Suresh Chandrasekaran's Blog, page 14

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

Love is life?

That must be about the most cliched of cliches in the world, this statement that 'Love is Life'. I mean, literature is rife with romances where people feel unable to live if they lose their love, so one does get a surfeit of this idea in books.But is that what Tiru means when he says this?Anbin vazhiyadhu uyirnilai; Aqdhilaarkku enbuthol portha udambu - TirukkuralThe soul exists because of love;

Done unto you

You get advised to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The presumption is, I suppose, that the way you behave with others is the way they shall behave with you. It very seldom works that way because, if you are polite, generous and kind to others, they take it as their due; very very seldom do they think that any reciprocating is warranted.Yet, there IS a thing where you can expect

Unworthy people?

The easiest thing in the world is to identify unworthy people, isn't it? If someone holds opinions different from yours, he is obviously unworthy. On THAT, most people have no difference of opinion - that he who is not with me in my beliefs, is unworthy of respect. That, though, was apparently not always held as self-evident truth.Tiru has other ideas about that as may be expected.Nayanilan

Expectations and morals

There are rules, there are laws and then there are these unwritten mores of conduct. You sort of expect that the laws and rules exist to ensure that everyone behaves in a manner that is considered acceptable behavior by Society but that is not exactly the case.Sometimes law-makers set ideals for society to live by, even if what is considered acceptable behavior by Society is different. Take for

Forbearance

Virtue always seems to exist in only the most difficult things to do. Anything easy to do is very seldom accepted as virtuous much like anything good to eat is automatically classified unhealthy. It automatically raises the question whether it is difficult because it is virtuous or is it considered virtuous only because it is difficult.Akazhvaarai thaangum nilam pola thannai igazhvaarai

The greatest wealth?

The quest for wealth is never-ending for us humans but, you know, we depend of others to tell us what IS wealth. I mean, there would have been a time when a soldier thought that 'salt' was wealth considering that he was paid in it. Can you think of anyone hoarding salt and gloating over how much salt he has, these days? So, yeah, once others tell us what counts as wealth, we'll rush after it.Well

Joy and Desire

You know, these philosophers must be nuts. I mean, all of us understand that what we call joy is the satisfaction of our desires. But what these chaps say is that the absence of desire is the primary prerequisite for joy. What rubbish.Well, Tiru belongs in the same bandwagon. Here he goesInbam idaiyaraa theendum avaavennum thunbatthul thunbam kedin - Tirukkural.You will perpetually be joyous if

All mine?

There was this interesting thing that I read in the science fiction novels by Larry Niven. He writes of a galaxy of multiple species, including humans, interacting with each other. One of those species finds English funny - specifically the word 'My' - for a reason that seemed rather interesting to me.The strange thing about English, in the view of that species, was the use of the word 'My'. And,

Above the gods?

Here we are, fighting like crabs to be considered above the next guy - whether by climbing up or by pulling the other guy down (easier to do the latter, no?) - and here is this chap who talks in terms of aiming to be above the gods. (Yeah, yeah, the demi-gods of Hinduism, not Yahweh or such). Talk about overweening ambition!Yes, it is our man Tiru and here is what he has to sayYaan Yenadhu ennum