Munificence and productive efforts?

I have seen a lot of 'either-or' types of arguments especially in the recent past. The sort of things that existed exclusively in debating competitions has seeped out into Society at large. The subject of today is also likely to be a subject of such 'either-or' debates. What is important - benevolence or productive efforts?

Tiru, as you probably know, has in a Kural already said that the 'sanyasis' depend on the 'grihastas'. After all, a sage is supposed on subsist on alms and it is the householder who is the giver of alms. So, what does he have to say on this debate topic, then?

Thaalaanmai ennum thagaimaikkan thangitrae velaanmai ennum serukku - Tirukkural

The pride of munificence rests on the foundation of persistent efforts - Loose Translation

There is no benevolence without efforts is what Tiru has to say. He does not deny that there is reason for 'pride' in benevolence. But he does say that benevolence itself cannot exist without persistent efforts. In the context 'vidaamuyarchchi' could be seen as referring to persistent BENEVOLENT efforts. Like, say, the persistent efforts of NGO heads and volunteers in achieving the benevolent goals of the NGO. The kural does ring true in this interpretation as well.

But the tone of the kural is as though it IS addressing an either-or question rather than a prerequisites for success question. In that context, 'persistent efforts' is not an answer to how to succeed at benevolence. It is an answer to the Persistent efforts vs Munificence question. AND Tiru firmly says that the former is a foundation stone for the latter. Thus, it is persistence in the productive efforts of the concerned person that makes him capable of benevolence. Going a step further, it is confidence in his own efforts that makes a person be benevolent even beyond his current means since he is sure to make the wherewithal necessary by dint of his own efforts.

Read it in that sense and it is the person who KNOWS himself to be capable of successfully making money who is capable of sustained charity.

The vice versa may not always be true though. He who is most sustainably charitable has also to be he who is confident of making the money necessary, yes. (Else, of course, the charity WILL stop once the concerned person runs out of money.) But can you consider every person who is capable of making money as someone who will necessarily be charitable?

THAT is a moot question.

Finish what you started?

To be honest, it is easy for people to say 'Do what you love and you will never work a day of your life'. You think that you love music and if you become a musician, life will be a bed of roses from then on? Like, a Taylor Swift or Rihanna or whomsoever never faced a day when they thought of abandoning what they were doing and running away? Composing music in your attic (Well, you know, businesses start in garages but the arts somehow gravitate to attics) is one thing. The business of putting together an album, getting someone to take you to the world, doing concerts and so on and so on...NOBODY does ONLY what they like. The moment you try to make a living out of ANYTHING you invite in a whole chunk of things that you'd rather not do, along with what you love doing.

Tiru has this to say for those times when you want to run away...

Vinaikkan vinaikedal ombal vinaikkurai theerndaarin theerndhandru ulagu - Tirukkural

Abandon not your efforts midway; the world abandons those who abandon their work - Loose Translation

To conceptualise something is one thing. To dream of implementing your concept is another. To actually implement it...that gives you experiences that you are seldom prepared to face. Like, with the music metaphor, you compose and when you dream of putting it out, you do not expect to sit with agents and music labels hammering out contracts. You do not expect your guitarist to get temperamental on the day of the concert. In dreams, things are all smooth, people love your music, nobody tries to cheat you on your royalties, no obscure chap sues you for plagiarism...you get the picture. Any or all of these can happen AND if you give up because of that, you are not ever going to be the face on the billboards.

It is not only a story for celebrities. It may be a matter of putting together a stall in an Industry exhibition or a project report for a new venture or your own attempt at, say, learning AI. ANY venture should be thought through BEFORE you attempt but not abandoned midway unless as a last resort. (Be sure that it IS the last resort) There are many who do not make anything of themselves because behind them lies a litter of half-done things which are never carries to completion.

Remember, you are a serial entrepreneur ONLY when your past enterprises have been carried to completion; not when all you have is a series of half-done and abandoned projects behind you.

Conquer the impossible?

In the days when I was avidly looking for and reading those self-improvement books (Till I decided that I cannot improve myself? Yes. So?), I was looking for that magic pill that would make me into a whole new me without much effort on my part. What I now think is that this whole business of self-improvement hinges on the idea that people are always looking for a magic wand type of solution to the problem of sorting themselves out. AND, no honest philosopher or psychologist HAS that magic wand. The most that they can do is make it SEEM easy.

Tiru does not even bother to do that, generally. HIS were the times which did not seem to believe in sugar-coating. OR, as some would like to argue, we had already discovered the ill effects of sugar consumption. Anyway, here he goes...

Arumai udaiththendru asaavaamai vendum perumai muyarchchi tharum - Tirukkural

To persist in your efforts, without giving in to feelings of inadequacy is the greatest strength - Loose Translation

Too often you would come across those who would claim that they were by far more talented than the other guy who did better than them in life. For every one case where that success was unjustified, there will be three where the failure of the the former and the success of the latter is merely a question of persistence.

Talent is the ability to think up ideas and solutions AND to implement them. But...think of it this way. UNLESS you think of yourself as CAPABLE to become an entrepreneur, you will not even be thinking up ideas for start-ups OR you will only give them away to someone else to implement it. Whether you are only an adviser or employee OR the owner of the business depends upon your own feelings of the adequacy of your abilities to handle what is needed to handle the pressures of entrepreneurship.

AND, if you think of something as impossible for you to do, do you even apply your mind on solutions to the obstacles in your way? When you see an obstacle as insurmountable, the only solution you think of tends to be to abandon the project with the least loss possible. It is only when you start thinking of overcoming the obstacle that you devise ways for surmounting it. AND you think of overcoming obstacles only when you cease thinking of yourself as being inadequate to the task.

This is how people who are talented can lag behind...by being overcome by thoughts of inadequacy. People with lesser talent, perhaps, but who do not allow a sense of personal inadequacy to stop them from persisting with their efforts...such people succeed.

In short, it is not a magic wand that leads to success. It is indomitable persistence that does.

Remember the fallen?

There are such a lot of things that will bring about your downfall if you forget them. The way things are, there seems to be no joy in achieving success. I mean, it is all very well to succeed but all these guys cluster around you screaming about how difficult it is to retain the success you have achieved with such difficulty. What's the point in huffing and puffing up the mountain only to be told that you need to keep running on a treadmill in order to stay on the peak?

Tiru is as much a disappointment as the others in this.

Igazhchiyin kettaarai uLLuga thantham magizhchiyin maindhurum pOzhdhu - Tirukkural

Remember those ruined by their neglect when you fail in your duties due to the joy of success - Loose Translation

Actually, though, most success IS like that. I mean, like, if you want to become CEO of Microsoft and you do become the CEO, it is not like you can then lie back and enjoy life, right? Most of what you count as success is only to reach a position where you need to work more, not less. So, if a Satya Nadella or Sundar Pichai decides that his life is a long series of beach vacations...well, that CAN be true. ONLY, those long vacations cannot run concurrently with being CEOs. The joy of success has to be succeeded pdq (pretty damn quick in Boomerese) with the nose pressed harder against the grindstone than before.

AND, if you are looking around for 'those ruined by their neglect' and are not finding them in your vicinity, hark back to our laddie, Aesop. It is just for people like you that he created his fictional characters. In this specific case...the hare of the hare and tortoise fame. THAT bunny assessed his success half way down the race course and enjoyed his success with a nap. Whereby...I'm sure you know the story.

You can run like a hare and still lose the race if you allow the joy of success to so intoxicate you that you forget to do your duties. So, there.