43. The Budgeting Exercise

"Dad! Our household expenses are quite high. I want to control the expenses. I think, hereafter, we should prepare a budget and spend. Let us do it from the next month onwards" said Mukundhan.

"Thank goodness! When you began to say that the expenses are high, for a moment, I was scared, thinking that you were going to suggest that we all cut down our food consumption!" said Ramaswamy.

"Dad! You have been complaining that my mother has brought me up as a gourmand. So, how will I ever suggest cutting down our food consumption?"

Mukundhan and his father often conversed freely like friends, rather than like a son and a father.

"Today is the first of the month. We may as well implement the budget system from this month onwards" suggested Ramaswamy.

"No, dad. Before preparing a budget, we need to find out how much we are spending for different needs. Once we know these figures, we can devise a plan to cut down expenses under specific categories and then prepare a budget accordingly from the next month onwards. Starting from today, will you please note down each and every expense we incur?"

"My dear son! For the past several years I have been exhorting you to note down your expenses. You didn't pay heed to my advice. Now, you are throwing the ball at me!" said Ramaswamy, in mock anger.

"Please, dad!" pleaded Mukundhan, knowing that he could always count on his father to help and guide him.

"Ok. I need to record the expenditure incurred by every one in our house, don't I?"

"Yes, dad. Every night, all of us will report to you the expenses incurred by us for the day. You can then record them in a notebook. You are an expert in keeping records!"

"Ok. Give me a notebook!" demanded Ramaswamy. Mukundhan gave him an unused notebook.

At the end of the month, Mukundhan asked Ramaswamy, "Dad! Please show me the notebook in which you have recorded the expenses."

Ramaswamy who was busy doing something on his laptop said, "Just wait!"

"You can give me the notebook and then continue with your work on the laptop!" said Mukundhan, impatiently.

Ramaswamy turned the laptop towards Mukundhan and showed him the Excel sheet he was working on. Mukundhan noticed that his father had categorized the expenses using different columns in the Excel sheet. The column totals showed the expenses under each category.

"Oh, you have done this on Excel. Then, why did you ask for a notebook?" asked Mukundhan.

"For writing Sriramajayam*!" said Ramaswamy, with a smile.

After quickly going through the Excel sheet, Mukundhan asked, "What is this, dad? You have shown five hundred rupees towards 'contribution for the festival at our family deity's temple!'"

"Normally, all of us should have gone to our native village and participated in the temple festival. That would have cost at least five thousand rupees. Since, we are not in a position to spend so much money, I sent five hundred rupees to the temple as a small contribution from our family."

"Dad, we are living in a modern world. You are talking about the concept of family deity and contributing money to temple festivals!"

"Mukundhan! Just because the world has changed, have the Sun, the Moon and the Stars have changed their orbits or their pace? The duties we have to perform also remain unchanged with time."

"Well, is it our duty to contribute money to the temple, where God is believed to dwell? Will it not suffice if we just pray to him from our home?"

"Maybe, it will suffice. But temples can be maintained only if people contribute some money in accordance with their financial status. Paying five hundred rupees once in a year should not be a burden on us, given our financial status."

Ok, dad. I understand. Are there other such duties?"

"Yes, they are. A man who leads a family life has to perform five righteous deeds. The first is to perform the ceremonial rites to his deceased forefathers, the second to worship God, the third to entertain the guests who visit him, the fourth to help his relatives and the fifth is to take care of his family. Just as human beings have five senses, our life in this world as a human being is also marked by these five duties. These duties are prescribed by our ancestors. It is said that performing these five duties will lead us to the path of righteousness. If you look at the order of these five duties, you will notice that our obligation to our forefathers comes first. The duty to our family is at the last place."

"I understand, daddy. Hereafter, when we prepare the budget for every month, we will first see whether any of the first four duties are to be performed during that month, allocate funds for them and then go about allocating funds for our family expenses" said Mukundhan.

"You are right. Next month, the annual ceremonial rites have to be performed for my father, that is your grandfather. We should first allocate funds for that" Said Ramaswamy.

"Sure, dad. I will write the amount needed to perform grandpa's ceremony as the first item of expenditure for the coming month" said Mukundhan.

* The practice of writing the name of Lord Rama several times.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 5
Family Life

Verse 43 (In Tamil)

thenpulaththAr dheyvam virundhokkal thAnenRAngu
aimpulatthARu Ombudhal thalai.

Meaning:

It is one's primary duty to support the five categories of people comprising one's deceased forefathers, God, guests, relatives and one's family.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'aindhil adangum ARu' by the same author)

Verse 44

Verse 42

42. The Three Duties

"We have important things to do at our office tomorrow. But you are asking for leave tomorrow!"

"Sir, my father's death anniversary falls tomorrow. I have to perform the ceremonial rites. That's why I am asking for leave."

"What is this? In this modern era, you have been performing annual ceremonial rites to the deceased!"

"The phenomena of birth and death don't change with time. Performing ceremonies for the dead also falls in the same category!"

"Ok. What will you do during the ceremony?"

"I will engage a priest to recite hymns. I will then offer food to my deceased father and forefathers."

"You will offer food to the dead! Will they come and eat the food?"

"No, sir. I will offer food to a couple of poor people, considering them to represent my forefathers." 

