Tirukural – Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Possession of Wisdom
Verse seeker
sits within a golden fortress of protection. Before him are the wisdom-filled holy texts. Outside the wall people are offering him various material inducements, but he is only interested in the truth.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 421
Wisdom is a weapon that can ward off destruction.
It is an inner fortress that no enemy can assail.
Verse 422
Wisdom will harness the mind, diverting it
from wrong and directing it toward right.
Verse 423
Whatever is heard from whomever’s lips,
wisdom will rightly discern its true meaning.
Verse 424
Wisdom speaks well, conveying each meaning clearly,
and listens for the subtlest sense in others’ speech.
Verse 425
The wise befriend the wise and keep that friendship constant,
not opening and closing it like the petaled lotus.
Verse 426
It is wisdom to live in the world
in the way that the world lives.
Verse 427
Those who know, know what will happen next.
Such things are unknown to the unknowing.
Verse 428
It is folly not to fear what ought to be feared.
So the wise dread what should be dreaded.
Verse 429
Fearsome sufferings shall never happen
to knowing ones who guard against future happenings.
Verse 430
Those who possess wisdom possess everything.
Whatever others possess, without wisdom they have nothing.
Tirukural – Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Learning by Listening
Verse his
eyes closed in meditation, a man sits with arms crossed in disdain for the riches that lie before him. The clouds around him represent his guru’s oral teachings, which he is listening to. The bundles of rupee notes and coins are slowly fading from sight. Parts of them have already disappeared as he clings to his guru’s wisdom.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 411
The most precious wealth is the wealth acquired by the ear.
Indeed, of all wealth, that wealth is paramount.
Verse 412
Only when no fare can be found for the ear
is it time to offer the stomach a morsel.
Verse 413
In Heaven, Deities feed from sacrificial fires.
On Earth, men who feast on listening are their equal.
Verse 414
Though he has no learning, if a man listens to the learned,
that will serve as his staff of strength in adversity.
Verse 415
Words from the lips of upright men
are like a steadying staff in a slippery place.
Verse 416
Let a man listen to good things, however little.
Even that little will enlarge his greatness.
Verse 417
Those who have studied deeply and listened diligently never speak
foolish words, even when they have misunderstood a matter.
Verse 418
If not pierced by acute listening,
ears may hear and yet remain deaf.
Verse 419
Unless he has listened to learning’s subtlety,
it is rare indeed for a man to speak with humility.
Verse 420
There are those whose tongues taste but whose ears savor nothing.
What does it matter whether they live or die?
Tirukural – Chapter 41
Chapter 41: The Neglect of Learning
Verse 409
A young scholar sits under a tree surrounded by the ancient texts which he knows well. His nobility is such that crowds gather to hear his words.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 401
Speaking to a learned gathering without ample knowledge
is like playing a dice game without the board.
Verse 402
An uneducated man desiring to be eloquent
is like a breastless woman longing to be feminine.
Verse 403
Even the ignorant will be considered wise
if they refrain from speaking in the presence of the learned.
Verse 404
However excellent an untaught man’s knowledge may be,
erudite men will never accept it.
Verse 405
An unschooled man’s self-conceit will shrivel
the moment he speaks to an assembly.
Verse 406
Like unproductive barren land is the man who has neglected
learning. All that can be said about him is that he exists.
Verse 407
The handsome charm of him whose knowledge
is neither subtle nor penetrating is like that of a painted clay doll.
Verse 408
Even more wretched than a learned man’s poverty
is the unlearned man’s wealth.
Verse 409
Though he is humbly born, a lettered man’s nobility
transcends that of the illiterate nobleman.
Verse 410
As men are to wild beasts, so are the masters
of brilliant texts to other men.
Tirukural – Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Learning
Verse 394
A holy man is seated in a mandapam during a festival. Around him, people are singing joyously. Their happiness is intensified by being with a man of such high learning.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 391
All that you learn, learn perfectly, and
thereafter keep your conduct worthy of that learning.
Verse 392
Two are the eyes of those who truly live–
one is called numbers, and the other letters.
Verse 393
The learned have eyes that see, they say.
The unlearned have two open sores on their face.
Verse 394
It is the learned man’s prowess that meetings with him
bring delight, and departures leave pleasant thoughts.
Verse 395
The learned remain ever humble, as the poor are before
the prosperous. Lowly men lack such learning.
Verse 396
The deeper a sand well is dug, the more freely its water flows.
Even so, the deeper a man’s learning, the greater is his wisdom.
Verse 397
Knowing that knowledge makes all nations and neighborhoods
one’s own, how can a man stay untutored until his death?
