Twenty-one days with Valluvar
A kural a day, in Tamil and English, from the book Tamils swear on in court and whisper to children.
The letter A
அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம் ஆதி
பகவன் முதற்றே உலகு.
bagavan mudhaṟṟē ulagu.
As the letter A is first of all letters, so the primal Lord is first of all the world.
The opening couplet: the whole book begins by pointing beyond itself.
The book opens by pointing beyond itself: as A is first of letters, so the primal Lord is first of the world. Valluvar names no sect, no temple. He will not name one for 1,330 couplets.
Say the couplet aloud in Tamil, even if you must read the transliteration. Seven words.
The five senses
ஐந்தவித்தான் ஆற்றல் அகல்விசும்பு ளார்கோமான்
இந்திரனே சாலுங் கரி.
Indhiranē sālung kari.
Of the power of one who has stilled the five senses, Indra, king of the wide heaven, is himself the witness.
Valluvar on self-mastery: even the gods testify to it.
Self-mastery is not a small private virtue here: the king of heaven himself is its witness. Valluvar's ethics begin with the senses because everything else follows from what you let in.
Skip one habitual pleasure today—a screen, a snack, a purchase—and notice what the mind does.
A stainless mind
மனத்துக்கண் மாசிலன் ஆதல் அனைத்தறன்
ஆகுல நீர பிற.
āgula nīra piṟa.
To be free of stain in the mind—that is the whole of virtue. All else is empty show.
Sarada Devi's “the mind is everything,” fifteen centuries earlier.
“All else is empty show.” Fifteen centuries before Sarada Devi said the mind is everything, Valluvar said it in seven words. Ritual, charity, fasting—all of it is measured by this.
Sit for five minutes and simply watch what stains the mind today.
Children's babble
குழல்இனிது யாழ்இனிது என்பதம் மக்கள்
மழலைச்சொல் கேளா தவர்.
mazhalaichchol kēḷā dhavar.
“The flute is sweet, the lute is sweet,” say those who have not heard their own children's babble.
The chapter on children. Valluvar's ethics include the nursery.
Valluvar has a chapter on children, and it is not sentimental: it says that people who call the flute and the lute sweet have not heard their own children's babble. The domestic is holy here.
Listen, properly, to a child today—or to anyone who talks without guarding their words.
Love cannot be locked in
அன்பிற்கும் உண்டோ அடைக்குந்தாழ் ஆர்வலர்
புன்கணீர் பூசல் தரும்.
punkaṇīr pūsal tharum.
Is there a bolt that can lock in love? The small tears of the loving betray it.
The first couplet of the chapter on love. Love, for Valluvar, cannot be hidden.
The first couplet of the chapter on love. Love betrays itself in small tears. Valluvar is not asking you to feel more; he is telling you that what you feel is already visible.
Let one person see, today, that you love them.
The unripe fruit
இனிய உளவாக இன்னாத கூறல்
கனிஇருப்பக் காய்கவர்ந் தற்று.
kani-iruppak kāykavarn thaṟṟu.
To speak harsh words when kind ones are at hand is to pick the unripe fruit while the ripe hangs there.
On speech; Bharathi's “sweetness in speech” comes from here.
Harsh words when kind ones are at hand is picking the unripe fruit while the ripe hangs there. Bharathi's prayer for “sweetness in speech” comes from this chapter.
One conversation today: choose the ripe fruit.
Treasured like gold
ஒறுத்தாரை ஒன்றாக வையாரே வைப்பர்
பொறுத்தாரைப் பொன்போற் பொதிந்து.
poṟuththāraip ponpōṟ podhindhu.
Those who punish are counted as nothing; those who bear patiently are treasured like gold.
The chapter on forbearance. Sarada Devi's “patient like the earth.”
Those who punish are counted as nothing; those who bear patiently are treasured. Sarada Devi's “patient like the earth” is in the same chapter of the human heart.
Bear one small injury today without retaliating, and without announcing that you are bearing it.
Compassion and the plate
தன்னூன் பெருக்கற்குத் தான்பிறிது ஊனுண்பான்
எங்ஙனம் ஆளும் அருள்.
engṅanam āḷum aruḷ.
How can one who eats the flesh of another to fatten his own flesh possess compassion?
The chapter on abstaining from meat; the argument is from compassion, not ritual.
The argument against eating flesh here is not ritual purity but compassion: how can one who fattens himself on another's flesh possess mercy? Whatever you decide, notice that Valluvar puts the question in terms of the heart.
Eat one meal today with full attention to what it cost, and whom.
Anger kills its owner
தன்னைத்தான் காக்கின் சினங்காக்க காவாக்கால்
தன்னையே கொல்லுஞ் சினம்.
thannaiyē kollunj sinam.
If you would guard yourself, guard against anger. Unguarded, anger kills its owner.
The Gita's chain (2.62) in seven words.
The Gita's chain from desire to ruin, in seven words. Guard yourself by guarding against anger; unguarded, it kills its owner first.
Next time anger rises today, take one breath before speaking. Just one.
Punish by doing good
இன்னாசெய் தாரை ஒறுத்தல் அவர்நாண
நன்னயஞ் செய்து விடல்.
nannayanj seydhu viḍal.
The way to punish those who harm you is to shame them by doing them good—and then to forget it.
Marcus Aurelius 6.6 and Dhammapada 223 say the same; Valluvar adds “and then forget it.”
Marcus Aurelius and the Dhammapada say it; Valluvar adds “and then forget it.” The forgetting is the hard part.
Do something good for someone who has wronged you. Then do not mention it, to them or to anyone.
Yesterday he was
நெருநல் உளனொருவன் இன்றில்லை என்னும்
பெருமை உடைத்திவ் வுலகு.
perumai uḍaiththiv vulagu.