"Oh, the food you offer to these poor people will reach your forefathers!"

"Definitely, sir!"

"How are you so sure?"

"It is a belief, sir."

"Is such a belief rational? Even if we assume that the departed souls are present somewhere, how will the food eaten by someone on the earth reach them?"

"I don't know how, sir. But it will reach them for sure!"

"How can you believe in something happening, when you don't know how it will happen?"

"Sir, we send a fax from our office to our head office at Calcutta. I don't know how the message reaches Calcutta. But we know that it reaches all the same. I don't know the science behind the working of the fax. But I know that when a fax is sent from here to our head office, it will definitely reach them. My belief about offering food to my forefathers is also similar to this."

"Ok. I can't question your belief. But I am unable to envisage that the deceased people dwell at some place."

"Sir, you listen to film songs. There is a song written by lyricist Vaali and beautifully composed by the legendary M. S.Viswanathan, which has a line 'Though I have left this world, I have not gone away from you.'"

"You are clever. You have floored me quoting a line from a song composed by my favourite composer. Okay. When will the ceremony get over?"

"By about 1 p.m."

"Then, you can come to the office in the afternoon, can't you?"

"Pardon me, sir. But after the ceremony is over, I will go to an orphanage and offer food to the children and spend some time with them. By the time this gets over, it will be evening."

"Oh, that's great. I don't know how you manage all these with the modest salary I pay you!"

"People born in this world have to perform three duties, whatever their economic status be. I am just performing those duties, sir."

"What are those three duties?"

"The first duty is to help the noble saints who have renounced the worldly life and are engaged in serving other people. The second duty is to help the destitute and the third one is to perform the ceremonial rites to our forefathers."

"Of the three duties you have mentioned, the first one is towards the ascetics. You told me how you have been performing the second and third duties. Don't you carry out your first duty?"

"I do, sir. The person who runs the orphanage I mentioned is a saint who has renounced the worldly life and dedicated his life to taking care of the orphans. What help can I do to him? I will meet him, pay my respects to him and offer a small donation to the orphanage. You know that there is a story in the Ramayana in which a squirrel carried a tiny amount of sand on its back for use in the construction of a bridge across the sea. My tiny contribution is similar to that."

"You are a great person. I need to learn a lot of things from you. But where did you learn these things?"

"From a book I have been reading from my childhood days."

"What is that book?"

"'Thirukkural' written by Thiruvalluvar."

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 5
Family Life

Verse 42 (In Tamil)

thuRanthArkkum thuvvAdhavarkkum iRandhArkkum
ilvAzhvAn enbAn thuNai.

Meaning:

A person leading a family life should help the ascetics who have renounced worldly life, the destitute and his deceased ancestors.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'onRu, iraNdu, mUnRu' by the same author)

Verse 43

Verse 41

41. Then and Now

Raghuraman handed over the envelope containing cash to his wife Susila.

"Same amount, same allocation!" said Susila.

"I can't increase the salary I receive. But if you want, I can make some changes in the allocation."

"What changes? Cutting down on the amount you have been allocating for household expenses and enhancing the sum you have been using for charity!" said Susila, sarcastically.

"Well, I can do it, if you are able to cut down the household expenses!" said Raghuraman.

"Is there any law that you have to give ten percent of what you earn to charity?"

"There is no such law. Only for income tax, they have prescribed a percentage. For charity, we are free to spend more than ten percent even!"

"I don't understand your line of thinking. You donate ten percent of your salary for charity. Ok. But why do you divide the sum and donate it to three different causes?"

"I donate one part to orphanages, one part to old age homes and one part to the monastery of a saint who is engaged in social welfare activities."

"Can't you donate it to one cause rather than divide it into three parts and donate it to three different organizations?"

"If my income were high, I could donate ten percent to each of these three. But I am able to donate only ten percent of my income. I distribute it to three different causes."

"I don't understand why!"

"In ancient India, people lived through four stages of life. At the early stage of life, a man observed brahmacharya or celibacy. After getting married, he pursued the grahasta or family life. After growing old, the man retired to the forest and lived an ascetic way of life. This was called vAnapastha or retiring to forest. In the last stage of life, a man renounced worldly life and meditated on God. This was called sanyAsa or renunciation. Of these four categories of people, only those living a family life were earning an income. Therefore, they were helping the other three categories of people. It was considered their duty too!

"But in the present era, we don't have people going through these four stages of life. We have grahasta or family life, but we don't have the other three categories of life in the forms in which they existed earlier. However, they exist in different forms. In the place of brahmacharya or celibacy, we have children living in orphanages In the place of vAnaprastha or retiring to the forest, we have old people abandoned by their children and living in old age homes. In the place of people following the path of sanyAsa or renunciation, we have saints and monks living an ascetic way of life, who apart from pursuing a spiritual way of life, have also been doing service to the downtrodden. I am not talking about the high profile saints who have been running their Asrams or monasteries as business entities, receiving millions of rupees and dollars as donations, doling out a few bucks for some causes and living a life of luxury. They should also be considered to be leading a family life. I am referring to the genuine ascetics rooted in spiritual values and dedicating their lives to the service of the poor. I am contributing my mite to these three categories of life" said Raghuraman.

