Tirukural – Chapter 60
Chapter 60: Possession of Industriousness
Verse 596
A weaver, a musician and a sculptor are all industriously working at their craft. They give no thought to failure, and therefore failure rarely visits them.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 591
Possessing belongs only to the industrious. Do those
who lack such energy really possess their possessions?
Verse 592
Those who own a mental energy possess a thing of worth.
Material wealth is an unenduring possession that goes away.
Verse 593
Those who possess persevering industry
will never say in despair, “We have lost our wealth.”
Verse 594
Good fortune of its own accord ferrets out and
finds the man of unflagging energy.
Verse 595
The length of the lotus stalk depends on the water’s depth.
Even so, a man’s greatness is proportionate to his mind’s energy.
Verse 596
Let all thoughts be thoughts of noble progress,
for then even failing cannot be called a failure.
Verse 597
Elephants stand firm even when wounded by a barrage of arrows.
Strong-willed men are not discouraged when they meet disaster.
Verse 598
Without a zealous spirit, one will never enjoy
the proud exhilaration of the world’s generosity.
Verse 599
The towering elephant, with his tapering tusks,
still shrinks in fear when a fierce tiger attacks.
Verse 600
An industrious mind is a man’s real wealth.
Lacking it, he is immobile–more tree-like than human.
Tirukural – Chapter 59
Chapter 59: Espionage
Verse 589
A wise king meets separately and secretly with five different informants. He will only proceed with their information when three of them agree and give him the same report.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 581
Competent spies and the respected codes of law–
consider these two the eyes of a king.
Verse 582
Duty requires the monarch to swiftly acquire
knowledge of all happenings among all men each day.
Verse 583
Without assessing the intelligence reports of informants,
a king can never achieve victory.
Verse 584
The working staff, close kindred and known enemies–
all such people are the legitimate study of spies.
Verse 585
An able spy is one who can assume an unsuspicious disguise,
is fearless when caught and never betrays his secrets.
Verse 586
Disguised as a monk or a mendicant, the master spy
moves about investigating all, never careless, come what may.
Verse 587
A spy must ferret out hidden facts,
assuring himself that knowledge found is beyond doubt.
Verse 588
Before believing one spy’s espionage,
have another spy espy the information.
Verse 589
See that informants do not know one another,
and accept their findings only when three reports agree.
Verse 590
One must not openly honor operatives.
To do so is to divulge one’s deepest secrets.
Tirukural – Chapter 58
Chapter 58: The Kindly Look
Verse 577
At a roadside temple beggars are lined on either side of the path. One woman with a kindly look offers coins to the beggar, whereas the other woman turns away from them with a scowl.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 571
The fairest graciousness, they say, is a kindly look.
Wherever it thrives, the whole world flourishes.
Verse 572
It is compassion that sustains the world’s existence.
The existence of those bereft of it is a burden to the Earth.
Verse 573
What use is melody in an unmusical song?
What use are eyes that express no sympathy?
Verse 574
Other than being facial ornaments, what do eyes
with no quality of kindness really do?
Verse 575
A compassionate glance is the eyes’ true ornament.
Without such kindness, eyes become unsightly sores.
Verse 576
Eyes that remain unmoved by pity might as well
be unmovable tree stumps bound in earth.
Verse 577
Those who lack a kindly look are indeed without eyes,
and those who truly have eyes never lack a gracious look.
Verse 578
This world belongs to those who, while neglecting no duty,
never neglect to behold others benevolently.
Verse 579
To grant forbearing kindness even to those
who aggrieve us is the foremost of virtues.
Verse 580
Desiring to be gracious above all else, guests may politely accept
even poison they watched their host prepare and serve.
Tirukural – Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Avoidance of Tyranny
Verse 565
A guard, hand uplifted to control the crowd, shouts while another pushes a couple away from the king, not allowing them to meet him. Behind the king, who refuses his peoples entreaties, a demon has confiscated the royal treasury and hugs bags of gold coins.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 561
He is a true king who impartially investigates
and then duly punishes so that the offense will not recur.
