561. Is the Punishment Adequate?

"Your Majesty! The thief who intruded into the palace has been caught" said the minister.

"So I heard. I also learn that the judge has awarded prison sentence to him. But, why did you have to come with the Chief of the Secret Service, to tell me this?" asked the king.

"Your Majesty! The judge doesn't know about the severity of the crime. The thief was charged with intruding into the palace, intending to commit robbery. On the basis of this charge, the judge sentenced him to imprisonment for five years."

"So, what am I missing here?"

"Your Majesty! Do you know how the intruder entered the palace?"

"I was told that two palace guards had heled him and that the guards had also been arrested." 

The minister looked at the Secret Service Chief.

The Secret Service Chief, feeling nervous and embarrassed, told the king, "Your Majesty! The intruder entered the palace, through the underground passage!" 

"Through the underground passage? Only a handful of people residing in the palace know about this secret underground passage, emanating in the palace and leading up to a spot outside the fort. How did an outsider enter the passage and reach the palace?" asked the king, fuming with anger.

"When interrogated, the intruder told the guards that he saw someone coming out of the fort through that passage. Out of curiosity, he went to the spot, found the passage, walked through it and arrived at the palace."

"But, how did he enter the palace? There is a door at the entrance of the palace, which is always kept locked. How did he open it without a key?"

"He didn't enter the palace, Your Majesty. He was stuck behind the door. Since it was dark, he couldn't find the way to go back either. So, he got panicked and knocked the door. Hearing the knock, a couple of guards from the palace went to that place, opened the door and arrested him."

"Thank God! Then, what about the information that two guards who assisted the intruder were arrested?"

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. That information is false. It was released as per my instruction."

"Why did you give this instruction?"

"The news that a person who intruded into the palace was caught had spread throughout the capital city. The question how he entered the palace guarded by security guards will arise in the minds of people and make them have concerns about security. Only to prevent such concerns rising in the minds of the people, I advised the Chief of Palace Guards to announce that two guards who helped the intruder enter the palace have been arrested."

"A wise move. Now, tell me what I should do?"

"Your Majesty, considering the severity of the crime, five years' imprisonment is inadequate. The judge has the power to award imprisonment only up to five years, for braking into a house. I would request you to enhance the punishment awarded to this intruder."

"I don't want to create an impression that intruding into the palace will attract a more severe punishment than intruding into the house of a common man."

The minister remained silent.

"Let us do one thing. Let us increase the maximum punishment for breaking into a house" said the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We can increase the term of imprisonment to ten years" suggested the minister.

"Ten years is not severe enough. I think imprisonment for life will be appropriate."

"Imprisonment for life? It appears too stringent, Your Majesty!"

"Why can't we consider robbery a heinous crime? Is not a severe punishment appropriate for a heinous crime! If we make robbery a crime punishable with life sentence, it will instill a fear in the minds of potential offenders and dissuade them from committing this crime. This will bring down the incidence of robberies occurring in our country."

"Yes, Your Majesty" said the minister, reluctantly.

"I understand the reason for your hesitation, minister. Life sentence is cruel. For that matter, any kind of imprisonment, even if it is for a short period, is cruel. If there is a fear that if one is caught in a crime of theft, one will have to spend the rest of one's life in prison will act as a deterrent and result in decrease in this kind of crimes. If a person imprisoned for a crime is afflicted by a severe illness or has a family emergency requiring his services to the family, we can release him, on compassionate grounds. We have been doing this already. Therefore, I believe that enhancing the severity of punishment and thereby bringing down the crimes will be a good move" said the king.

"We can do accordingly, Your Majesty! Your decisions have always been logical and fair. You may award life sentence to the person who tried to intrude into the palace."

"No, minister. A rule should be enforced, only from the time it is brought into force. Punishing a crime that occurred in the past, by retrospectively applying a law enacted in a later period, is unjustified, both on legal and on moral grounds. Let the five year imprisonment awarded by the judge prevail."