After listening to Raghuraman, Susila looked at him with admiration and astonishment.

"Where did you learn all these?" she asked.

"My father taught me."

"And where did your father learn these?"

"From the book written by a great soul."

"Who was that great soul? What was the book he wrote/"

"Thiruvalluvar. Thirukkural" said Raghuraman, answering her two questions tersely.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 5
Family Life

Verse 41 (In Tamil)

ilvAzhvaan enbAn iyalbudaiya mUvarkkum
nallARRin ninRa thuNai.

Meaning:

A person leading a family life should help people in the other three ways of life (brahmacharya - celibacy, vAnaprastha - retiring to the forest and sanyAsa - renunciation) to pursue a life of righteousness.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'anRum inRum by the same author)

Verse 42

Verse 40

40. After the Slip

Chandrasekar, the Branch Manage of a large corporate was known not only as an able administrator but also as a person who was empathetic towards his employees, even while being strict. Any employee could approach him and convey their grievances or offer suggestions to him. He would give them a patient hearing and decide on their grievances or suggestions on their merits.

At a time when he was a few months away from his retirement, Chandrasekar committed an indiscrete act.

Sarala, an executive working under him was in his cabin discussing a matter relating to her work. After completing the discussion, she stood up and turned to leave. As she was walking out, Chandrasekar, in an impulse, got up from his seat, went behind her and hugged her from behind.

A shocked Sarala pushed his hands away and exclaimed, "What is this, sir?"

Chandrasekar felt instantly embarrassed and said in a trembling voice, "I am sorry. I acted on an impulse." 

He felt ashamed of himself and wondered why he had acted that way. It appeared to him that a feeling of desire he had been unconsciously nurturing for a long time impelled him to act the way he did.

"You men seem to believe that if a woman remains unmarried, you can make a pass at her!" said Sarala, caught in a feeling of anger mixed with disbelief.

"No. I didn't mean to. I acted despite myself. I feel ashamed. Please pardon me" pleaded Chandrasekar, desperately.

"It is not that simple, sir. You have to answer for your behaviour. Our M.D. is coming tomorrow. I am going to complaint to him!" said Sarala, in a firm tone.

Chandrasekar stood transfixed, clueless about how to overcome the situation.

Chandrasekar couldn't sleep that night. All these years, he had earned a name as a man of integrity, objectivity, fairness, equanimity and character. 

'Is that reputation going to be smirched overnight? What will happen when everyone learns about my behaviour with Sarala?

'How am I going to face the MD? How am I going to face other employees who have been holding me in high respect? If this incident comes to the knowledge of my wife and children, what will they think of me? Oh, God! Why did I behave like this? Was I driven by some hormone that had secreted in excess and impelled me to act that way?'

The thought of committing suicide occurred to him. But he didn't know how.

After getting tormented for a long time by various thoughts that kept pounding his mind, Chandrasekar fell asleep. He had a dream. 

He was standing at the hall in his office with Sarala facing him and the M.D. and other employees looking on. Sarala took off her chappal and began to hit him with it. Everyone including the M.D. were laughing and clapping their hands in applause.

Chandrasekar woke up from the sleep with a jolt. He couldn't sleep again.

The next day, Chandrasekar was acting machinelike. During the time he was engaged in his work or he was having discussions with the M.D, his mind was in state of turbulence. 

'When is the bomb going to go off?'

The Managing Director noticed that Chandrasekar was not his usual self and asked him, "What Mr. Chandrasekar, are you not feeling well?"

"Yes" replied Chandrasekar tersely.

There was a practice of the employees meeting the Managing Director in private during his visits to the branch. Chandrasekar won't be with the Managing Director during such private meetings.

It was Chandrasekar who introduced this practice with the objective of making his employees feel good about getting a chance to interact with the Managing Director privately.

When the Managing Director suggested that Chandrasekar could be present during these meetings, Chandrasekar declined his suggestion saying, "No, sir. Only if I am not there, the employees will speak to you freely. They may have some grievances. Let them share them with you. This will be good for the health of the organization."

This dignified approach of Chandrasekar further enhanced his reputation with the Managing Director and the employees. So far, no employee had complained about him to the Managing Director during these private meetings.

For once, Chandrasekar cursed himself for having established such a practice. 

'Through this practice, I have created an opportunity for Sarala to talk to the Managing Director in private. She may not dare to complain about me to the Managing Director, if I were to be with him!'

The Managing Director was sitting in Chandrasekar's cabin. Chandrasekar was sitting outside and watching the employees going inside the cabin and coming out after a brief meeting with the Managing Director. Chandrasekar was aware that most of the employees were using this opportunity only to get a little closer to the Managing Director, by exchanging a few words with him.

If the employees had any grievances, they would get them redressed by bringing them to the notice of Chandrasekar. There was never a need for them to carry their grievances to the Managing Director.

'Today, for the first time, one employee is going to carry her grievance against me to the Managing Director!'

Chandrasekar saw Sarala entering the cabin to meet the Managing Director.

'Only a few minutes remain for the bomb to explode.'

Sarala was with the Managing Director only for a short while, but to Chandrasekar, time didn't seem to move during the time she was inside.

After Sarala came out, Chandrasekar expected that the Managing Director would summon him, but he didn't. Some more employees went inside. 