“Yesterday he was; today he is not”—such is the greatness of this world.
The chapter on impermanence. The Mahabharata's Yaksha asks the same question.
The chapter on impermanence states the fact without decoration and calls it the greatness of the world. The Mahabharata's Yaksha asks the same question; Marcus Aurelius answers it from a tent.
Think of one person who was alive a year ago and is not now. Hold them for a minute. Then go on with the day, differently.
Like sleep
உறங்குவது போலுஞ் சாக்காடு உறங்கி
விழிப்பது போலும் பிறப்பு.
vizhippadhu pōlum piṟappu.
Death is like sleep; birth is like waking from it.
Seven words on death, without fear.
Death is like sleep; birth is like waking. Seven words, no fear, no promise, no theology. Compare Gita 2.22 and Dhammapada 277 and notice that Valluvar commits to neither.
Tonight, as you fall asleep, let the couplet be the last thing you think.
Hold the unattached
பற்றுக பற்றற்றான் பற்றினை அப்பற்றைப்
பற்றுக பற்று விடற்கு.
paṟṟuga paṟṟu viḍaṟku.
Hold fast to the hold of the One who holds nothing; hold that hold, in order to let go of holding.
The chapter on renunciation ends with a paradox: attach yourself to the unattached, so as to be free of attachment.
The chapter on renunciation ends in a riddle: attach yourself to the One who is unattached, so as to be free of attachment. It is the Gita's 18.66 in a Tamil knot.
Choose one attachment you could loosen this week. Loosen it a little.
Learn, and stand
கற்க கசடறக் கற்பவை கற்றபின்
நிற்க அதற்குத் தக.
niṟka adhaṟkuth thaga.
Learn what is worth learning, flawlessly; and having learned, stand by it.
Vivekananda: “not what you read … but what you realise.”
Learn what is worth learning, flawlessly; and having learned, stand by it. Vivekananda's “not what you read but what you realise” is this couplet's second line.
Take one thing you have learned on this site and act on it today, visibly.
Whoever says it
எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள்
மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு.
meypporuḷ kāṇba thaṟivu.
Whatever you hear, from whomever you hear it, wisdom is to see the truth in it.
On doubt: neither credulity nor cynicism, but discernment.
Wisdom is to find the truth in whatever you hear, from whoever says it. Neither credulity nor cynicism. This is the couplet that licenses a library like this one.
Read something today from a tradition you distrust, and find the one true thing in it.
Fear what should be feared
அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை அஞ்சுவது
அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்.
añjal aṟivār thozhil.
Not to fear what should be feared is folly; to fear what should be feared is the work of the wise.
Valluvar is not Bharathi: some fear, he says, is intelligence. Put the two side by side.
Valluvar is not Bharathi. Not to fear what should be feared is folly, he says; the wise fear rightly. Put the two Tamils side by side and let them argue.
Name one thing you are right to fear, and one thing you are not. Act on the difference.
Unwavering effort
ஆக்கம் அதர்வினாய்ச் செல்லும் அசைவிலா
ஊக்க முடையா னுழை.
ūkka muḍaiyā nuzhai.
Prosperity asks the way and comes to the one whose effort does not waver.
The chapter on perseverance.
Prosperity asks the way and comes to the one whose effort does not waver. Not the strongest, not the cleverest—the one who keeps going. Sri Aurobindo: go on steadily whether the pace is slow or swift.
Continue today the thing you nearly gave up yesterday.
Think high
உள்ளுவ தெல்லாம் உயர்வுள்ளல் மற்றது
தள்ளினுந் தள்ளாமை நீர்த்து.
thaḷḷinun thaḷḷāmai nīrththu.
Let all your thinking be of rising. Even if it fails, the failure has the nature of the aim.
The Mother's “on the quality of your aim will depend the quality of your life.”
Let all your thinking be of rising; even if it fails, the failure has the quality of the aim. The Mother said the quality of a life depends on the quality of its aim. Same chapter of the same book of the human heart.
Raise one aim today by a notch. Not the plan—the aim.
Laugh at trouble
இடுக்கண் வருங்கால் நகுக அதனை
அடுத்தூர்வது அஃதொப்ப தில்.
aḍuththūrvadhu aḥdhoppa dhil.
When trouble comes, laugh. Nothing else so drives it back.
The chapter on not losing heart. Yogananda: “when death comes, laugh at it.”
When trouble comes, laugh; nothing else so drives it back. Yogananda: when death comes, laugh at it. Neither is being flippant. Laughter here is the refusal to be ruled.
Find the absurd in one difficulty today, and let yourself laugh at it.
Trouble is the nature of things
இன்பம் விழையான் இடும்பை இயல்பென்பான்
துன்பம் உறுதல் இலன்.
thunbam uṟudhal ilan.
One who does not chase pleasure and takes trouble as the nature of things will not be made to suffer.
Stoicism, from the Tamil country.
Stoicism from the Tamil country. One who does not chase pleasure and takes trouble as the nature of things is not made to suffer. Compare Gita 2.14 and Marcus Aurelius 8.47.
Meet one inconvenience today as simply the nature of things.
Equal in birth
பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் சிறப்பொவ்வா
செய்தொழில் வேற்றுமை யான்.
seythozhil vēṟṟumai yān.
All living beings are equal in birth; they differ in worth only by what they do.
The verse Bharathi built his politics on.
All living beings are equal in birth; they differ only by what they do. Bharathi built a politics on this couplet and put it in a children's song. Valluvar wrote it fifteen centuries earlier, and the argument is not yet over.
Treat one person today, whom you usually rank below you, as exactly your equal. Then go back to day one and begin again, or choose another journey.