"Your Majesty! Just now I said that your decisions would always be both logical and fair. You have demonstrated your correct and just approach, yet another time" said the minister.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 57

Refraining From Doing Terrifying Things

Verse 561 (in Tamil):

thakkAngu nAdith thalaich chellA vaNNaththAl
oththAngu oRuppadhu vEndhu.

Meaning:

Investigating neutrally, and punishing appropriately,

so as to deter the repeat of a crime, is the duty of the king.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'dhaNdanai pOdhAdhu' by the same author.)

Verse 562 (Soon)
Verse 560

560. The Loyal Citizen

"How compassionate is our king! He has proclaimed a law that if someone who owns cattle doesn't look after them properly, he will be arrested and given severe punishment." 

"One can take solace from the fact that a monarch who torments his people in many ways, has compassion at least towards the cattle. But, I am afraid that this law is not going to do any good to the cattle. It is only going to cause them harm!"

"Intellectuals like you have made it a practice to criticize our king, even when he does something good. Your persistent airing of negative views about our king's actions justifies our king's oft-repeated warning to the people to be wary of intellectuals!"

"Since you are a friend of mine, I am speaking my mind to you. I implore you not to call me an intellectual. If any guard hears this, he will arrest me and put me behind the bars. Our king doesn't like people who think. That is why he keeps targeting thinkers, derisively calling them 'intellectuals' and projecting them as dangerous people. Our king wants only loyal citizens like you, who blindly support anything he does, to inhabit our country!"

"If I blindly support the king, you blindly oppose him!"

"Let us wait for some time and see what impact the king's law has, on the cattle and on the people. You will then be able to judge whether your stand is right."

"What is this! There is acute scarcity for milk in our country. I couldn't believe this!"

"When our king proclaimed a law prescribing punishment to cattle owners who didn't take proper care of the cattle, you appreciated him. Can you see what has happened now?"

"The king proclaimed the law, out of compassion for the cattle. But, in the name of implementing this law, the guards have imprisoned a large number of people, charging them with the offense of not taking proper care of the cattle. As a result, there was no one to take care of the cattle owned by them. Some cattle owners, fearing that they could be accused of not taking good care of the cattle, tried to sell their cattle. But, not finding any buyers, they let out the cattle. The cattle so let out have been roaming on the streets and eating the crops. So, on the one hand, milk production has come down and on the other, yield from the crops planted has also come down, leading to the scarcity of milk as well as food grains. But, how can we blame the king for this?" 

"Yes. the king is not at fault. What can he do? He is just witnessing what is happening in the country. And he is busy building a new palace for him. By the way, you wanted to admit your son in a university. Has he joined?"

"That is another story. People surrounding the king deride educated people as 'intellectuals' and make fun of them. If any major crime is committed anywhere in the country, the guards arrest the 'intellectuals,' accusing them of instigating that crime. After witnessing these developments, my son is scared to go for higher education. He says that people will brand him an intellectual and that there is the risk of the guards imprisoning him, for the only fault of being an 'intellectual.' However much I tried to allay his fears and persuade him to join the university, he is adamant about not going for higher education. Can you try to reason with him?"

"It is not just your son who is frightened to get educated, but almost all young people. The universities are languishing with no student admissions."

"My god! Where is our country heading to? The king should do something to change the situation."

"It is the king's tyranny that has been the cause for all these developments. But people like you, without realizing this truth, keep singing the praise of the king!"

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 560 (in Tamil):

A payan kunRum aRuthozhilOr nUl maRappar
kAvalan kAvAn enin.

Meaning:

When the king stops being the saviour of his citizens,

the yield of milk by cow will dwindle and the brahmins will forget the scriptures.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mannarin visuvAsi' by the same author.)

Verse 561
Verse 559

559. When it rained...

"The monsoon has failed for three years continuously. This has never happened before."