'Perhaps, he would call me after meeting all the employees!'

After all the employees had had an interview with the Managing Director, the peon came to Chandrasekar and told him, "Sir, the M.D. is calling you."

Chandrasekar entered the cabin with a disturbed feeling that in the next few minutes, his pride, dignity, power and career would all come crumbling down.

The Managing Director talked to Chandrasekar about official matters. 

'Is he going to drop the bombshell just before he leaves?'

But the Managing Director didn't talk about Sarala till the end.

After the Managing Director had departed, Sarala came to Chandrasekar's cabin.

"Please sit down!" said Chandrasekar, in a weak tone.

But Sarala didn't sit down.

"Sir! I had held you in high esteem. All the people working in this office treat you like God. I wonder whether there is any other executive in this company who has earned the kind of respect, goodwill and above all love and affection of people working under them as much as you have. 

"But you, whom I had held on a high pedestal in my mind, fell from height and got tramped under my footwear, as a result of your unbecoming behaviour. (Chandrasekar instantly remembered his dream!) 

"Initially, I wanted to report your behaviour to the M.D. But if I did so, the reputation, dignity, prestige and goodwill you have built over the years, brick by brick, through your integrity and character would all be shattered to pieces in no time. I didn't want to create such a situation for you, whom I consider to be basically a good person. So, I didn't report the incident to him.

"However, I cannot continue to work under you. Every time, I come into your cabin, yesterday's incident will come to my mind and torment me. You will also continue to feel embarrassed. So, I have requested the M.D. to transfer me to our Bangalore branch. I didn't give him any reason for my request. 

"I requested him not to talk to you about this till the transfer order is issued. I told him that you might dissuade me, if you came to know of my transfer request. But you know that this is not the real reason. I didn't want the M.D. to talk to you about my transfer request and try to elicit the reason for it. 

"If I can leave out yesterday's incident, you have always been kind, considerate and dignified while interacting with me. I am thankful to  you for that."

Sarala left his cabin without waiting for his reply.

Chandrasekar was unable to believe the relief she had brought to him by her decision. He felt like prostrating before her to convey his gratefulness to her. 

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 40 (In Tamil)

seyaRpAla dhOrum aranE oruvaRku
uyaRpAla dhOrum pazhi.

Meaning:

One should do righteous deeds and one should refrain from doing deeds that will bring ill-repute

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pOligaL jAkkiradhai' by the same author)

Verse 41

Verse 39

39. An ill-fated Experiment!

Somasundaram had been running his automobile spare parts retail business for the past several years. He had a reputation for selling only genuine spare parts and a stream of customers regularly buying the spare parts from him.

Somasundaram was running his business with a small investment and operating on a small profit margin. So, his earnings from the business were modest, just adequate for making a living. 

He was honest in reporting his income in his income tax returns and paying the taxes, unlike several others in that trade, who were understating their turnover and income and evading taxes. This resulted in his after-tax income remaining small.

However, Somasundaram was happy about his business. He was proud of his reputation in the market and of the fact that he was known among even leading manufacturers and distributors of automobile spare parts.

One day, Veeramuthu, an old friend of Somasundaram visited him at his shop. Meeting after a long gap, the friends talked about their old days.

The conversation turned to Somasundaram's business. On hearing the details of Somasundaram's business, Veeramuthu said, "What Soma! You seem to be running your business on a low key. Being in business for such a long time, you should have bought a building and running your business there. But you are still running your business in a rented building. Even pavement hackers come up in life in a few years' time. But even after being in business for several years, you are running it like a petty shop!"

"What can I do? My investment is small. My earnings are hardly sufficient to run my family. I am not left with any surplus to make further investments in the business. However, I am happy about my business and my life. I have a good name in the market. The income I am getting from my business is adequate to meet my needs" replied Somasundaram.

"I will give you a suggestion to boost your earnings" said Veeramuthu. He then outlined his plan.

After hearing Veeramuthu's plan, Somasundaram shook his head expressing strong disagreement. "I don't want to do this. I have been selling genuine spare parts. I am aware of counterfeit products in the market fraudulently marked as branded parts and sold at cheaper prices. If I start selling them, I will lose my reputation, which has remained my most valuable asset all these years" he said.

"You are dealing in a variety of spare parts. I am talking about one particular part, one kind of bearing, You will be selling several hundred units of this item every month. I know a supplier who supplies perfect counterfeits of the bearings, marking them as the original brand. The counterfeit matches well with the original in terms of performance and durability. You will get this at a very low price, but you can sell it at a high price. You can sell these counterfeit bearings along with the originals ensuring that the counterfeits form just ten percent of your sales. No one will be able to make out the difference between the genuine and counterfeit bearings. Bearings getting broken occasionally is normal. So, if any of these bearings gets broken, it won't look abnormal. Bearings break down due to various reasons like irregular lubrication, unskilled operation of the vehicle by incompetent drivers etc. So, in the event of the bearing breaking down, the quality of the bearing is not likely to be flagged. I will get these bearings supplied to you without an invoice. You can also sell them without making a bill. Most of the customers won't insist on a bill. If someone complaints to you about a bearing bought from you having broken down and questions its genuineness, assert that it was not sold by you. If they persist, tell them that you would replace the bearing, if they produce the bill. Small customers are not in the habit of preserving the bills. If a customer does produce a bill, you can replace the broken down bearing with a genuine bearing. But this will be a rare happening and this small loss will be absorbed by the huge profit you will be making. It will also improve your reputation!"

