Monday, September 22, 2008

We need to be judicious

Dear friends, Vanakkam (Namaskar)

Our Tamil pals, need no introduction of the subject given below. For the sake of others, Thirukkural (திருக்குறள்) (తిరుక్కురళ్), also known as the Kural (couplet), is easily one of the best ever written scriptures on human values and ethics, not only for India but for the whole world. Thiruvalluvar (திருவள்ளுவர்) (తిరువళ్ళువర్), is the master creator of this timeless treatise. It is a classic of couplets or Kurals (1330 rhyming Tamil couplets) or aphorisms organised into 133 chapters. Each chapter has a specific subject ranging from "ploughing a piece of land" to "ruling a country" expounding various aspects of human life. This week's post is taken from the Thirukkural

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யாகாவார் ஆயினும் நாகாக்க காவாக்கால்

சோகாப்பர் சொல்லிழுக்குப் பட்டு

యాకావార్ ఆయిణుమ్ నాకాక్క కావాక్కాల్

సోగాప్పర్ సొల్లిళుక్కు ప్పట్టు.

yakavaar aayiNum naakaakka, kaavaakkaal

sogaappar sollizhukkuppattu.

Purport or Bhaava

Anything else you may be careless to guard, but not the tongue;

for, even a slightest slip of it, sure drowns you in misery.

This is what its meant in brief.

I see here an interesting point for all of us to take note of.

Our tongue is endowed with two great powers, one is the speech and the other is the taste sense. Of course, we need to guard this wonderful apparatus of ours both while we utter some thing and while we taste some thing. If we are not careful in what we eat and are lured by the extraneous taste of food, setting aside the nutritive values of food, I am sure we end up in eating all unhealthy, oily, crunchy, crispy food. If we do not guard the tongue from improper and unhealthy eating, needless to say we will be tomorrows victims of the deadly diseases of this era - the heart attacks, stokes, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol problems, obesity and what not!

So, by these two aphoristic lines, Sri Thiruvalluvar urges all of us to be judicious in using this great asset of ours, the tongue.

Let us ever remember, its the tongue which begets us excellent health and also wins us friends everywhere, provided we are good masters in controlling it and in using it to derive all the benefits.

Bye for now. See you all next week.

Love

Sarma


1 comment:

Unknown said...

absolutely true, our tongue could be our best friend or worst enemy depending on how carefully & skillfully we use it.

kumaran.