The greatest strength

By now, I think, it is unnecessary for me to belabor the point that you need to take these superlatives...like 'greatest'...with a pinch of salt. Much like you have learned to not take GOAT literally. After all, even if that 'AT' means 'All Times', it is difficult to think of that as true when the GOAT in cricket, say, changes almost every match even based on the same person's opinions.

Tiru, then, says this at this time...

Inmaiyul inmai virundhoraal vanmaiyul vanmai madavaar porai - Tirukkural

The greatest poverty is failing in hospitality; the greatest strength is in bearing with the stupid - Loose Translation

It always surprises me to see the central place that is given to hospitality in India. At least, that certainly seems to have been the case in Tiru's times. Imagine that he does not even place the inability to feed the family at the heart of his definition of 'greatest poverty'. He thinks that the heights of poverty is the inability to be hospitable to one's guests. Now THAT is placing hospitality on a pedestal that cannot be approached by anything else.

But this Kural is not really about hospitality. Hospitality, in Thirukkural, has an entire set of ten kurals devoted to it. In this one, it is more a comparison. Sort of 'Just as lack of hospitality indicates dire poverty, ability to bear with the stupid indicates the greatest strength.'

I know, I know! We see strength only in decimating the opposition. AND, going by the spectacles in movies and on TV, in the goriest manner possible. Here Tiru is talking about only 'bearing with' people. Merely defensive. AND bearing with the STUPID? I mean, you don't become a Rajinikant doing just that, now, do you?

AND, yet, it takes great mental strength to allow the stupid to keep spouting nonsense without asking them to put a sock in it. But...consider! How often is it that you have people in power spout nonsense to you? (Are they stupid? Anyone IS being stupid if he lays down the law on something that he is ignorant about. How often has that happened to you?) To be able to keep your cool and to get your way...THAT's great mental strength.

Of course, the stupid abound even in personal life. Should you exercise this strength even with them. I'd say yes because you should...

Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!

The best safeguard

There you are again. The 'best' has made its appearance. I think hyperbole is the term in poetry when exggeration is used to make a point. You are not allowed to say 'But...but...in that last poem, you said that something else was the best.'. People will groan and look at you as though you just crawled out from under a stone and did not have the grace to stay unnoticed. 

So, NOW, Tiru says...

Aatruvaar aatral igazhaamai potruvaar potralul ellam thalai - Tirukkural

The chief safeguard against ill is for the guardians to never slight the powers of those capable of implementing their will - Loose translation

In other words, the leaders/kings who have the responsibility of safeguarding the well-being of their community/nation need various measures to do their duty of guarding against ill. The foremost of those measures is to keep capable people happy by not insulting their abilities. Because, without those people applying their efforts, how are the other measures to be implemented?

So, yeah, one of the foremost abilities of leadership is delegation. AND for delegation to work you need capable people to whom you can delegate the work; and for those capable people to continue to be trustworthy and diligent you need to ensure that they know that you know their abilities and appreciate them. Failing which, you will lose their diligence or their presence itself.

Whether or not it is the best safeguard against ill befalling you and your community, I leave it to you.

No better virtue

I have had reason to say this about philosophers, especially philosopher-poets. They have this tendency to exaggerate the specific virtue or vice that they are talking of at the moment. Maybe it is something that is more true of this portion of the world. Like, you know, 'mother of all battles'. So, yeah, at any point in time, whatever we are talking of is the 'greatest virtue' or the 'worst evil' or whatever.

So, Tiru has this to say...

Puththe lulagaththum eendum peralaridhe oppuravin nalla pira - Tirukkural

No greater virtue exists in this world, or in the world of the gods, than benevolence - Loose translation

Yeah, I know, that sounds like a boomer uncle advice. But then Tiru antedates boomers by far, so he has the right to sound even more ancient than them. (I don't really know if benevolence is all that outdated considering that I have seen it in action in as late as the millenials. Though, yes, to be honest, ANY virtue these days seems to be solely expressed by vilifying those seen as bereft of the virtue than by being virtuous yourself.)

But, getting back to Tiru, he sees this attitude of seeking to do good to those around you as the biggest virtue...at least in this kural. Come to think of it, this one thing actually encompasses a whole host of virtues.

Firstly, you need to have empathy. See, Tiru is not talking charity here which can come after help is SOUGHT from you. He is talking benevolence...which does help those who seek help but ALSO sees the needs of others and helps without being sought. That requires empathy. To put yourself in their shoes and do what is needed by them.

Then it requires an element of selflessness. Whatever you give, you need to forego yourself. And, when Tiru places it so high, it is not merely because you would give what you yourself will not miss. It is because you will give even if at some cost to yourself. That willingness to sacrifice is why he exalts it so high.

Quite naturally, you cannot be benevolent while simultaneouly plotting to stab the other guy in the back. THAT would be a very peculiar type of benevolence indeed.

Thus, you see, you will find a multitude of virtues (I am sure you can build up that list for yourself beyond what I have listed) bundled into that single word - benevolence.

Perhaps Tiru was not exaggerating after all.

Destructive words

If there is a thing that almost all philosophers agree upon, it is the importance of controlling your tongue. Not surprising, really, since philosophers deal mainly in words that they should be very wary of how you speak words and the impact of ill-chosen words.

Tiru is no different. Especially when he says this...

Ondraanun theechchol porutpayan undaayin nandraaga dhaagi vidum - Tirukkural

If but one wrong word causes the smallest harm, all the good wrought by him will turn to evil - Loose Translation

Tiru allows for the fact that a misspoken word may not always be interpreted as causing harm. Thus, if in a negotiation, you use a wrong word, it may not always lead to hurt and its consequences. But, if you DO speak something hurtful AND it causes hurt in the other party, it has the potential to lose you the whole negotiation.

The problem with human interactions is that it almost always seems to exist on the basis of mutual mistrust. Each party strives to trust the other but falls back to distrust more easily than it leans forward into trust. This tendency to mistrust is stronger in some interactions and weaker in others...but, overall, it is easier to cause distrust than it is to gain trust.

AND exactly because distrust is easier than trust, a wrong word spoken at the wrong time causing hurt to the other has the potential to swing the entire mood of the interaction to distrust, thereby destroying the painstakingly built trust of all the work that preceded it.

It is not merely when groups of people are interacting with each other in negotiations. At the individual level, too, you build your friendships by building mutual trust. A person with a loose tongue will find it much more difficult to build and sustain good relationships, precisely because of his tendency to utter hurtful words.

Words are powerful. They need to be used with care.