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!

Respectable poverty?

There are those times when you feel that the past was a different universe compared to the present. I mean, we all prate (I suppose this is one of those 'Look, there goes Suresh making us run to a dictionary' words. OR, in short, Tharoorism) of unchanging values in a changing world and all that but really? Let us see how many people you can find who will consider ANY type of poverty 'respectable'?

Let us dive right into what Tiru considers poverty that still commands respect.

Keduvaaga vaiyaadhu ulagam naduvaaga nandrikkan thangiyaan thaazhvu - Tirukkural

If a righteous man ends up being poor, he will not be looked down upon by the world - Loose Translation

Now THAT...does that sound like the world you know to you? I mean, come on, how often have you heard, "Vaazha theriyaadhavan" (Chap who does not know life) or some such that castigates such a person as impractical? A person who sticks to his values on a 'let the chips fall where they may' basis is only considered as someone who does not know the 'real' world.

If such a person laments that his righteousness has led him to suffer in life, people tend to be very unsympathetic, telling him that he brought it upon himself. You see, the biggest problem with a righteous man is that he makes you come face to face with your own compromising of your values. So, rather than deal with that guilt, you'd blame that chap for being 'impractical' and, when he laments his suffering, you feel justified in your own compromises.

To actually be respected for being righteous, you need to be self-respecting as well. I mean, if YOU are the sort of person who sticks to your values, come what may, you also need to be the sort of person who can be happy in the poverty that could come as a consequence. In other words, YOU should not be lamenting your poverty but continue to take pride in sticking to your values. THAT is when people could come around to respecting you despite your poverty.

Otherwise, I'd say that the interpretation that some have placed on this kural - that you will not be looked down upon by the wise and, thus, not necessarily all the world - would probably be truer of the reality.

AND the rest of the world will consider YOU unwise!

Self Control

One of the things that most philosophers go gaga about is this weird beast called self-control. AND the way they go on and on about this would make you feel that you have been given a self ONLY in order for it to be controlled.

Possibly true that. I mean, unless there is a huge design flaw (which is also likely), this thing of making all delicious things unhealthy and all healthy things yucky IS, shall we say, insane unless it has been done specifically for the purpose of ensuring that you get an opportunity for this self-control gig. I mean, I am yet to come across anyone who believably says that he salivates at the thought of broccoli and gags at the smells from a bakery or chaatwallah. What sort of design is that, pray, when that green muck is supposed to be healthy and these yummy delights are a strict no-no? Unless, as I said before, someone was trying to ensure that you had ample need for exercising self-control.

Well, then, Tiru proves no exception as a philosopher. He has this to say

Orumaiyul aamai pol aindhadakkal aatrin ezhumayum yemaappudaitthu - Tirukkural

If, like the tortoise which pulls in its limbs and head into its shell, you control your five senses in one life, you shall be protected for seven births - Loose translation

So there. You need to control your sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell throughout life. When Tiru says 'control' what he means is that that your senses are what lead you to temptation and, therefore, you need to either avoid seeing, hearing, touching, smelling or tasting things that can tempt you; OR control your mind from being tempted by what the five senses feed to it. In other words, either avoid the smell of bakeries OR avoid being tempted into trying out those luscious goodies OR both.

Now, this control over your senses and your mind, if you can achieve it over your whole lifetime - or what remains of it - IS what molds your character. You may not carry across births the weight that you put on by giving in to every culinary attraction; but that weakness of character which does not allow you to control yourself WILL carry over. So, this seven-birth protective charm may not be (or may nor JUST be) the karma but also the strength of character that you develop by such self-control. E.O.D Atman meets Paramatman only when it becomes closer in nature to the latter; and it is tough to see Paramatman as a slave to its tongue...no matter how we like to portray and see Ganesha and Krishna. (AND, perhaps, it IS that modak-eating OR butter-guzzling nature, which is given to them, that endears them to us. It makes them seem more human and, thus, more approachable!)

(Oh, yeah, I AM aware that there are other temptation from the other senses as well. The problem is that most such seem to be troll-magnets and, therefore, I'm sticking safely to food. Though, yes, these days one can attract trolls by any culinary ism which is why I avoid the whole lot of them in my post.)

Now, you see, where the problem lies, right? Bingo! It is the belief in these seven births that creates the need for self-control! If you just abandon the belief, if you think that this is your only birth, there you are, free to do what you want.

Alas, not really! THIS birth, generally, happens to be one of the seven when these chaps like Tiru say 'Seven births'. So, if you really want to be protected from trouble even in the current life...

...your five senses need to be under control. Drat!