Verse 398
The learning a man secures in one birth
will secure his well-being in seven.
Verse 399
When the learned discern that the learning which delights them
also delights the world, they love learning all the more.
Verse 400
A man’s learning is an imperishable and precious wealth.
No other possession is as golden.
Tirukural – Chapter 39
Part II: On Wealth
Section V: Royalty
Chapter 39: The Merits of the King
Verse 383
The king is sitting in a battlefield chariot, listening to his ministers. He watches vigilantly as his courageous soldiers practice their combat skills in the field. Later that day he falls prostrate before his guru, in search of learning’s wisdom.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 381
He is lion among kings who is well endowed with these six:
army, citizens, wealth, ministers, allies and fortresses.
Verse 382
There are four attributes that cannot be absent in a king:
fearlessness, generosity, wisdom and industriousness.
Verse 383
In those who rule the land, three traits must never lapse:
vigilance, valor and virtuous learning.
Verse 384
The noble king is unswerving in virtue, restrains wrongdoing
and courageously maintains his honor.
Verse 385
He who can produce a treasury of wealth, deposit it,
preserve it and apportion it wisely–now, that is a king!
Verse 386
All peoples praise that nation whose sovereign
is always accessible and never speaks harshly.
Verse 387
Behold the king who speaks graciously, gives generously and
protects powerfully–the world considers his word its command.
Verse 388
Ruling righteously himself and safeguarding his subjects,
a monarch may be deemed divine by his people.
Verse 389
The world lives protected beneath the umbrella
of an ethical leader who can endure words bitter to the ear.
Verse 390
He is a light among rulers who is endowed with the four merits
of generosity, graciousness, justice and care for the people.
Tirukural – Chapter 38
Section IV: Destiny
Chapter 38: Destiny
Verse 374
At the bottom of the painting a man finds himself at a crossroads. On one side there lies the richness of worldly wealth and family possessions. The other path leads to a saint in an orange robes with hands above his head expressive of his blissful state. A man may choose to tread either path.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 371
When destiny ordains wealth, it gives birth to industriousness.
When it decrees a life of loss, it inspires only idleness.
Verse 372
That destiny which decreases prosperity increases ignorance.
That destiny which diminishes loss expands knowledge.
Verse 373
However subtle the sundry texts he studies,
a man is left with his native intelligence.
Verse 374
Two natural ways are ordained in this world.
Securing wealth is one. Seeking wisdom’s light is another.
Verse 375
In karma’s presence, sure success with wealth can fail,
and certain failure can succeed.
Verse 376
Though you guard it well, what destiny does not decree disappears.
Though you cast it aside, what destiny calls yours will not depart.
Verse 377
A man may amass millions, but its enjoyment
will never exceed the portion allotted to him.
Verse 378
The poor are practically ascetics and would renounce if only karma,
approaching with experiences yet to be, would pass them by.
Verse 379
Why should those who rejoice when destiny brings them good
moan when that same destiny decrees misfortune?
Verse 380
What is there that is mightier than destiny?
For it is present even in the plans we devise to overcome it.
Tirukural – Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Eradication of Desire
Verse 364
We see here a woman kneeling and sipping water which has touched the feet of her Lord. In her devotion she has turned her back on all kinds wealth and riches which lie nearby, ignored.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 361
At all times and to all creatures,
the seed of ceaseless births is desire.
Verse 362
If you must desire, desire freedom from birth.
That will only come by desiring desirelessness.
Verse 363
Here no fortune is as dear as desirelessness;
and even there, nothing like it can be found.
Verse 364
Purity is but freedom from desire,
and that comes from thirsting after Truth.
Verse 365
They say only those who have renounced desire are renunciates.
Others, though they have renounced all else, are not.
Verse 366
As it is desire, above all else, which deceives a man,
ascetics rightfully dread it.
Verse 367
Desisting from all desire-driven deeds, a renouncer
finds liberation approaching, just as he desired.
Verse 368
He who has no desires has no sorrow.
But where desire exists, endless sorrows ensue.
Verse 369
When desire, sorrow’s sorrow, dies away,
undying bliss prevails here on Earth.
Verse 370
It is the nature of desire never to be fulfilled, but he who utterly
gives it up is eternally fulfilled at that very moment.
Fictionary: Should Be a Word
Words. They are such a part of our everyday life we often don't give them their full due. Sometimes we mispel them. Sometimes we missprunciate them. Despite this abuse, they go on serving our various needs as we seek to communicate with the outside world.
English dictionaries can sometimes get over 1,000 new words per year. In 2019 the Merriam-Webster added over 600 in April and another 500+ in September. The Oxford English Dictionary just added these: loop you in, whatevs, cryptocurrency and fake news.
