True duty?

This duty thing is very vexing. I mean, if there is any saying that is much over-used (AND most popular) from the Bhagavad Gita it is...YES! THAT is it! 'Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana.' OR, in English, 'Do your duty, look not to the fruits thereof' or some such. See, it is not enough that this duty thing involves DOING, instead of lolling around, but you are also supposed not to expect anything out of it.

About the only thing that keeps your nose to the grindstone is the fact that, at the end of it, you'll benefit from it. AND here these guys come, telling you that you are not to expect anything out of it at all. And Tiru is certainly no ray of sunshine when he talks of the same subject.

Dhavam seyvaar than karuman seyvaar matrallaar avan seyvaar aasai utpattu - Tirukkural

Only he whose mind is free of desire truly does his duty; the rest waste their efforts being distracted by desires - Loose Translation

You know, these words like 'Dhavam' are a tough nut comes to translation. People sort of call it 'meditation' and dust their hands off thinking that they have done a good job. Not really. Dhavam is a mix of worship, the mindset of meditation, the renunciation of a sage, yada yada. Which is one of the reasons why the West finds it impossible to GET Indian philosophy - the fallacies of complacent translators. In the instant Kural, the mind free of desires IS the most apt attribute to use for Dhavam.

Where the Gita tells you to avoid concentrating on the fruits of your actions, it is seen more as a philosophical construct. That if you do anything as a duty, without being driven by the desire for the fruits of the action, you are free of the sins of that action. (AND, yes, that 'duty' IS an imperfect translation of 'Dharma'. Every human being is supposed to adhere to multiple dharmas - as a human, son, a husband, a neighbor, a citizen, an employee etc. etc. SO, 'duty' as in Indian philosophy is not the simple thing of saying that "I was obeying orders therefore I am free of sin"! There is a hierarchy of dharmas to live by, not just one. Especially when you are supposed to acted while being free of desire for the fruits - promotions, desired transfers OR even escaping being shot at dawn.)

Tiru is not merely being philosophic here. What he, in effect, is saying is that you WILL be doing whatever you set out to do only if you free your mind from desire. If your mind is always set on your desires, then your effort will go waste because you are not taking interest in the job itself. Sweeping assertion, yes, but is true to a greater or lesser extent in all jobs. How good a job you do of ANYTHING is a function of how much interest you take in doing it. And if your desires rob your concentration on the job, the results are likely to be less than good.

What, then, if you conceive of YOUR job AS satisfying your desires and nothing else? As most of us seem to do. Point to ponder? Not really IF your desires are to be satisfied by others and not exclusively by yourself. THEN your primary objective IS to satisfy those others, even if the final goal is to satisfy yourself. Therefore, you still need to do a good job which means you need to focus ON the job, and not on your desires, at least WHILE you are doing it.

Sad! No philosopher ever seems to project a decent shortcut to success. What's the use of philosophy if I still have to work, I say!

The sure path to Heaven?

This thing about a Heaven after death is, I suppose, something that people may have their doubts about. I mean, yeah, it's nice to believe that there IS a Heaven where all is bliss and that you could earn a place there by what you do down here. But...you see, the issue IS about what you have to do down here. Like not being greedy, not lusting yada yada. It's almost like you got to live a Hell on earth in order to get to Heaven after death.

I daresay that there would be a lot more believers in Heaven if only the path to it on Earth were a shade more...joyful, shall we say? I have always found that belief in the existence of a certain goal is directly proportional to your belief in your ability to achieve it. OR, in simpler terms, grapes are seldom pre-judged to be sour if they are within reach.

Tiru's path to Heaven, in other kurals, may have been equally as terrible. But, in this one, he makes a point that is not really so off-putting.

NallaatraaL Naadi AruLaaLga pallaatraal therinum akde thunai - Tirukkural

To study and assess morality and be kind to all around you is the only path to Heaven even in the light of the conflicting tenets of various sects - Loose translation

Yeah, yeah, that 'morality' bit does not seem too much like it will be a easy thing but being kind? Is that too much to ask? Yeah, I know, it sort of kills all your social media popularity because where is the fun in reading kind things? So, bang go your chances of going viral which, other than for things like Covid, seems to be the most sought after social media nirvana. Hmmm! So Tiru, also, is asking for some serious sacrifice then.

Though, Tiru seems to echo what everyone pays mouth service to these days. That, despite what each religion varies on, the bottom line is that Kindness IS the passport to Heaven. All that fighting for the morality of my religion's tenets etc. etc. do not seem to cut much ice when it comes to your aspirations for whatever you think is Heavenly Bliss. Not if you go by Tiru. You can study all the morality you like, you can choose to live by it but when it comes to others you need to comport yourself with kindness first and THEN comes whatever preaching that you choose to do. Sans the kindness, the rest is useless in transporting you to Heaven or so Tiru would have it.

