibility for every human being, they offer the methods and techniques to others. So, without getting the Grace of such a Realised Master and without following / practicing the methods offered by such a Guru, God or Divine will remain an invisible idea or concept.

However many holy places or places of worship they go to worship the divine, however many sermons and discourses they listen to about the divine, without the guidance of a Guru, it's not possible for them to realise the divinity within oneself and remain immersed in the state of eternal bliss.

Note: All religious heads are not necessarily realised beings or Masters. That's why, Spirituality is beyond the confines of religion. That's also why, anyone belonging to any religion can follow the methods offered by any Guru, i.e. Self-realised / Enlightened Master.

Be joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

~Swamy
@PrakashSwamy

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* Avvai KuRaL is a new Nano series of bite-sized bloggets, umm.. blog+nuggets, by Swamy, exploring the spiritual treatise written by the venerable tamil poetess AvvaiyAr, in the astounding KuRaL poetry format.

You’re welcome to cherish other Swamy blog posts (Swamystery, Been There Seen That, Swamyview, Swamyverse, Swamygraphy), Quotes (SwamyQuote) & Poems (Swamyem – including 200+ #DhinamOruPadhigam hymns), leave a comment and share it with your social circles.

You’re also welcome to stay connected to Swamy (@PrakashSwamy) on Social Media.

24 Apr 2017

Avvai KuRaL 152 ~ Theory vs Practice!

Let's start the Avvai KuRaL series with a counterintuitive KuRaL.

வாக்கும் கருத்தும் மயங்கும் சமயங்கள்

ஆக்கிய நூலினும் இல்.

vAkkum karuththum mayangum samayangaL

Akkiya nhoolinum il.

Wonderful religious discourses, the deeper insights offered during such discourses and the holy books or scriptures of a(ny) religion cannot offer liberation (mukthi).

Most humans belong to one religion or another, from the time of their birth (not much of a choice there). Some even switch to a different religion in between. All religions have holy books or scriptures. Wise / holy persons who are well-versed in those tomes in each religion, will offer discourses or sermons on the content of those books or scriptures, covering diverse topics such as liberation, ethics and values, devotion, etc. Based on their knowledge and experience, they may even offer additional interpretations of those ancient tomes. But however good those books or discourses or their explanations are, none of them can actually offer liberation itself.

Self-realisation or realising the Truth of Life is not only a possibility for every human being, it’s also an intensely personal inner experience. Holy books or scriptures and the discourses based on them may at best offer methods or techniques for the realisation or enlightenment in theory but not the experience itself, which is a practical, and deeply personal, experience. That’s why Spirituality is distinct from Religion as the seeking and the ultimate realisation is possible for any human being, irrespective of the religion they belong to or even if they don’t belong to any religion (agnostic).

* Avvai KuRaL is a new Nano series of bite-sized bloggets, umm.. blog+nuggets, by Swamy, exploring the spiritual treatise written by the venerable tamil poetess AvvaiyAr, in the astounding KuRaL poetry format.

Be joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

~Swamy

@PrakashSwamy

27 Nov 2015

2KYOT - C2 - Greatness of Rain - K15

2000 Years Old Tweets - Swamy's Thirukkural blog series

Chapter 2 - Greatness of Rain (வான் சிறப்பு) - Kural 15

It has rained like it has never been in Chennai. So much so that people like Swamy who live in Chennai are pinching ourselves today that the Sun is out in all its warm glory and the sky once again is shining in blue hue.

Swamily had its share of powerless days - despite no life-crippling inundation in their residential area - which continues intermittently, including now, as Swamy writes this post (thank you Luminous Invertor & Exide battery - you're truly life savers)!

You can read Swamy's #chennairains rant on Facebook or Google+ (& Like / + him on both, for automatic notification of regular updates ;)

As Chennai slowly and painfully swims... umm, limps back to normalcy, cursing both the voluminous downpour that broke many a past record and the administration that continues to struggle but certainly trying to do its best to get the city and its citizens with indomitable spirit back to normal living conditions, it pays to rewind a little over 2000 years to know what Thiruvalluvar said about how precious Rain is!

#15 கெடுப்பதூஉம் கெட்டார்க்குச் சார்வாய் மற்றாங்கே

எடுப்பதூஉம் எல்லாம் மழை.