After such an elaborate explanation by Veeramuthu, Somamsundaram yielded to his friend's suggestion.

'Let me try this experiment for a few days. If I encounter any problem, I will stop; otherwise I will continue. After all, I am not binding myself' through an agreement. I can choose to discontinue this any time I wish!' Somasundaram thought to himself.

Two months passed since Somasundaram had begun to sell counterfeit spare parts. As envisaged by Veeramuthu, Somasundaram's earnings went up. He didn't encounter any problem.

One day, a person came to Somasundaram's shop. He handed a broken bearing to Somasundaram and said, "I bought this at your shop. It has broken within a week. The mechanic says this is a counterfeit part" he said.

Controlling his tenseness, Somamsundaram held the bearing in his hand, made a gesture of examining it closely, and then said. "This is counterfeit, alright.  But you couldn't have bought this at our shop. We sell only genuine spare parts."

"No, sir. I bought this at your shop" asserted the person.

"If that were the case, show me the bill. I will replace the bearing" said Somasundaram, being aware that he wouldn't have given any bill for the counterfeit bearings.

"You didn't give me any bill!"

"Excuse me, but we don't sell goods without giving a bill" said Smasundaram politely, but firmly.

The complainant left.

After this incident, Somasundaram discontinued selling counterfeit spare parts for some time. Since there was no further development or other complaints, he resumed the sale of counterfeit bearings after a couple of weeks. 

After about a month, Somasundaram received a phone call from the company that was supplying the bearings to him. The call came from the head office of the company at Mumbai. The executive who used to interact with him was on the line. He would normally exchange pleasantries with Somasundaram before talking about the subject of his call. But this time, there were no pleasantries. His tone was blunt and businesslike.

"Mr. Somasundaram, you have been a dealer of our products for about twenty years. All these years, there have been no issues in our business dealings. But recently, we received a complaint that you have been selling counterfeit products. When a person to whom you had sold a counterfeit bearing complained to you that it was a counterfeit product, you denied that it was sold by you. When he complained to us about this, at first we didn't believe that the complaint could be true since we thought that a person of your reputation won't resort to such a practice. However, we decided to investigate the complaint. We sent some anonymous persons to your shop for buying bearings. You sold counterfeit bearings to two of them."

"Sir! There has been some mistake. One of my employees might have done this without my knowledge. I will investigate this, dismiss the culprit and ensure that such things won't happen again. Please condone this, considering it an aberration" pleaded Somasundaram, in an attempt to salvage the situation.

"No need, Mr. Somasundram. We have conducted a thorough investigation. We know who supplies the counterfeit bearings to you and at what price. We also know how many of these bearings you buy per month. From today, you cease to be our dealer. We are sending you a communication terminating your dealership. We will refund your deposit after deducting the amount due from you for the goods supplied by us already."

"Sir, I admit that there has been some indiscretion on my part. I committed this mistake by listening to some wrong advice. Please forgive me this time. I promise you that this will never happen again. I have been honest in my dealings for the past twenty years. Please consider this fact and have me!" begged Somasundaram.

"That is what I find regretul. You had cultivated your integrity over a period of twenty years but broke it in a period of two months. As someone who has been interacting with you for a long time, I express my sympathies. Wish you good luck."

The conversation come to an end. Was it only the conversation that came to an end?

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 39 (In Tamil)

aRaththAn varuvathE inbam maRRellAm
puRaththa pugazhum ila.

Meaning:

Good can result only from righteous deeds. Non-righteous deeds will only cause unhappiness and disrepute.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pOligaL jAkkiradhai' by the same author)

Verse 40

Verse 38

38. The Saint's Spouse

"Thanmayi" called out Saint Satva.

"Yes, Swami*!" said Thanmayi, coming out of the kitchen.

"I am leaving for the site of the penance" said Satva.

"Swami, you have been subjecting yourself to suffering by doing penance throughout the day, sitting in the wild and braving the sun, the winds and the rain, that too without adequate food intake. You only take a few vegetables in the night. You sleep only for a few hours. It pains me to see that your body which was like an iron pillar has now become like a frail creeper" said Thanmayi, with concern.

"The scriptures say that one can attain salvation only through abstention and penance. Just as you have observed how my ascetic practices have been weakening my physique, the Lord will also observe it. He will appear before me and grace me. With His blessings, I will reach the Heaven, taking you along. Indra, the lord of the celestials, will give us a warm welcome, garland us and take us in."

After, Satva had left, Thanmayi became brisk, carrying out her routine. She took out a handful of rice from the rice pot and dropped the rice at several holes and cracks inside the hut. That was for the ants living there. Some of the rice might be eaten by rats and other insects also. It was fine!

She then put some rice in a vessel, washed the rice with water, took out the washed water and poured it in the food trough of the cow, at the back of the hut. She then cooked the rice in a mud vessel. After the rice was cooked, she filtered out the gruel that was frothing on top of the rice, using a perforated vessel. After the gruel cooled down, She would feed it to the calf.

