Silence is wisdom?

There are times when you really realise the gulf between the society that was and the society we live in. Ah, no, no, no! I am not about to wax eloquent on what AI is going to do to us. (I couldn't even if I wanted to, considering how little I know about AI? So?) THAT's for another day and for other generations (Z, AA, AB, whatever). Me, I'm still stuck on what social media has done to society.

AND how Tiru has become dated merely because he lived in times when Social media did not exist. Take this for example...

Kallaadhavarum naninallar katraarmun sollaa dhirukkap perin - Tirukkural

Even the ignorant can appear worthy if they keep silent in the presence of the wise - Loose Translation

Well, first of all, we live in times when we do not entertain such elitist ideas as being 'wise'. I mean, what is more elitist than knowing more than others? AND, for Heaven's sake, I am not allowed to share my opinions, loud and clear, merely because the other guy knows the subject and I don't? THAT is precisely the sort of thing that we are fighting against. What about Freedom of Expression, then?

AND what is this 'in the presence of the wise'? I mean, it all depends on which echo chamber you are in, right? You can always find an echo chamber where YOU count as the 'wise', even if you are vehemently propounding the flat earth theory, no? AND, to keep silent on the frivolous grounds of being ignorant will ensure that you never find the right echo chamber and, thus, can never be considered wise. What rubbish.

But, maybe, Tiru's advice has a limited application. In the organisation where you are working, for example, you are not always free to find your own echo chamber. After all, it is your boss/peers who you have to impress and, alas, they are not always cooperative in fitting into your echo chamber. That still does not translate to the company of the 'wise' necessarily. How many of you consider your boss and your peers wise?

True, Tiru probably was well in advance of the chap who said, "It is best to keep your mouth shut and be taken for a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.' THAT chap, too, did not account for Social Media, did he?

Thoughtful remembrance

Did I mention earlier about forgetting people? One of the greatest wonders of the world is how everyone, but everyone, will go gaga about how the most important thing in the world is relationships. AND relationships automatically means people. (Yeah, yeah, I know, but not everyone can create a Microsoft or Twitter OR rename the latter as X, you know. OUR jobs do take second place to relationships...eventually (when you chuck us out) if not now.) AND then, on the heels of sharing twenty memes about relationships, you snap at your significant other about being disturbed when you are answering an oh-so-important email.

Tiru, while on the subject of forgetfulness, has this to say...

Izhukkaamai yaarmaattum endrum vazhukkaamai vaayin adhuvoppadhu il - Tirukkural

Nothing yields as much good as unfailing thoughtfulness towards all people at all times - Loose translation

THAT is what Tiru says. To remember all the people you have interacted with and what they have done for you; to remember what they need and what they care for; and to remember to TELL them that you remember them...THAT yields the greatest of good to you, as per Tiru.

For example, nothing breeds loyalty as much as the 'big man' remembering you and wishing you on your birthday. No? Nothing makes a person as joyous as to have his past achievements mentioned and lauded when he leasts expects it. I can go on and on about how remembering people in a thoughtful manner makes them enthusiastic supporters. (Oh! HR sending out birthday emails is not exactly the same thing. Sorry!)

The point is that when you display that you see them as PEOPLE (and not resources!) and also see them as special in their own way, you cause them to feel that YOU are human, after all, and not just the 'boss'. THAT's when you develop a strong relationship. Two cogs in a wheel only develop friction; it's only two humans who can develop a relationship.

So, yes, Tiru does talk specifically about thoughtfully remembering people. AND calls it the greatest good.

HR, of course, will call it EQ.

Forgetful fame

There are times when I really do not want to write on a topic. I mean, like, if you loved sweets what would you feel about writing about the 'devil sugar'? Or, when you have always boasted about how you are the world's greatest procrastinator, how would it suit for you to be waxing eloquent about a stitch in time saving nine? It is times like that when you feel you missed out on the greatest of human characteristics - Hypocrisy!

What set off that diatribe is coming across this kural from Tiru...

Pochchaappuk kollum pughazhai arivinai nichcha nirappukkon draangu - Tirukkural

Just as poverty destroys knowledge, forgetfulness will destroy one's fame - Loose Translation

You can understand how a person who opens the refrigerator and keeps wondering about what he intended taking out from it...such a person wondering about whether he has a right to be talking about how bad forgetfulness is.

By the way, Tiru is not against the poor. Rather, he makes the point that living in continuing poverty is what keeps them concentrating on the getting of food to the exclusion of any acquisition/retention of knowledge. AND, just as poverty destroys knowledge, forgetfulness will destroy your fame in his opinion.

Actually, elsewhere in these pages, I have mentioned how fame itself may cause forgetfulness. To win fame is to achieve a significant amount of success. THAT success can cause you to forget a lot of things. You may forget those who supported you in your dark times till you achieved this success; you may forget those who were also instrumental in the achievement of this success; you may forget to do the things necessary to KEEP the success once you achieved it. (Like, come on, if you achieve a market success with a product, you think you can just coast on it forever?) and so on.

In other words, forgetfulness can put you on the accelerated slippery slope back to failure. Even if you do retain enough acumen to sustain your financial success, your forgetfulness about people may leave you leading a barren life with none to consider close to you. And THAT, believe me, will eventually feel like failure to you, no matter how many strangers may laud your every tweet. The biggest of failures is to not have a single person to lean back on if you fail.

Tiru is not talking of how you forgot where you left your glasses or your inability to remember the day of the week. He is talking about forgetting the more important things in life. Mislaying friends not mislaying things; forgetting to thank, not forgetting the date; and so on.

THAT forgetfulness could well result in your fame being forgotten by the world. So there.

Knowing limits again

When one talks of anything, there seems to be an idea that there is only one meaning to it. I have had occassion to talk of it before on a different subject. "Don't you trust me?" is a question, for example, which automatically gets answered on the basis of trusting the integrity of the other person. But, it could mean that the distrust is on the knowledge of the other person - as in, I may trust my child not to steal from me but do I necessarily trust him to invest well? It could mean a distrust of some other characteristic than honesty as in, say, do I trust the other person to keep a secret? Generally, this idiotic idea that a word has only one meaning is the reason why people get manipulated very easily.

Take this limits thing for example. In the previous post I had discussed how you need to know the limits of your own capabilities. But IS that the only limit you face in life? Tiru has this to say to prove that there ARE others...

Nunikkombar erinaar aqthiranth thookkin uyirkkirudhi aagi vidum - Tirukkural

To try to climb beyond the tip of the topmost branch of a tree could end your life - Loose translation

Tiru indicates that you need to understand another set of limits. The limits imposed by the environment. If you are in mining and exploration, say, you need to stay within the geographical limits within which you are allowed to explore. Going beyond them may not exactly kill you but it could kill your company. (OR, in this modern world, kill a great many people in that country depending on which country owes allegiance to your company...ouch...which country your company owes allegiance to.)

Which brings me to that other point...the limits imposed by the laws of the country. (AGAIN with the caveat that, perhaps, your company is not big enough to have the laws rewritten) You may find that growing beyond a certain size makes it less profitable for your company; flouting the labor laws of the country causes your company intolerable losses; and so on.

Even when you DO think that you can rewrite the laws, you still need to assess the limits imposed and the cost of having the limitations removed. There HAVE been cases where those costs have been incurred and, thanks to those costs, the company has ended up bankrupt.

In life, it is alright to think of pushing the envelope. The point IS to know WHEN you are pushing it and what is the cost of doing so. Rushing about rashly hither and thither is NOT pushing the envelope. It is to tear it into pieces and later on whining that you did not even know it existed!