Rain hurts when it doesn't pour and enthralls when it pours.

It is Rain that makes Life perish (when it doesn’t pour) or nourishes it (when it pours).

Of course, Namma Chennai makkal may agree to disagree and say it hurts even when it pours - like a double whammy!

It pays to remember Chennai's usual struggle for water - due to scarcity - in summer, if it doesn't pour like this during monsoon. The problem isn't with rain per se', which has been pouring diligently during every monsoon (with very few exceptions), but with the planners, enforcers and people themselves, who chose to tread roughshod over all the water bodies and channels to divert excess water to them, systematically over the years. 2015 #ChennaiRains is a strong wake up call by mother nature to all - greedy & needy!

P.S. In case you're wondering, no sir/ma'am, we won't complain against any intolerance by Varuna bhagwan & talk about leaving our motherland & dear Chennai. To know why, you've to read The Tolerant Indian!

@PrakashSwamy

Note: This post is part of Swamy's blog series on the epic book of Tamil poetry Thirukkural, thought to be written over 2000 years ago by the poet ThiruValluvar, in an enchanting Tweet long couplet format, which is amazingly relevant even in the digital space of today!

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

12 Nov 2015

2KYOT - C88 - Knowing the Enemy - K875

2000 Years Old Tweets - Swamy's Thirukkural blog series
Chapter 88 - Knowing the Enemy

The embers of Bihar election heat wave have started cooling down, coinciding with the arrival of monsoon, which as always has inundated most of Chennai. It was a decisive victory for an unlikely coalition of 2 sworn rivals - Nitish & Lalu (both former CMs of the state), who started out in politics together, under a common umbrella & leader, against an autocratic ruler at the centre and the atrocity of that rule called Emergency.

It was also a blow to the ambitious new BJP regime headed by the charismatic leader Modi, who genuinely wants to make this once-great nation great again and his party leader Shah, known for his organizational prowess that brought their party to power at the centre - considered impossible in this nation dotted with selective secularist leaders misleading voters all the time - not too long ago.

Since the threadbare analysis of the viciously fought election is being done by all kinds of glitterati - including the selective secularist elite - on many television channels (most of which spectacularly failed to predict the eventual victory), let's spend our valuable time in understanding what Valluvar has got to say about this kind of scenario, in his epic Thirukkural, a book of 1330 couplets that amazingly are like tweets, written over two millennia ago!

Kural 875
தன்துணை இன்றால் பகையிரண்டால் தானொருவன்
இன்துணையாக் கொள்வற்றின் ஒன்று.

When you're alone and face two enemies (or opponents), it's better to offer truce to one of them (or make one of them your ally).

Nitish was smart enough to do just that and allied with Lalu, against whom he has fought and won elections in the past. Lalu too was smart enough to accept the truce offered by his rival who took the kursi away from him (& his wife). No one knows how long this uneasy alliance will last (considering the more vocal & naturally dominant Lalu has won more seats than Nitish, whose cleaner image helped him not only win the election but also will ensure his continuity as Bihar CM, as Lalu is barred from contesting elections for a few more years), but pretty much everyone knows how the Bihari bhais got the math right - irrespective of whether either of them even know about Thirukkural or not!

@PrakashSwamy
.

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

2 Nov 2015

2KYOT C2 Greatness of Rain K12

2000 Years Old Tweets ~ Chapter 2 ~ Greatness of Rain ~ Kural #2

The monsoon has finally arrived in Chennai. Instead of heaving a sigh of relief (most of the water bodies that supply water to Chennai residents have more or less dried up), Chennaiites have overnight started cursing the intermittent showers due to the following reasons (minimum list, of course)...

Diwali shopping - It's hard to imagine how pretty much an entire city goes bonkers & try to shop during just a week before Diwali - the traffic in many commercial zones have already gone beyond unbearable!
Roads - Or whatever is left of them. Change in governments don't matter. Change of Mayor doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter when it comes to the condition of Chennai roads - especially during monsoon. All those who are dreaming about migrating to Mars are most welcome to do their terrain training in Chennai. This November is highly recommended as the best time for superior survival experience!
Diwali itself - kids are going to be very upset if it rains cats & dogs on Diwali day; fathers are going to be very very upset because the great deal they got on Chinese crackers will be wasted; mothers are going to be extremely upset as they can't visit near & dear to show off their new design saree or churidhar they got by swimming in the human ocean at one of the top 3 destinations - Saravana Stores, Pothy's (all Kamalhaasan fans are going there by default this year & also wear the dress bought there for the 1st show of his next movie தூங்காவனம் :O) & Chennai Silks. Since 2 of the 3 are located in Velachery now, Swamy is so relieved that he chose to move out to Pallikkaranai 4 years ago (exactly a day after Deepavali - talk about timing ;)