She took out a few spoons of cooked rice and placed it in on a raised platform near the well at the back of her hut. That was for the crows.

Thanmayi then came out of the house, carrying the mud vessel containing the cooked rice. A cat and a dog were sitting there, waiting for her to feed them. She emptied the mud vessel by placing the cooked rice in two wooden plates kept there, one for the cat and the other for the dog. They began to eat the food with interest.

She kept the empty mud vessel in the water-filled tough near the well, meant for washing the dishes. 

Thanmayi won't take food during the day since her husband didn't. She would take some fruits and vegetables in the night just as Satva did. She cooked rice only for feeding the animals.

Outside her hut, a few women were waiting. They were from the nearby houses. Thanmayi smiled at them and nodded her head. They bowed to her in gratitude and plucked out vegetables and fruits from her garden. This was an everyday occurrence. They knew which vegetables and fruits were used by Satva and Thanmayi and would pluck out those fruits and vegetables that the couple didn't need.

A squirrel which was cracking a nut sitting on the branch of a mango tree looked at her and struck its tail on the tree as if greeting her.

Thanmayi entered the house. She went into the prayer room, sat in front of the portrait of Lord Badrinath and started reciting divine hymns.

"Thamayi"

Thanmayi who had her eyes closed while reciting the hymns, instantly opened her eyes, on hearing someone utter her name.

A puzzled Thanmayi looked at the entrance of the house. Satva would not have returned by this time. Moreover, the voice she heard was not her husband's. Who else could have called her by her name? Or, did she imagine something?

"Thanmayi!"

She heard the voice again. But the voice was coming from her front side. There was only the Lord's portrait in front of her.

She looked at the portrait of Lord Badrinarayana. She sensed some movement in the portrait. She also observed a ray of light flashing from the portrait, like a ray of lightning.

'Is Lord Badrinarayana talking to me?'

'Yes.' The reply came from the portrait, in response to the question that arose in her mind.

"Badrinarayana!" cried Thanmayi, in excitement. "My husband has been doing penance to get your grace. But you have appeared before me!"

"The righteous life you have been living is also a form of penance. You fast during the day, but you cook rice and feed it to other living beings. You share the vegetables and fruits grown in your garden with others. The righteous acts you do every day will bring in many benefits to you even without your asking for any" said the voice that came from the portrait.

"I don't need anything for me, Lord. My only desire is that in the coming births also, I should be united with my husband, as his spouse."

"That won't happen, Thamayi!"

"Why, Lord?"

"As a result of the righteous deeds you have been performing every day, you will be freed from the cycle of births and deaths. You won't have another birth."

"What about my husband?"

"He is seeking a place in the heaven. As a result of his penance, he will go to heaven as desired by him. He will have a blissful life in the heaven for some time. After that, he will be reborn as a human or other being, as determined by his karma."

"Can you not free him also from the cycle of births and deaths?"

"I can grant him only what he seeks!"

"What if I want to be with him during his coming births also?"

"You will be with him only during this birth. You won't have another birth, but your husband will have. The connection between the two of you will be broken when the present birth ends for either of you. But you don't have to grieve over this. The bonding and affection between the two of you will last only till the end of your present birth. You just keep living your life the way you have been living."

Thanmayi was not sure whether what happened was a hallucination she had in her wakeful state or whether unknown to herself, she went into a slumber due to fatigue and had a dream in that sleep.

*Swami - It was the practice in the ancient India for the wife to address the husband respectfully as 'Swami' meaning 'the Lord (God).'

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 38 (In Tamil)

vIzhnAL padAmai nanRARRin ahdhoruvan
vAzhnAL vazhi adaikkum kal.

Meaning:

If a person keeps doing good deeds every day, such deeds will ensure that he will not have another birth.

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

Verse 39

Verse 37

37. Palanquin Bearers

"Driver! Where are you? Is the car ready?" yelled Ramya, in her authoritarian voice.

"Ready, madam! Where should we go?" responded Bhaskar with alacrity.

"To the beauty parlour."

"The car is ready, madam. I just completed cleaning it."

During the two hours Ramya was inside the beauty parlour, Bhaskar spent his time variously, sitting in the car and reading Dina Thanthi,* taking a slumber, taking a stroll, sipping a cup of tea at the roadside tea stall and puffing two cigarettes.

At long last, Ramya emerged out of the beauty parlour. Looking at her face, Bhaskar thought that she would have spent a few thousand rupees for the make-up on her face. But the effect was that the resemblance of her face to that of a monkey was even more striking now than it was before, thought Bhaskar, with amusement.

As Ramya got into the car, Bhaskar asked, "To home, madam?"

"No. Go to my friend Kavya's house!" ordered Ramya.

'So, you want to show your made-up face to your friend!' thought Bhaskar and started the car.

Bhaskar was originally engaged by Ramya's husband Pradeep as his driver. About a month back, Pradeep was given the facility of a chauffer driven car by his company. So, Pradeep's own car came to be used by Ramya and Bhaskar became the driver for Ramya.

Bhaskar resented Ramya's superciliousness, exhibitionism and arrogance. Above all, he was humiliated by her treating him with contempt, in sharp contrast to Pradeep who treated him with dignity. 

