Propriety and Success

The strange thing about Success is that it has many fathers. In more than one way. Yup, once you succeed there will be a lot of people who will claim their contribution to your success. Even if their contribution was only one of deducing that you would become great from the way in which you sucked on your all-day sucker as a babe in the cradle. But that is not all.

There are so many characteristics that also clamor for the role of being the parent of Success. Talent, hard work, persistence, self-belief yada yada. Now there is one more adding on to the list - Propriety of conduct. Or so Tiru would have you believe.

Ozhukkatthin eidhuvar menmai; izhukkatthin eidhuvar eidhaa pazhi - Tirukkural

Propriety of conduct leads to greatness; improper conduct leads to disgrace - Loose Translation

So, there, if your conduct is not proper, success is unlikely. This proper conduct in this context seems to be not just the usual thing of 'moral conduct'. As in, it probably DOES cover conduct that may be considered 'immoral' but is probably not restricted to it. Because that word 'ozhukkam' can also mean decorous and not just moral.

After all, almost every language has something about how you dress making a difference to your success. 'Clothes make a man' proclaims English. "Aal paadhi Aadai paadhi' declaims Tamil. (The meaning of that is that the impression a man makes is half-determined by his personality and the rest by his clothes.) And so on. And clothes ARE the first thing that are looked upon for 'decorous conduct'. (YES, clothes ARE used by most people to assess a person...of ANY gender and not JUST by the culture police. If you do not believe that, just ask yourself which stranger you are more likely to admit inside your home - someone dressed in rags or someone dressed in a suit.)

So, the way you dress, the way you speak to others and of others, the way you comport yourself in Society and Office - all of that has to be 'proper', which translates to appropriate to the circumstances. What is appropriate in various circumstances can vary. What IS invariable is that you need to stick to propriety as defined in the place you are in. Otherwise, you will not be able to succeed.

THIS failure to adhere to propriety of conduct is what will get you the ultimate kiss of death in organisations - 'He is not a team player'!

So, yes, there are occasions where Tiru is absolutely right even in the context of the modern world.