And while it continues to rain, cooling a parched earth but raising the temper(ature) of yet-to-do-Diwali-shopping-just-in-time-for-Diwali families, there's so much more comic relief on Chennai roads, including but certainly not limited to...

Parking the bike wherever it started pouring & hiding under bus shelters, flyovers & shop entrances - if you are in a car & bewildered as to how there can be a traffic jam in pouring rain, that too on a highway, all you need to do is look around & above for a circular flyover (a notorious design that's present pretty much all over the city, where everyone takes a turn but no one waits for anyone creating a logjam every now & then), because it's guaranteed that a 106 motorists would've abandoned their motorcycles on the road & hiding right under the flyover :O
Pillion rider holding an umbrella over the rider's head - it's not just ridiculous but extremely dangerous, so it's certainly not hilarious, at all. But when you see it - again and again and again, the only thing one can do is LoL :D
Not venturing out in rain, at all - it's really funny that anyone who can ride a two wheeler is perfectly fine riding out in blazing sun (which is a little over 11.5 months in Chennai), that too without a helmet to cover the only head s/he has got. But the same stupid person isn't ready to venture out riding in the rain, despite the scientific fact that about 74% if a person's body content is................................................................ just water! BAU Humbug :{}

Jokes apart, it would be interesting to know what Valluavar got to say about this truly enchanting but apparently bewildering - especially for the hilarious species called humans - thing called Rain!

19 தானம் தவமிரண்டும் தங்கா வியனுலகம்

வானம் வழங்கா தெனின்.

Without rain, benevolence (giving) & penance (realization) will cease.

Oh, now we get it! People hate rain because giving & realization (which are supposed to elevate their miserable lives to an altogether different level) already ceased to exist. Ah, humans :(

@PrakashSwamy

P.S: If, like Swamy, you're also enchanted by the amazing natural phenomenon called rain (or even if you aren't yet), do enjoy his blog post exclusively about it ~ Rainchanted!

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

28 Oct 2015

2KYOT C70 - Acquainting the Powerful - Kural 691

2000 Years Old Tweets ~ Thirukkural ~ Chapter 70 ~ Acquainting the Powerful ~ Kural 691

Until united with one of the four families that claim to be hers, Geeta will be more or less Bharat Putri (India's Daughter). It's practically impossible for an anonymous citizen to meet and spend time with the PM, President & a CM who doesn't see eye-to-eye with the PM in a single day - especially after straying away from one's motherland into a not-so-friendly neighbour nation.

So, how should one acquaint such high & mighty, if ever an opportunity presents itself, however incredulous as it may be - like Geeta's triumphant return to her motherland and the seemingly endless felicitation by the powerful beings of the nation?

Since nondescript citizens acquainting the high & mighty has happened all through human history (Kusela & Krishna, Kaudilya & Chandra Gupta, Kavichakravarthi Kamban & Sadayappar, Mahakavi Bharati & Ettayapuram King, Umaruppulavar & Seethakkathi...), it's no wonder that such a sensitive relationship didn't escape the keen eye of Thiruvalluvar.

691 அகலா(து) அணுகாது தீக்காய்வார் போல்க
இகல்வேந்தர்ச் சேர்ந்தொழுகு வார்.

The way to acquaint the powerful is similar to the way one is with small fire created to keep oneself warm out in the cold - neither too close, nor too far.

@PrakashSwamy

P.S. This Kural also happens to be something Swamy's father - an old-school government employee, steeped in loyalty & obedience - used to quote often. Swamy & brothers will forever remain grateful to him for providing them good education, which is the foundation of their Life today.

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

27 Oct 2015

2KYOT C46 Avoiding Wrong Company K452

The top news items that are all over the media are both about return to motherland of two entirely different citizens for entirely different reasons.