Many times, Ramya took her dog Bommi along. Bhaskar was often made to feel that he was a driver for het pet dog also.

When Bhaskar was about to leave home after the day's work, Ramya told him, "Bhaskar! Come one hour earlier tomorrow. I have an appointment for Bommi with the veterinary doctor tomorrow!"

Bhaskar's wife Mallika had been asking him to take her to a gynecologist for a check-up but he couldn't find the time for it. But he had to take Bommi to the veterinary doctor for a routine check-up every month. And he had to come one hour earlier for this!

When Bhaskar reached home, Mallika was in a buoyant mood.

"What happened? You feel so enthusiastic?" asked Bhaskar.

"I had been to the temple" said Mallika.

"You go there every day. What is special about today?"

"I listened to a discourse at the temple. It was highly enjoyable end enlightening."

"What did the speaker say that makes you so happy?"

"He spoke about karma, that is the effect of good deeds and sinful deeds. People who did good deeds in their previous birth would enjoy a good life in this birth and people who committed sins in their previous birth would suffer in this birth. It is the effect of a person's actions in one birth that makes that person lucky or unlucky in the next birth. So, I have realized that since we are doing only good things, we will lead a happy life in our next birth!" said Mallika with excitement.

Bhaskar pitied his wife for her naivete even as he admired her simple faith that made her feel happy in anticipation of a good life in her next birth. However, he couldn't but feel irritated by her blindly accepting the theory of karma.

"Does it mean that we have committed sins in our past lives?" he asked.

"Why do you say ask this question? Are we suffering so much?" asked Mallika, innocently.

Bhaskar looked at Mallika with admiration for her positive outlook. "I don't know for sure" he said. 'But I am sure that Bommi should have done a lot of good deeds in its past life!' he thought, with bitterness.

*Dina Thanthi is a popular Tamil daily.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 37 (In Tamil)

aRaththARu idhuvena vENdA sivigai
poRuththAnOdu UrnthAnidai.

Meaning:

The fruit of virtue need not be described in books; it can be inferred from seeing the bearer of a palanquin and the rider therein.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pallakkuth thUkkigaL' by the same author)

Verse 38

 Verse 36 

36. Do it Today

Nagarajan had been nurturing a desire since long. It might not be appropriate to describe it as a 'desire.' But whenever Nagarajan talked about this, he would always say, 'I have been nurturing a desire since long.'

That desire was to make a contribution to his alma mater. He always had a grateful feeling that it was the education and training imparted by his school that had laid the foundation for his knowledge, culture and progress. He wanted to do something by way of repaying his debt to his school. But he didn't have any idea of what he could do.

A few years back, he went to his native place. At that time, he visited his school, met the headmaster of the school and introduced himself as an old student of that school. During the course of the conversation, the headmaster made an appeal to him.

That school was a government aided private school. The education was free till the 10th grade. But for the 11th and 12th grades, tuition fee was payable by the students. Though the fee was moderate, many students completing the 10th grade couldn't afford it, since they came from poor families. Consequently, many students dropped out after completing the 10th grade.

The headmaster said that if old students like Nagarajan made a donation, that sum could be held as a fixed deposit in the bank and scholarships could be offered to the poor students from the interest paid by the bank on the fixed deposit.

Nagarajan told him that he would contact is friends who were his classmates in the school and see what could be done.

After returning home, Nagarajan contacted his former school classmates with whom he was in touch and mooted the idea of creating a corpus by pooling the sums of money every one could contribute and using the interest from the corpus to provide scholarships to some of the deserving students studying in the school. But the response from his friends was lukewarm.

Nagarajan then considered the possibility of doing something on his own, but he was aware that he didn't have the means to carry out his wish. He even tried saving a small amount from his salary every month but found that it didn't amount to much.

Nagarajan's only son Sukumar completed his college education and got a job. A few months later, Nagarajan told Sukumar about his ambition.

"Daddy! I am in the early phase of my career. I won't be able to contribute anything sizeable" said Sukumar.

"I am not asking you to make any donation to the school. Now that you have a job, you can stand on your own legs. The provident fund amount I will get on my retirement will be enough for me and your mother to live the rest of our lives. In addition to the statutory provident fund, I have also been contributing to a voluntary provident fund. This fund has an accumulated balance of about five lakh rupees. I can withdraw this amount immediately. I propose to donate this sum to my alma mater. Are you okay with this?" asked Nagarajan.

"It is your savings, dad. You can make use of it any way you like. I don't want to tap into your savings. I will take care of you and my mother for the rest of your lives, even if you are not left with any savings" 

"Whatever you are going to do, do it after careful consideration" said his wife Sulochana, cautiously.

Nagarajan immediately applied for withdrawal of his voluntary provident fund. He received the money after a few weeks.

Nagarajan called up the headmaster of the school and told him that he would be donating five lakh rupees to the school for providing scholarships to a few students. 

The headmaster was elated. He told Nagarajan that using the interest received from this sum, the school would be able to offer scholarships to four students. 

Nagarajan told him that he would take out a demand draft from the bank and send it to him the next day.

That night, Nagarajan developed a respiratory problem. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was given emergency treatment.

The next day, when Nagarajan's family members were allowed to speak to him, the first thing Nagarajan told Sukumar was about taking out a bank draft for five lakh rupees in favour of the school.