Verse 562
He who wishes his prosperity to long remain
will raise the rod severely, but let it fall softly.
Verse 563
The tyrant who causes dread in his people
will perish quickly and inevitably.
Verse 564
“Our king is cruel.” When these bitter words are spoken,
the monarch’s life is shortened, and he soon succumbs.
Verse 565
If a man’s countenance is harsh and access to him is hard,
his wealth, however vast, might as well belong to a demon.
Verse 566
If a man is unkind and speaks cruelly,
his vast wealth will not last long before perishing.
Verse 567
Harsh language and overly severe punishment,
like a keen file, grind down a king’s conquering powers.
Verse 568
A king’s wealth wanes when, without thoughtful involvement,
he lets ministers work, then furiously faults their efforts.
Verse 569
The sovereign who does not secure defenses will be seized
by fear when wartime comes and promptly perish.
Verse 570
Earth bears no greater burden than crude counselors
that a cruel-sceptered king binds to his court.
Siva’s Immovable Yogi
Our artist, Suresh Mutthukulam of Kerala, recently finished one more of the ten paintings he is doing to illustrate Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami's commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, a book we plan to publish next year. Suresh is without a doubt one of India's most accomplished artists with a powerful graphic vocabulary of ideas. He often paints murals on Siva temples. Here he takes the famed story of Buddha under the banyan tree, assailed on all sides by threats, temptations, desires, distractions and fascinations of all sorts. Yet, he is not moved, but remains summa, still, centered on God Siva within. The story speaks of a few of the enticements.
Tirukural – Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Unjust Reign
Verse 557
Here an unkind and wealth-seeking king brings suffering to his people, just as the rainless sky and blazing sun scorch the Earth.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 551
More malicious than a professional murderer is the monarch
who rules his people with injustice and oppression.
Verse 552
A scepter-wielding king requesting a gift is like
a lance-bearing robber demanding, "Give me all you have."
Verse 553
Day to day the king must seek out and punish unlawfulness,
or day by day his country will plummet toward ruin.
Verse 554
Without thinking, a king rules crookedly, and thus
forfeits his subjects' loyalty, together with his own fortune.
Verse 555
Are not the tears of a people who cannot bear their monarch's
oppressive reign the force that erodes his prosperity?
Verse 556
Ruling rightly, a monarch may long endure.
Without that, his majesty is rightfully unenduring.
Verse 557
As the Earth fares under a rainless sky,
so do a people languish under an unkind king.
Verse 558
Possessions hold less pleasure than poverty
for oppressed subjects living under an unjust king.
Verse 559
If the king acts contrary to justice, contrary seasons will befall
the land and rain-laden clouds will fail to come forth.
Verse 560
If the people's protector fails to protect
brahmins will forget the Vedas and cows' milk will dry up.
Tirukural – Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Just Reign
Verse 547
A king is meeting with his subjects and, as the balance scales above him show, he is thoughtfully working to be fair and just to all sides.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 541
Investigate well, show favor to none, maintain impartiality,
consult the law, then give judgment--that is the way of justice.
Verse 542
All the world looks to the rain cloud for sustenance.
All the people look to the king's scepter for protection.
Verse 543
Even the Vedas of the brahmins and all dharma therein
rely on the sovereign's sturdy staff for sustenance.
Verse 544
The world embraces the feet of a great kingdom's monarch
who lovingly embraces subjects under his justice-wielding scepter.
Verse 545
Rain and rich harvests arise together
in a country whose sovereign ruler raises his rod lawfully.
Verse 546
Victory is not won by the lance,
but by the king's scepter, provided it is not crooked.
Verse 547
The potentate protects the whole world,
and Justice protects him if he does not stray from Her.
Verse 548
An inaccessible ruler who listens and adjudicates inattentively
will inevitably plummet from power and perish.