"There is acute water scarcity. But the government has not taken any step to help the people. It has given permission to a few industrialists to destroy forests and use the lands for setting up factories. Environmental enthusiasts have expressed concerns that this move will adversely affect the rainfall. People living in forests have been evicted. Having lost both their homes and source of livelihood, they are struggling for survival. Only big businessmen are thriving under this government. I have never seen a government worse than the present one." 

"The monsoon has failed during the last three years, only because of the tyrannical government we have in our country."

"Don't talk nonsense. What is the connection between governance and monsoon? The perception that if a king gave a good rule, there would be regular rains and if the king's sceptre was not straight, it would lead to the failure of rains was probably created to instill a fear in the monarchs and motivate them to rule the country in a just way. Like the belief that ghosts live on the branches of a neem tree, this is also an irrational. There are scientific reasons for monsoon failures. There is no connection between bad governance and deficit rainfall."

"However much evidence is offered in support of a time-tested theory like this, rationalists like you won't accept it. We are having the election soon. This government will be definitely voted out and a new government will assume office. After that, we will have rains. Let me see whether you will accept my theory, after this happens!" 

"Didn't I tell you? The new government that assumed office after the election has begun to correct the wrongs of the previous government. Soon after the new government had started giving good governance, we had rains. This is summer, not the season for rains to occur. Still, we got a very good rainfall, which has brought relief to the people, who have suffered for the past three years."

"After three years of monsoon failure, we can expect a year of good rainfall. That is what has happened. This is called the 'Law of Averages.' This has got nothing to do with good governance. Let us say this government continues to give good governance. There may still be a monsoon failure during some years. How will you explain it? It is also possible that after sometime, the functioning of this government becomes bad. If there are good rains during that period, will you say that since the rainfall is good, the governance should be considered good? Making a connection between unrelated events is foolish. "

"Just as there is a 'Law of Averages,' there is a 'Law of Nature.' Rationalists like you will never understand this. There is no point in trying to convince you!"

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 559 (in Tamil):

muRai kOdi mannavan seyyin uRai kOdi
ollAdhu vAnam peyal.

Meaning:

If the king lets his sceptre of justice waver,

the skies won’t yield and monsoons will fail.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'poyththa mazhaiyum, peydha mazhaiyum' by the same author.)

Verse 560
Verse 558

558. Keep the Change!

After the taxi came out of the airport and entered the main road, Vivek asked the driver, "Before starting the car, you worshipped a picture by touching it and then touching your eyes. Is it the picture of Mahatma Gandhi?"

"Yes" replied, Senthil, the driver. "Did you see me touching it and paying obeisance to it?" 

"Yes, I did. But it appeared that you were doing it secretly, taking care to ensure that no one saw you doing it!" said Vivek, laughing.

"Yes. Some people, who had seen me doing this, made fun of me. That is why I do it, without giving a chance to others to see my doing it."

"I won't make fun of your act. I don't know why you pay obeisance to Gandhi, treating him as God. But I feel that at this point o time, we need a person like Gandhi, to salvage our country."

Senthil turned back and looked at the passenger with surprise.

"I worship Gandhi, praying that he should save this country. But, I am surprised that wealthy people like you also think that way!" said Senthil.

"A political party can come to power only by getting the votes of the poor, who constitute an overwhelming majority of the electorate. People who are now in power have come to the position, only because the poor people of this country have voted for them. But, if an industrialist like me finds fault with the government, people like you ask us, 'You belong to the affluent class. What problem could you have!'"

"Sir, don't mistake me. I don't know about you. But is it not true that the actions of this government have affected the poor people in a big way? The present rulers have hiked up the prices of all essential commodities. They have taken away the rights of the workers. They arrest the journalists who criticize the government and keep them in prison for months together. As a result, there is virtually no one to raise their voice for the poor. It is true that the rulers got the votes of the poor and won the elections. It doesn't mean that the poor are happy under this government" said Senthil.