"Fine, daddy. We will do it after you come home after recovery" said Sukumar.

"Good deeds should not be postponed. I think I have already delayed taking action. Get my cheque book now. I will sign the cheque. Go to the bank, take out a demand draft and send it to the school by courier immediately" said Nagarajan.

"Okay, daddy."

That afternoon, Sukumar told Nagarajan that he had sent the demand draft to the school. On hearing it, Nagarajan sensed a feeling of relief. He felt as if his health had returned to normalcy.

That night, Nagarajan breathed his last, lying on the hospital bed.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 36 (In Tamil)

anRaRivAm ennAdhu aRam seyga maRRadhu
ponRungAl ponRAth thuNai.

Meaning:

Do the righteous deeds now without postponing them;

The glory of performing those deeds will remain even after our leaving this world.

Verse 37
Verse 35

35. The Monk's Decision

Athamananda, the head of the monastery summoned his two most senior disciples Arulananda and Anbananda.

"I am getting old. The time has come for me to nominate my successor who would take over the administration of the monastery and carry forward our spiritual activities. You two being the most senior monks in this monastery, I thought I should convey my decision to both of you first. I plan to nominate Paramananda as my successor. What is your opinion?"

Neither of them said anything.

Late that evening, Anbananda met Athmananda in private and told him, "Swamiji*! I want to make a submission."

"Go ahead!" said Athmananda.

"You are my mentor, my Guru. I am bound by whatever decision you take. However, I would like to know why you have chosen Paramananda, who joined this monastery much later than me, as your successor, overlooking my age, experience and seniority."

"Anbananda! This is not a government department to consider age and experience as the criteria for filling a position or responsibility. After saying that you would submit to my decision, why do you ask this question?"

"I just want to know what shortcomings you found in me."

"Well, rather than asking 'what are the special attributes of Paramananda that made you choose him?' you are asking me what your shortcomings are. This indicates that you believe that you have some flaws. The first flaw you have is desire!"

"First flaw! Does it mean that I have several flaws?"

"Why do you assume that you have several flaws? My using the expression 'first flaw' means that you have more than one flaw. It could be just two flaws! Okay. Do you agree that you are afflicted by the vice 'desire?'"

"How do you say that I have 'desire', Swamiji?'"

"You have come to me only because you have the desire to become the head of this monastery!"

Anbananda reflected for a moment and said "Well, that may be true. What other vices or flaws do I have?"

"You have the desire for this position. You are jealous of Paramananda because he is getting this position!"

"Swamiji! Can I not say that this is your assumption?"

"You can. But if you reflect, you will agree that what I say is true. We can infer the thinking of a person from that person's words and behaviour. Both you and Arulananda joined this monastery at nearly the same time. You didn't ask me why I didn't choose Arulananda. You didn't even ask why I didn't choose you. You asked me why I selected Paramananda! That's why I said that you have been bitten by jealousy."

Anbananda remained silent.

"Anbananda! It is not my intention to find fault with you. I think that these flaws have afflicted you only recently. Before I told you that I planned to nominate Paramananda, you might not even have had the desire to become the head of this monastery. I am glad that you don't have two other flaws that are associated with the two flaws I mentioned already."

"What are those flaws, Swamiji?"

"When a person doesn't get what he has desired, he will get angry. Driven by anger, he will do things that will hurt other people. Your placidness shows that you are not angry. When I said that you have some flaws, you felt sorry but not angry. This shows that you are at an advanced stage of asceticism. Desire will give rise to jealousy and anger. Anger will make one use harsh words that will hurt other people. So, you should give up all desires. Since you are an ascetic, cultivating an attitude of detachment won't be a difficult task for you."

"I humbly accept your exhortation, Swamiji. I have now become aware of my flaws. I have no feeling of disappointment now" said Anbananda and got up to leave.

"Wait, Anbananda! I am glad that you have quickly accepted what I said and changed your thinking. However, I am not going to nominate Paramananda as the head of this monastery!" said Athmananda.

"Oh! Are you going to nominate Arulananda, then? He highly deserves this!"

"I appreciate your matured thinking. When I said that I won't be nominating Paramananda, you didn't think for a moment that I would nominate you. You mentioned Arulananda's name!"

"No, Swamiji. Even if you were to offer this position to me, I won't accept it. I need to strive hard to drive out even the last trace of desire from my mind."

"Both you and Arulananda have the requisite qualities to head this monastery. I wanted to see how each of you would react if I told you that I had chosen Paramananda over the two of you. Arulananda has accepted my decision with equanimity. Therefore, I am going to nominate Arulananda as the head of this monastery. After a few months, I will send you to head one of our branches."

"Thank you, Swamiji! But I have no problem in serving under Arulananda. I think it will make me even more mature. I will serve under Arulananda till the time he wants me to" said Anbananda.

* A Hindu saint or a monk is often referred to as Swami. 'Swamiji' is a respectful way of addressing a Swami.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 35 (In Tamil)

azhukkARu avA veguLi innAch chol nAngum
izhukkA iyandradhu aRam.

Meaning:

Righteousness is all about removing the four flaws –

envy, desire, anger and harmful words.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thuRaviyin mudivu' by the same author)

Verse 36 

Verse 34