Verse 549
No fault befalls a king who, in guarding and caring for his subjects,
punishes wrongdoers--for that is his duty.
Verse 550
A ruler's punishing cruel criminals by execution
is like a gardener's removing weeds from his garden.
Tirukural – Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Avoiding Unmindfulness
Verse 537
A sculptor of great skill has undertaken a difficult project, but will succeed because he is pursuing it with great mindfulness.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 531
Excessive anger's harm is exceeded
by excessive merriment's mindless mishaps.
Verse 532
Just as perpetual poverty slowly nullifies one's knowledge,
so frequent forgetfulness destroys one's prestige.
Verse 533
Unmindful men will never know renown.
This is the verdict of every virtuous text in the world.
Verse 534
Nothing will provide defense for the cowardly,
and nothing will secure good for the unmindful.
Verse 535
The forgetful man who fails to take precautions
against impending perils will regret his negligence afterwards.
Verse 536
Nothing can compare to watchfulness
extended unfailingly to all people at all times.
Verse 537
There is nothing too difficult for the man who
consciously conceives and carefully executes his work.
Verse 538
One should do that which men extol as praiseworthy.
Forgetfully failing to do so brings deprivation lasting seven births.
Verse 539
Whenever the mind is engrossed in pleasant infatuations,
one should remember men who were ruined by forgetfulness.
Verse 540
It is easy to get what you think of
if you can get yourself to think of it.
Tirukural – Chapter 53
Chapter 53: Fellowship of Kindred
Verse 523
A man is standing in front of a pond that has broken its banks and flooded into his compound, where his family is enjoying themselves without his presence.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 521
Should a man's wealth disappear, only his kinsmen
will maintain their customary kindness.
Verse 522
If a man's kindred cling to him with unfailing love,
his fortunes will never fail to flourish.
Verse 523
Pursuing a happy life without mixing with one's clan
is like flooding a pond that has flimsy banks.
Verse 524
The real profit gained by gaining riches
is that one may then live surrounded by relatives.
Verse 525
Scores of kin will crowd around the kindly man
who gives generously and speaks sweetly.
Verse 526
In this wide world none enjoys a more faithful family
than he who hands out large gifts and holds back all anger.
Verse 527
The crow does not conceal his food, but calls his kind to share it;
prosperity will remain with men of such a nature.
Verse 528
The multitudes thrive when they observe their monarch
observing each one's merits, not seeing mere sameness in all.
Verse 529
Close kinsmen who have become estranged
will come back when the cause of disagreement goes away.
Verse 530
When one who left him returns with justifying reason,
the ruler may, after careful reflection, accept him back.
Tirukural – Chapter 52
Chapter 52: Testing and Employing Men
Verse 513
Here we see four different situations that indicate how trustworthy a man is. He is helping an injured boy who has fallen from a mango tree; he is settling a dispute that threatens to erupt in violence; he stands firm though he has been attacked by a thief and he is sending a businessman away who has offered him a bribe.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 511
Employ men who discern the good and the bad
in every situation and naturally choose the good.
Verse 512
Let him do the work who can increase profits,
spread prosperity and search out problems.
Verse 513
He alone is trustworthy who fully possesses these four:
kindness, intelligence, assurance and freedom from greed.
Verse 514
Though tested fully in simulated settings,
many men function differently under working conditions.
Verse 515
Work should be entrusted to men based on their knowledge
and diligence and not merely on bonds of affection.
Verse 516
Consider the work, choose the workman,
calculate the timing with care, then commence.
Verse 517
Having decided, "This man is qualified to do this
work in this way," leave him alone to perform it.
Verse 518
After ascertaining what work befits a man,
assign him to a fitting function.
Verse 519
Wealth withdraws from the man who refuses to acknowledge
the informal friendliness his workers wish to share with him.
Verse 520
The king should scrutinize his staff's conduct daily.
If they do not go astray, the world will not go astray.
From Our Gurus' Teachings
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