"What you say is true. But not many people are aware of the difficulties faced by people like me - industrialists, traders, people engaged in small business, self-employed etc. Except for a couple of big industrialists, all businessmen have been facing severe problems, under the present government. The economic and taxation policy of this government favours only a handful of big corporate groups. It appears that the government is there, only to take care of the interests of these people. It appears that very soon, people like us will have to shut down our businesses and work as sub-contractors for these corporate groups. Already, many industrialists and businessmen have closed shop and come to the streets, unable to repay the loans taken by them. Nobody is even talking about these developments. When workers are affected, they will come out and protest. We can't do even that!"

"Sorry to hear that. I was thinking that only the poor suffered under this government. It appears that people whom I consider well-to-do have been suffering even more" said Senthil.

"Seeing you pay your respect to Gandhi, I had an impulse to open my mind and share my feelings with you. I have never shared my views about this government with anyone, except a couple of my close friends" said Vivek.

After that, neither of them said anything.

When the taxi reached the destination, Vivek looked at the taxi app on his mobile screen. It showed the fare as Rupees 550. Vivek handed two five hundred rupee notes to Senthil.

Without receiving the money, Senthil asked Vivek, "Don't you have a fifty rupee note?"

"I don't" said Vivek.

"In that case, pay me only five hundred rupees" said Senthil, and took one five hundred rupee note from Vivek.

"You are taking fifty rupees less. Will this not be a loss to you?" asked Vivek.

"It is okay, sir!" said Senthil.

It appeared to Vivek that Senthil might be thinking, 'You are worse off than me. Keep the change!'

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 558 (in Tamil):

inmaiyin innAdhu udaimai muRai seyyA
mannavan kOl kIzhp padin.

Meaning:

If one were to live under an unjust ruler.

being wealthy is worse than being poor,

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'Keep the change' by the same author.)

Verse 559
Verse 557

557. After the Migration

"Guru! I find the sufferings of the people of this Maragatha country heart-rending" said the disciple.

"Yes. Even a person like me, who is considered to have attained a status of having absolute control over my emotions feel depressed, by looking at the sufferings of these people. Of all the tragedies in the world, the tragedy resulting from the failure of rains is the most gruesome" said the Guru.

"Why do things like this take place, Guru? Why is God so merciless towards the people of this country?"

The Guru closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "If we could understand God's mind, then the very idea of God will become meaningless. This is the only reply I can give you now."

"Maybe, if I become more matured, I will be able to give you a better reply!" he added, with a smile.

After some time, the Guru told his disciple, "A severe famine prevails in this country because of the failure of the rain to arrive. However, people, in spite of not getting enough food even for themselves, have been offering food to us, considering that we are ascetics. We can't accept this strained hospitality for long. It is only appropriate that we leave this country and migrate to some other country. Even after migrating to some other country, we will continue to pray for relief for the people of Maragatha country. That is the only thing we can do."

Accordingly, they migrated to Gomethaka country.

"In contrast to Maragatha country, Gomethaka country is full of fertile lands and bountiful crops" said the disciple.

'Yes. Let us pray that Maragatha country also be blessed with abundance of grains from the crops grown there" said the Guru.

A few weeks after their settling down in Gomethaka country, the disciple told the Guru, "Guru! Though this country is blessed with abundance of resources and plentiful yield of grains, people of this country do not seem to be happy. I see on the faces of people of Gomethaka country, the same signs of grief I saw in the people of Maragatha country, due to their suffering from famine conditions."

"Yes. The intensity of grief on the faces of the people of Gomethaka country is even more than that on the faces of Maragatha country."

"Why is it so, Guru? Why are these people engulfed in grief, when they have been living in a state of abundance?"

"Living in abundance has not made these people happy. How can people be happy, when they are under a tyrannical rule?"

"What do you mean, Guru?"

"The king of Gomethaka is a tyrant. People have been suffering under his rule, the way plants will suffer from lack of rain."

"But I have heard people praising the king!"