Now THAT I suppose is something every sect will agree on. That all this is nonsense, that kindness be damned if it gets in the way of propagating their own idea of morality. Alas!

Win by patience?

I wish that someone would pick a quality that I possess and tout it as the true path to success. Why should it not only be a character attribute that I do not possess but also be one that is the exact opposite of the way I am? ALWAYS? I mean, really, if there was someone assembling humans up there, there should be some quality checks to reject faulty pieces, no?

Now this patience thing. I mean, yes, there are people who say, "Everything comes to he who waits" and others who say, "Yes, all the things that nobody else wants." So, there ARE a few people who do not believe that being impatient is a no-no. But it looks like Tiru is not one of them.

Migudhiyaan mikkavai seydhaarai thaantham thagudhiyaan vendru vidal - Tirukkural

When someone arrogantly harms you, beat him with your patient handling - Loose Translation

Now THAT is guaranteed to raise the hackles of any teen you give that advice to, I am sure. Alongside that other thing about turning the other cheek. I mean, if someone treats you like dirt and you take it dumbly, your name will be mud in no time, right?

Actually, though, it is a lot more than just dumbly taking things lying down. I mean, really, Tiru is considered a sage, alright, but it's not like he is advocating you to become one. This is the chap that also writes a whole series of kurals on sex, so I'm sure he cannot be blamed as being too la-di-da for the real world.

What he means here is to possess even-tempered composure in the place of getting flustered and screaming with anger. The point he makes is to keep your cool and use your abilities to get the better of the other guy instead of trying to win a screaming match with him. Makes sense that way?

Anger, the getting hot under the collar kind, invariably gets in the way of applying your mind to the issue at hand. Instead of trying to find a way to victory in the situation, you are merely trying to cap insult with insult, which really gets you nowhere. AND, if you are really the sort who can get things done, you very seldom are also the chap who can win shouting matches, so you are fighting the other guy on his home ground.

So, yeah, instead of treating Patience as some sort of loser mindset, see it as a way to maintain your composure and win in a lasting manner. I'm yet to see anyone who can conclusively prove victory in a shouting match.

AND, yes, shouting matches do not get you any Olympic medals, do they?

Helped by god?

It is a nice sentiment to be told that when 'you want something, the entire Universe conspires in helping you achieve it.' Though, yes, it is a bit concerning to see that it will only be 'helping' you. I mean, it is not like you can just want something and roll over to the other side and continue sleeping with the expectation that you'll have what you want when you wake up. If you will only be 'helped' it means that you also need to be doing something towards it.

Nor is it like some desultory steps will suffice. I mean, it's not like you can just pop a couple of rupees into your piggy bank, when the mood takes you, and expect the Universe to help you get your BMW. It would seem like you need to really want whatever it is with the fervor that will make you work for it with enthusiasm and determination.

That much already seems like a bit too much but Tiru is not done with you yet, even if Coelho is. (This chap Paulo Coelho is who Google credits with that Universe conspires theory.) Tiru seems to think that the Universe will turn up its nose at some of the things you may want and gets picky about when it would enter the conspiracy. Or so Tiru says but, yes, he says 'God' and not 'Universe' since, in his times, they clubbed everything that their mind could not encompass under the heading 'God'.

Kudiseival ennum oruvarkku dheivam madithatruth thaan mundhurum - Tirukkural

God shall support he who has set out to work for the betterment of his people - Loose Translation

You know, it is a pity that the more colorful metaphors do not translate well into other languages, and you are left doing a bland job of communication. I mean, Tiru does not merely say 'support'. People who wear dhotis will understand that, when you set out to do physical work, you need to tighten the dhoti lest it falls off you during your exertions. So, what Tiru actually says is that God himself will tighten his dhoti and enter the fray in support. (Khaske baandke and all that, for the Hindi speakers). That creates a much stronger image of God as a supporter.

That 'his people' also is subject to a lot of interpretation. You could interpret it as family (though, in Tiru's days, even a nuclear family was possibly multiples of the size of our nuclear families and Tiru in all probability meant 'family' in the widest terms, not just the joint family, which would probably be the population of a good-sized town!); you could interpret it as community which may actually be your town or your caste or whatever; or you could interpret it as Society at large.

Whatever it be, Tiru does not expect God to mess around with his dhoti for your own personal needs. What you WANT should have a serious element of altruism in it before God bothers to take notice. Much more restrictive than that Coelho chap who thinks that the Universe will conspire to get you your yacht if that is what you want and are working towards in all earnestness.

But, yeah, in a way, Tiru has made it easy on himself. He is more likely to prove true because, as far as I have seen, people who work towards a larger goal generally tend to be much more dedicated to what they are doing. I mean, you could sort of moan about the pain and start thinking about whether you really want something for yourself. You are much less likely to take the call about not wanting it when it is someone you care for who is getting deprived in the process.

And, who knows, you may even get what you want without troubling God at all!