தமிழென்னும் தேவமொழி!!

In one of the conversation with a friend of mine, there was a point of contention - Tamil does not have examples of karma yogis. I refuted and said Thiruthonda puranam quotes a lot of karma yogis, in fact extremists! The example I quoted was Siruthonda Nayanaar.

He was committed to feeding a shaivite saint before he eats lunch everyday. Sure, for someone who was the chief of army, feeding one saint everyday is not a big deal. That too money was never a constraint for him; The king realized what a great person he was and requested him to continue his Shiva worships giving a lot of money, land all other retirement benefits. Meeting a shaivite saint everyday would not have been very difficult considering the period in which the story happened. In such a conducive environment, sticking to the principles and delivering the duty accepted is fairly easier.

But Shiva appears as a Biragi - a sect of shaivite saints - one day. He almost challenges the ex-chief of army that he can not feed him! The food he asks for is unbelievable!  5 வயதுக்குட்பட்ட, குலத்துக்கு ஒரு குழந்தையாய் இருக்கும் பாலகனை, தந்தை பிடிக்க தாய் அரிந்து, பக்குவமாய், மனமுவந்து கறி சமைத்துத் தந்தால் அருந்துவேம். Wow! What an order of menu!

For someone to raise to the level of chief of army, it must have taken sometime; he then leads a war against another great king and wins the war, retires from the post, settles down in hometown, gets married, starts a family and the child is about five years. How old is he when Shiva appeared as Bairagi? Forties!?! At least in late thirties, if we assume that he took over as chief of army from his father !?! Butchering a five year old son is a tough thing to do; how hard it would have been for the parents to cook him! they had to do the whole thing with the happiness of cooking for a great guest!  வேறு வழியின்றி கொடுத்த வாக்குக்காகச்செய்தலே கடினம். இதில் மனமுவப்பது எப்படி?  அதுவும் இலையில் அமர்ந்தவர் தலைக்கறியும் கேட்க, தாதி அதைச்சமைத்து வைத்ததற்காக நிம்மதியடைவது எப்பேர்ப்பட்ட மனம்? Now a days, cooking for a guest itself is too much! It is much easier to host them in a hotel. How can someone cook their own son, that too whole heartedly like cooking delicious food for a rare guest!

Unless you are a karma yogi who is determined to deliver the duties without any feelings, it is absolutely an impossible task.  I don’t know if this story really happened. But living by the principles, not going back on the commitments given is the highest virtue! Living by the principles in a conducive environment itself takes self-discipline. But when things get harder, when your most cherished or valued relationships or things are at stake, keeping up the commitments is a virtue; when you have all reasons and opportunities to fall prey, do something or not do something, if you can resist that and live by your value system, that is the best of penance. இளையான் அடக்கம் அடக்கம் கிளைபொருள் இல்லான் கொடையே கொடைப்பயன் எல்லாம் ஒறுக்கும் மதுகை உரனுடையாளன் பொறுக்கும் பொறையே பொறை. Is there a better example?

Note: Language in which I write my blogs depends on the trigger of the article. In a quick review of my articles, I realised that if I was using English when the trigger happened, then I write in English; if the trigger was in Tamil, then the article is also in Tamil. This one is a bit strange! The trigger was in Tamil and I was responding to it in English! Hence the article was running in both languages in my mind…. Interesting….