"Two kinds of people will praise a tyrant. One kind of people, who blindly support the king, praise him. The other kind of people praise the king, fearing that if they don't do so, they would be branded enemies of the state and put in prison. There is also a third kind of people, who, like a farmer desperately hoping for the rain to arrive, have been waiting for the tyranny to come to an end and for breathing the air of freedom. Since they don't reveal themselves, we won't be able to identify them" said the Guru, wit a sigh.

"What should we do, Guru?"

"Just as we have been praying for rains to arrive in Maragatha country, let us pray that the tyrannical rule of the king in Gomethaka country come to an end soon and that people of this country be blessed with a benign rule. What else can we do?" said the Guru.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 557 (in Tamil):

thuLi inmai gnAlaththiRku eRRaRRE vEndhan
aLi inmai vAzhum uyirkku.

Meaning:

Just as lack of rain is to the world, so is

rulers’ lack of benevolence, to the people.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nAdu vittu nAdu vandhu' by the same author.)

Verse 558
Verse 556

556. The Lucky Ruler!

"Oh, king! After a long time, you wanted to meet me and invited you to your palace? What is the matter?" asked the king's mentor.

"Pardon me, Guru! Since I was facing a lot of problems, I didn't find the time to meet you and pay my respects. Don't mistake me" said the king.

'It didn't strike you to meet me and seek my counsel, when you had problems. Perhaps, you felt that my advice won't be palatable to you!' thought the mentor.

"Since you have now found the time to meet me, I believe that you have resolved the problems faced by you!" said the mentor.

The king looked at the mentor, with an embarrassed expression and said, "Guru! You can't be unaware of the fact that our country has been facing a lot of problems, for the past couple of years. The problems are intensifying day by day and new problems are cropping up every day. I feel that things are going out of my control. I requested a meeting with you, to seek your help and counsel."

"Tell me. What is your problem?"

"Guru! For the past few years, there have been a lot of protests and agitations in the country. People who were affectionate towards me earlier, seemed to have developed a dislike towards me. They are even angry with me. It is true that there are problems like food shortage etc. in our country. But what is the justification for people becoming angry with me because of these problems?"

"Is it true that you invited me only to seek my counsel?"

"Yes, Guru. Why do you have this doubt?"

"In that case, I should tell you some truths. You said that earlier, people were affectionate towards you."

"Yes, Guru. I have experienced their affection."

"It is true. I have also witnessed it. But there should be a reason for people who had affection for you to develop a dislike for you."

The king remained silent.

"In your heart, you know the reason for people's anger towards you. But you are reluctant to accept it. I will be frank with you. In the beginning, you governed the country with righteousness and compassion. You had concern for people's welfare. People reciprocated your good rule, by showing their affection towards you. But, when the problem of food shortage arose, instead of coming to people's help, you imposed more taxes on them. When people protested, you put down the protests, by unleashing repression on the protesters, by the use of force. The protesters were beaten up by the guards and many of them were imprisoned for long periods. You did these on the advice of some people surrounding you. Since you knew that I wouldn't have approved of your actions, you avoided meeting me. I was aware of your predicament. Since, people affected by food shortages, undaunted by your highhandedness, have intensified their protests, you realized that the situation had gone out of control and then called me for advice. Am I right?" asked the mentor, looking into the king's eyes.

The king turned his face away, averting the mentor's gaze. "Guru! What you say is right. But what is perplexing me is that people don't respect my authority" he said, in a faint voice.

"People respect only the authority of the sceptre of the king. If the sceptre is straight, they will respect and love the king. If the spectre's uprightness is violated, the king will lose his respect. However, I think you are a lucky person!"

"Lucky person! What do you mean?" asked the king, perplexed.

"Because, even when the people are dissatisfied with you, you continue as the king! In some countries, a new system of rule called democracy has come into force. Under that system, people will decide who should rule them through a system of voting. The person who gets the votes of the largest number of people will rule the country for five years. After that, there will be another election. If people are not happy with the person who ruled them for the last five years, they will vote him out and elect another person as the new ruler. You don't have to face such a situation. That is why I called you lucky" said the mentor, smiling.