But these don't serve our needs that much, so we have started our own Fictionary, coining words that should exist, but don't. We share some of these today for our linguistic CyberCadets (Should Be a Word). Enjoy the words you never knew you needed, and send us creative additions to our Fictionary.
As you read below, keep in mind that we need a word for: "It's like really kinda, sorta very unique, in a way, you know."
CyberCadet: Another word for those of you visiting TAKA today.
epikarma: As with epigenetics, epikarma describes how we can change the karmas we are born with through lifestyle changes, attitudes and good works. It is possible because of karmaplasticity.
reinkarmation: 1. An intense life in which the soul goes through many profound changes but keeps the same body; 2. lifetimes in which one faces the same-old, same-old karmas because of failure to resolve them when they've come around before.
Dumbledore (v) - to in part life changing wisdom in a cryptic manner so that the receiver does not immediately comprehend what is said. Usage: "That swami just dumbledored me!"
sbaw(adj., usually enclosed in parentheses) -a lowercased acronym for "should be a word."Example:I have read that peanuts do not conduce (sbaw) to tooth decay.
BickerBabble (Squabblejounce or Verbal Skirmish)
A short, highly specialized and always unproductive squabble between two or more people who know one another well. It is characterized by reactive and softly accusatory bursts of unprovoked contention between each other, not necessarily related to the subject at hand, but rather provoked by the accumulation of many small unresolved problems over years of personal association.
meditated: the application of spiritual energies that has its parallel in the word medicated. "They returned from the silent time with the guru well-meditated for the day."
Precendent: As"transcendent" is beyond, this word is before. It speaks of the source of the very existence of a thing, the fundament. E.G. "Finally the scientist comprehended the prescendent merits of his experiment."
Mysticalize: to endow something, physical or otherwise, the deeper, profounding meanings.
treebola: A nasty plant virus that is killing the Jambu trees on Kauai in 2015.
Veganize: the missing verb in a growing vegan world. "The team worked hard to veganize the big pharma capsules."
Elsewhereland: A special place, not here, somewhere else.
Pronoiais aneologism coined to describe a state of mind that is the opposite of paranoia. Whereas a person suffering from paranoia feels that persons or entities are conspiring against them, a person experiencing pronoia feels that the world around them conspires to do them good. In 1993 the writer andElectronic Frontier Foundationco-founder John Perry Barlow defined pronoia as "the suspicion the Universe is a conspiracy on your behalf".[1]
Uniphrenia Opposite of schizophrenia, uniprenia is the long-term mental state of one who enjoys the sense of unity in thought, emotion and behaviorand indeed, unity with all of existence.
Somelife: in some lifetime. Corresponds to sometime and someday, which, when used in reference to oneself, ordinarily refer to the present incarnation.Usage: I look forward to somelife qualifying to enter the monastery.
Isn'tness: Another name for the Self that does not even possess the quality of being.
complaintiff: a particularly critical plaintiff in a lawsuit.
one-downsmanship:The deflection of praise, either turning it back on the one who has given a compliment or diverting it to someone else.
emptullness: The fullness that is found when the mind is completely and utterly empty. Sometimes called full emptitude.
omnitudinous: missing adjective form for omnitude, which means all and everything.
Wordoligist: A word deva, like Cole
whatabouts: The missing word, meaning approximately what, whose more known brother is whereabouts.
whenabouts:The missing word, meaning approximately when."The scientists were unaware of the explosion's whenabouts."
unonymous: Globally anonymous, such that no one in the world should know, a melding of unanymous and anonymous. "She demanded that our gift remain unonymous."
mismunication (n) - An incorrect communication.Happens when the perceived meaning of the words is quite different from what was intended.This is a common form of nonmunication in which the reader or listener, having come up with one meaning, does not search for others.
promunication (adj) - Refers to avoidance of at least the most common sources of nonmunication and mismunication, such as the use of words with more than one dictionary definition (particularly where the intended meaning is not the first of those) and the implied or incomplete explanation of concepts which, though obvious to the speaker or writer, may be unfamiliar to others.The use of promunication skills can help ensure effective communication.
distractionary: The missing adjective. His comments provided a distractionary moment in the awkward conversation.
sundarnym:Like a synonym but with the additional meaning of being a beautiful description of something.
awesomify -To make something that is not awesome become something awesome.(example An application of spiritual knowledge will awesomify your life.)
infinitudinous: the missing word for really big
incourageable: One who is never discouraged, one who is always full of courage.
eclipsical: the missing word meaning"about or relating to an eclipse."
to guinea pig:The missing verb fortestingand experimenting. "She asked me to guinea pig the new software today."
flusterment (n):A state of being flustered, or a situation in which people are flustered. Usage: Labeling all rudraksha products as to point of origin would help avoid the flusterment that results when customers learn that some in our shop were not grown here on Kauai.
mind hack (n):Any method by which one achieves fuller or more effective use of the mind than is known to those who do not use the technique.Usage: The religious observances, yogic practices and cultural protocols developed within Hinduism are the most powerful mind hacks known to man especially when used in concert, as a complete system.Used as a verb, it means to employ any such technique.(This is simply a more complete definition of a term already in use.)