Geeta's return is all about good - not just of Bharat's 'people's choice' government but also of our love-to-hate neighbouring nation's willingness & (rare) cooperation to make her return to motherland happen.
Rajan's (pending due to formalities) return is all about India's 'decisive' government's quest against all kinds of evil - especially black money kind - and bring the perpetrators of crime under the ambit of the law that (supposedly) applies to all citizens.

Wonder how both stories are connected in more ways than one? As ever, Valluvar has the answer for this citizen conundrum too!

452 நிலத்தியல்பால் நீர்திரிந் தற்றாகும் மாந்தற்க்(கு)
இனத்தியல்ப தாகும் அறிவு.

Flowing water 💦 will imbibe the land's attributes. Similarly, humans will imbibe the attributes of the group they being to!

Life isn't isn't just about who you are, but also about what company you keep!

@PrakashSwamy

13 Oct 2015

2KYOT C55 - Good Governance - K549

The recent spate of incidents highlighting intolerance of one segment of people towards another, both citizens of the same nation, is a challenge many countries struggle to tackle. Racial hatred and protests continue in the US, long after Lincoln abolished slavery, despite having proudly elected someone from the once-enslaved community as President of the country, not once but twice. Religious hatred and violence prevails in many countries, resulting in preventable loss of human lives and stalling constructive progress necessary to uplift quality of Life.

With the elite intelligentsia returning their government given awards, protesting lack of decisive action from the government/s, media too has raised its already high-decibel pitch a few octaves higher. Here's a tip to the beleaguered government from Thiruvalluvar on its responsibility to act decisively.

549 குடிபுறங் காத்தோம்பிக் குற்றம் கடிதல்

வடுவன்று வேந்தன் தொழில்.

Protecting citizens from violence and punishing perpetrators of violence, without bothering about criticism, is the ruler's responsibility.

President Mukherjee's call against intolerance, Prime Minister Modi's endorsement of & emphasis to follow the same and Maharashtra CM Fadnavis' decisive action to provide protection for the book launch of former foreign minster of a not-so friendly neighbour nation are all steps in the right direction. All governments - including the central - should be as decisive in ensuring safety for freedom of expression and preventing any attempt by anyone to suppress it.

@PrakashSwamy

9 Oct 2015

2KYOT C24 Fame K231

"In the future everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes!" Andy Warhol is said to have famously told in 1979. His was a time when you've to be talented to perform something noteworthy & lucky enough to be noticed by someone worthy, who would promote you to an audience, so you could become rich & famous and the promoter could become richer (s/he won't promote just you, naturally).

Warhol was right in predicting that as a future event, as there wasn't much of media, other than print & radio, to propagate someone's fame, at that time. Even if someone's talented, s/he needs the media for fanning that 15 minutes of fame. So gaining fame at Warhol's time took time. But things were about to change dramatically soon.

CNN started 24x7 news transmission in 1980. Larry King's interviews went live in 1985. www wasn't born until 1991. Big G (ahem, not that long bearded fella in flowing white robes believed to be up in the air, but Google) started its endless searches in 1998. Facebook made everyone like anyone in 2004. Any human being with a camera that can capture motion picture could beam himself or her cat & dog to the world thanks to YouTube from 2005. The little blue bird that can digest only 140 characters per bite, err tweet, started flapping its wings in 2006. Photographs changed forever from rectangle to square, thanks to Instagram, in 2010. And so on and on and on...

The explosion of social media & on demand availability of bandwidth gave an opportunity for every Tom, Sheikh & Harini to go for their 15 seconds of fame (inflation adjusted ;), right from their couch or car or anywhere. And having read or heard about a million self-help books from thousands of motivational authors, the minions of this tiny planet took Warhol's words to the heart and decided to become famous, come what may. Wouldn't it be really interesting to know what Valluvar said about Fame 2000 years ago!

231 ஈதல் இசைபட வாழ்தல் அதுவல்லது
ஊதியம் இல்லை உயிர்க்கு.

There isn't any better purpose in Life than offering something (to others) and cherishing the accolade (or fame) that follows.

Hmmm, is it any wonder that fame is still hard to find for many, despite the myriad ways available now for anyone keen? Before you crave for that 15 seconds (or minutes) of fame and despair when it eludes, as ever, take a moment to think what have you got to offer that your fellow humans may find valuable!

@PrakashSwamy

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)