The pillars of goodness

There is a problem with some philosophical concepts. Goodness, for one? I mean, do people still seek to be good? Or is it all sunk in the cynical attitude that being rich will automatically cause you to be seen as good? When one goes around scattering advice, it is important to know whether the goals to which your advice ostensibly leads are even considered as desirable these days. Or will it be like you telling what to do to become a great coder when the other chap thinks that coding is for AI.

So, yeah, Tiru said this but is it worth it for me to say it too?

AnbuNaan Oppuravu Kannottam Vaaimayodu Aindhusaal Oondriya Thoon - Tirukkural

Love, shame of sinning, benevolence, helpful friendliness and integrity are the five pillars of exemplary people - Loose Translation

Let us get rid of words and meanings, first. Love here is not romantic love but the sort of love that you can have for all people around you. AND this 'saal' which is a form for 'saandranmai' is a toughie really. Sandraanmai can mean the wise, the great etc. I have called them, in short, the exemplars - people who can be held up as an example to Society at large.

To be an exemplar, you need to love your fellow human being. Which is another way of saying that you cannot be self-centered but open to care for all others. Even the idea of sinning should cause you to feel shame. You need to be benevolent to Society at large and a helpful friend to those close to you. Above all, you should possess personal integrity. THAT, in short, is what Tiru says. The sort of easy five steps that rolls off your tongue easily but is infinitely harder to practise.

But, then, whoever said that becoming great was a cakewalk?

Burden seeks the strong?

You often hear that God does does not burden you more than you can bear; when life keeps throwing curveballs at someone it is because he has the ability to hit them for home runs. (Hmm! WHY do you do this? No clue about baseball and you want to use baseball metaphors?) It is not only God, apparently, who does this to you. Even Society behaves in like fashion apparently.

Tiru has this to say about it.

Amaragaththu Vankannar Polath Thamaragaththum Aatruvaar Metre Porai - Tirukkural

Like the soldier who takes the responsibilty in the battlefield, the man with the strength to handle responsibility is handed the burden - Loose Translation

In any social circumstance, have you seen most people jump up to handle responsibility? Especially when they do not have the legal or moral obligation to take it on themselves? (Like, you cannot really skedaddle when the problem relates to your job or your child, no? Unless you can shove it off on a colleague or your spouse, respectively.) More often than not, even people who claim to take on the responsibility only want the authority. Other people are content with the right to criticize. Most people, though, are happy to not be noticed when the problem crops up or when it is getting solved.

AND, thus, the chap who volunteers for it OR has proven his ability in sorting problems in the past IS the chap who the community shoves the job on. Much like you push that soldier into the van of the army to take the brunt of the attack. In a way, the reward for handling responsibility well is, almost invariably, more responsibility.

This, then, means that Tiru is not exactly enthusing people who do the hard yards. It seems more like a warning about being the strong pillar of society. Except, yes, if you want to become a leader, and have the misfortune of not being born in the right family, the way to get noticed is to be the man who seeks responsibility.

Otherwise, you can see this Kural as merely a warning. THAT a display of strength could end up as an invitation to be burdened!

The greatest honor

Philosophers, as I have had reason to say before, have the habit of using 'greatest' lavishly. Not just philosophers, these days. After all, one sees 'Greatest Of All Times' scattered around like confetti these days. Virat Kohli is GOAT, simultaneously Suryavanshi is GOAT and so on and so forth. So, yeah, I think that we have no real cause to laugh at philosophers for calling one character trait great today and another tomorrow, do we?

So, Tiru says this and I will not listen to anyone talking of what he said yesterday or day before...

Karumam Seyaoruvan Kaidhooven Ennum Perumaiyin Peedudaiyadhu IL- Tirukkural

Nobody deserves the highest honors more than he who unceasingly persists in his duty to his family and community - Loose Translation

Well, Bhagavad Gita probably has something to say on similar lines. Though, the Gita inclines more to telling a person how to achieve spiritual heights than honors on Earth. This 'doing his duty to his family and community' would translate to doing his dharma in the Gita.

The 'unceasingly persists' part requires some understanding. When would you want to 'cease'  the most? Is it not when you despair of succeeding in goals? I mean, when you cease to see it as your duty - your dharma - and start looking to measuring the goals...THAT's when the thought of ceasing enters your mind, no? Do you, for example, think about 'ceasing' eating; get bored with breathing? When dharma is a part of your being, an instinctive set of actions that you do not think about exercising a choice about...IS that not what the Gita says in 'Karmanyeva adhikaraste...'? So, to persist in doing something regardless of obstacles...THAT is extremely laudable, no? (AND do not start off on stupidly doing things over and over without considering if it is workable. Your 'duty to family and soceity' does not mean stubbornly doing unproductive things. You'd see your duty as 'logistics', say, and not as driving a bullock cart.)

Tiru, in a way, is indicating that what works for Nirvana would as well work for honors in the mundane world. Who am I to oppose him when he is backed by the Lord of the Universe?

Restraint and Virtue

When philosophers get to talking about the prerequisites for virtue, you can expect one of two reactions. The 'So what else is new?' reaction is more common. Because, you have heard it from childhood and from people who, in their actions, seem well versed in ignoring that advice. The other one, more polite perhaps, is where the person says 'Oh! THAT may have been true in your times. The world has changed now' where you are actually being given the credit for not exactly being wrong. Only out of step with the times.

Tiru says this...

Kadhamkaaththu katradangal aatruvaan sevvi arampaarkkum aatrin nuzhaindhu - Tirukkural

Virtue enters the life of the man who controls his anger, possesses learning and practises restraint - Loose Translation

Actually, this is where the modern chappies pop in and asks, "Who really wants virtue? It's success we want and, if virtue happens to come in, fine. Otherwise..." The problem, though, is that people forget that 'success', in any time, happens to involve social recognition.  And THAT, it so happens, is a function of how people view you. Of course, it is also true that even other forms of success - money, power, what have you - will require people helping you along the way and for that to happen you need to be looked upon as...err...virtuous, though they will not exactly use that term. 'Good team man', 'has leadership qualities' and so on...what's all that but people seeing you as possessing the necessary virtues?

So, yeah, you do need to possess learning, that's almost a given. (Call it skill-set or whatever, if it makes you feel all modern). But you need also to ensure that the learning does not give you a swollen head. Restraint, in this sense, also means that you should keep a rein on your tendency to go all 'I know more than you do'. In a sense, restraint is a leash on your ego. Being confident is one thing, being arrogant is another. So, alongside the learning, you also need to practise humility.

Now, actually, if you succeed in controlling your ego, controlling anger is almost redundant. Most of anger arises out of hurt ego and, well, that's exactly what is less likely to happen if your ego is controlled. But since the whole thing is a process and you ought not to allow your anger free rein till such time as you control your ego....

AND, really, controlling your ego till such time as you end up losing it altogether is what Indian spirituality is all about. So, of course, virtue walks in if you succeed.