Wealth karma: The special karma's that come to the rich alone, bad health, overweight, sleeplessness, short life, conflict, loneliness and such.
Maurispatality: the peerless and sometimes overwhelming hospitality showered by the peoples of Mauritius on one and all, an endless generosity of spirit and care for others.
whoak (pronounced wookay): When someone says whoa(such as when being surprised by something), then immediately recovers to sayOK, but all in a single motion without delay. "That startled me, but I accept it."
innerversity: Gurudeva's word for the real school of life
noncarnation(n):The period of time experienced by a soul between two incarnations.
bombasticize (vt) - to harangue others with one's ideas and beliefs, especially in a loud, supercilious and attention-demanding manner and relying more on impressive-sounding language than on a true understanding.
awesomer: The missing adjective you have always wanted to use.
emptillness: Describes the state of seeing all existence as simultaneously infinitely full and totally empty
microtyaga: a small letting go, renunciation, surrender, such as letting someone else be right, or skipping that second helping at the dinner table,ouraccepting something that you don't like. As opposed to major sacrifices and acts of tyaga.
coolth: The missing noun for cool, as warm is to warmth.
nonbreviation (or nontraction):two words which would ordinarily be abbreviated or contracted, but which in their current context must remain separate.Example:You can not only see it, but touch it as well. Here, can not is a nonbreviation, since "can" is being used in its positive sense and "not" relates toonly. Therefore, neither cannot nor can't is appropriate here.
biasist: One who is not neutral, and who holds a bias
Tirukural – Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Knowledge of Truth
Verse 359
Clinging to the divine feet of the Lord, a devotee’s hands are upheld in ecstasy. Below him we see birth, death, disease, hunger and other forms of suffering which come from attachment to lesser things.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 351
The muddled mentality that mistakes the unreal for the Real
is the genesis of woeful births.
Verse 352
For those of undimmed perception, free from delusion,
darkness departs and rapture rushes in.
Verse 353
Heaven is nearer than Earth for those who
dispel all doubt and know the Truth.
Verse 354
All knowledge acquired through the five senses is worthless
to those without knowledge of Truth.
Verse 355
In everything of every kind whatsoever,
wisdom perceives Truth in that thing.
Verse 356
Those who find the highest Reality here and now
follow a path which never comes back to this world.
Verse 357
Having thought profoundly and realized fully That which is,
one need never think of being born again.
Verse 358
Wisdom is that rare realization of Perfection's True Being,
which banishes forever the folly of rebirth.
Verse 359
He who clings to life's true support clings not to lesser things.
Sorrows, which destroy by clinging, no longer cling to him.
Verse 360
Desire, delusion and indignation--annihilation of these
three terms is the termination of torment.
Tirukural – Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Renunciation
Verse 350
A devotee clutching a Sivalingam with loving attachment is soaring in the air, while another, clutching material possessions, is bound to the earth.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver's Wisdom
Verse 341
Whatsoever a man has renounced,
from the sorrow born of that he has freed himself.
Verse 342
The greatest gladness in the world comes after renunciation.
Let men desiring that rapture renounce early in life.
Verse 343
The five senses must be subdued,
and every desire simultaneously surrendered.
Verse 344
The ascetic's austerity permits not a single possession,
for possessions draw him back into delusion.
Verse 345
What are life's petty attachments to the man who seeks severance
from future births, when even his body is a burden?
Verse 346
One who slays the conceit that clamors "I" and "mine"
will reach a realm above the celestials' world.
Verse 347
If one clings to his attachments, refusing to let go,
sorrows will not let go their grip on him.
Verse 348
Those who perfectly renounce attain the highest peak;
the rest remain ensnared in delusion's net.
Verse 349
Birth ceases when all attachments are severed;
until then, one only sees life's impermanence.
Verse 350
Attach yourself to Him who is free from all attachments.
Bind yourself to that bond so all other bonds may be broken.
From Our Gurus' Teachings
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