The king looked at his mentor with a mixed feeling of amazement and apprehension.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 556 (in Tamil):

mannarkku mannudhal sengOnmai ahdhu inREl
mannAvAm mannarkku oLi.

Meaning:

Just rule yields lasting fame to a ruler;

no justice, no fame.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'adhirshtasAli' by the same author.)

Verse 557
Verse 555

1130. The Mirror That That Reflects 'His' Image!

"I think it has been six months since Thirumaran left on his tour. Am I right?" Kodhai asked Maragadham.

Kodhai was a distant relative of Maragadham. She lived in a street adjacent to the one Maragadham lived. Kodhai would often visit Maragadham's house to have a chat with Maragadham's mother. Every time, she came to their house, Kodhai never missed asking Maragadham about Thirumaran.

"It is nearly six months" said Maragadham.

"You are saying this casually, as if you are telling me the age of a child! What has he been doing for six months?"

"Auntie! He gives spiritual discourses. During his tour program, he will visit many places and then only return home. He is not a prince. So has can't be sending me a message about his location and next place of visit through a messenger. Usually, he returns from a tour in two or three months' time. Last year, when he visited some places for the first time, the people there asked him to visit their places every year. So, this time, he is taking a longer time to cover all the places. At the time of leaving, he told me that it might take six months for him to complete the tour and return home."

"It has been decided by both of your parents that you two are to be married to each other. Thirumaran could have gone on the tour after marrying you" said Kodhai.

"What difference would it have made?" shot back Maragadham.

"Once you are married to him, you will be able to have him in your control. If he has love for you, he shouldn't go places, leaving you alone for such a long time!" commented Kodhai, before leaving the place. 

'Goodbye, auntie! Go to some other house, find out what problem they have and aggravate their agony, by talking to them about it and making unhelpful comments' Maragadham said to herself, looking at the figure of Kodhai, leaving her house.

Maragadham stood before the mirror and looked at her reflection. She felt the excitement that she always did, while looking at the mirror. She was having this experience, from the time Thirumaran had left the village.

When Thirumaran, before starting his journey, came to her house for taking leave of her, Maragadham asked him, "You are going away, leaving me alone here for six months. How am I going to survive without seeing you?" holding back her tears, with great effort.

"Maragadham! There is an idol of the Vaishnavite saint Ramanuja in Sriperumpudur. The legend is that Ramanuja, before leaving Sriperumpudur, embraced the idol and infused his personality into it, so that his disciples could sense his presence, by looking at the idol and overcome the grief of his separation. After that, whenever Ramanuja left Sriperumpudur, his disciples would look at the idol and experience the feeling of seeing Ramanuja himself. That idol is called 'thaam ugandha thirumeni' an expression in Tamil, which means, 'an idol authenticated by (Ramanuja) himself.' In the same way, I am going to infuse my personality in you, so that you could always see my appearance, even when I am away" and embraced her tightly.

When Thirumaran embraced  Maragadham, she experienced a sensation of thrill. She realized that that thrill indicated his entering her heart.

From that time, Maragadham had been looking at the mirror several times a day and seeing her lover in her reflection. 'How can people like Kodhai understand this?' thought Maragadam, feeling proud.

"What is this, Maragadham? You stand before the mirror several times a day! Have you gone crazy? As soon as Thirumaran returns, I will get your marriage performed. Otherwise, your craze will intensify into  some form of mental disorder" said Maragdham's mother, seeing her daughter standing before the mirror.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1130 (in Tamil):
uvandhu uRaivar uLLatthuL enRum igandhu uRaivar
Edhilar ennum ivvUr.

Meaning:

He ever lives in my soul, with delight. But the townsfolk will call him loveless, saying 'he has gone far away, leaving her alone.'

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'uruvaththaik kAttidum kaNNAdi' by the same author.)

Verse 1131 (Soon)
Verse 1129