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.

Verse 39 (Soon)

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

34. Ramalingam's Pride

The mass feeding event was conducted with fanfare. Ramalingam was brimming with pride.

"No one in our village is a match for you in performing these kinds of charitable acts" commended the temple priest.

"The objective of earning money is only to use it for good causes. The Goddess bestows riches on me. I am only sharing some of what is given to me with others" said Ramalingam, sounding humble.

He turned to this wife Maragatham and looked at her with pride.

"When people call me 'Annapoorani(the bestower of food)', I feel gratified" said Maragatham, beaming with a broad smile on her face.

"See, priest! I was the one who spent the money and made all the arrangements for the mass feeding. But my better half who just stood by my side wearing an expensive silk saree is glorified as 'Annapoorani!'" said Ramalingam to the priest.

"Didn't I have any part in making the arrangements for this event?" asked Maragatham in feigned anger and then moved aside, as if she was displaying her anger.

The priest took leave of Ramalingam.

Vellaiyan, Ramalingam's trusted acolyte who was standing a little away, approached his employer in quick steps, as though he was waiting for an opportunity to talk to him in private.

"Where did you go, Vellaiyan? You were not seen during the event. Any problem at the farm?" inquired Ramalingam.

"No problem at the farm" said Vellaiyan. He then asked Ramalingam in a whispered voice, "Did you ask anyone to come to the farmhouse?"

"No" said Ramalingam, but presently remembering something, clicked his fingers and exclaimed, "My goodness! I had asked Pramila to come to the farmhouse today, not remembering that the mass feeding event was scheduled today. Did she come?"

"Yes. She did. Even after my telling her that you won't be coming today, she refused to leave. She was adamant about waiting for you. She said, 'Even if the master is not going to come, I will stay here for two hours as per the arrangement.' It took me an hour to pacify her and send her away" said Vellaiyan.

"Well, she wants to get the payment from me even without rendering her services! But I think I have to pay her. Otherwise, she will besmirch my name!" said Ramalingam. He was in a buoyant mood created by a sense of accomplishment. "She has detained you for sometime and prevented you from participating in the event. Go and have your food" he added.

When Vellaiyan turned around to leave, Ramalingam sensed the presence of someone behind him. He turned around and found that Maragatham was standing there,

A chill went through Ramalingam's spine. He was talking to Vellaiyan thinking that Maragatham was away. When did she come near them? Would she have heard the conversation?

Ramalingam looked at Maragatham's face but he couldn't gauge anything from her face expression.

'I can't ask her about this. I shouldn't talk to her about this unless she raises the issue. In future I have to be more circumspect while talking about sensitive matters' he reflected.

Maragatham made sounds as if she was clearing her throat and spat on the muddy ground nearby.

ThirukkuRaL
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 34 (In Tamil)

manaththukkaN mAsilanAdhal anaiththaRan
Agula nIra piRa.

Meaning:

True moral integrity lies in being flawless in your thoughts;

everything else is loud and blatant posturing.

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

Verse 35 

Verse 33

33. Arun Gets a Job

When Arun was selected for a government job, his father advised him, "These days, getting a government job has become very difficult. It is great that you got a government job on the basis of your performance in the Service Commission examination. This is a blessing for a lower middle class family like ours. Take care to ensure that you act with propriety in performing your duties."  

Arun's mother pulled him aside and told him, "Arun! Your father has wasted his life by being adamant about being righteous and acting with integrity and morality. Don't follow in his foot steps. Be smart and make the best of the opportunity you have got!"

Arun joined duty at the office he was posted. He was allocated a seat. Natarajan, who occupied the seat next to him was a middle-aged person. He was friendly with Arun.

"Arun! Many government offices are cramped. They don't have enough space to accommodate all the employees. It will take a couple of years for a new employee to be allocated a permanent seat. Till that time, the new employee will have to scout for a vacant seat that may become available because of some employee being on leave. But we don't have that problem in our office. That way you are lucky" he told Arun.

For the first few days, Arun was not assigned any work. He didn't even know whom he should report to. 

After about ten days, one of the section officers summoned Arun to his cabin and told him that Arun would be working under him.

When the section officer was talking to Arun, Selvam, the peon came there bringing a file for the officer's scrutiny. The section officer told Selvam, "Selvam! Mr. Arun will be working in my section. Attend to his needs."
 
But even after this, Arun was not assigned any work.

The next afternoon, something intriguing happened. Selvam came to Arun carrying some currency notes in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other. He looked at the sheet, pulled out a few notes, counted them and gave them to Arun. 

"What is this?" asked Arun, perplexed.

"Didn't the section officer Raghu say the other day that you would be working in his section?" relied Selvam.

"So?"

"I have to distribute this to others" said Selvam showing the cash in his hand. "Ask Mr. Natarajan about this," he continued and then walked away.

Arun asked Natarajan, "What is this, sir?"

"Today is Friday, which is considered an auspicious day. They have performed puja*. Selvam is distributing the prasad** to all of us!" said Natarajan, smiling. He raised his hand and showed Arun the cash received by him.

"Puja?"

"Arun! You know that in our office, we offer some services to the public. As you must be aware, nothing will move in a government office unless the palms of the government employees are greased. Everyday, a couple of hundred people visit our office seeking our services. We have a system of pooling the amount collected from the public by the frontline employees and distributing it to everyone in this office in proportion to one's rank and role. Obviously, the executives will get a greater share. Since you have joined only recently, you will get only a small share. The sum collected during a week will be distributed Friday afternoon, This is what I meant by puja and distribution of prasad!" 

"How preposterous! We are taking bribes and distributing the bounty so blatantly!" exclaimed Arun.

"Well, this is the practice. After all, it is happening within our office!"

"But I have not even started working!"

"That is not an issue. You have been assigned to a section. Your section officer might have told Selvam to give you also a share!"

"Oh! When I was in the section officer's cabin, he told Selvam to attend to my needs. So this is what he meant!"

At that time, Selvam passed by them.

Arun called him out. "Mr. Selvam! Please come here."

An irritated Selvam came near him and said, "If you think that the sum you have received is small, talk to your section officer about it!"

"No. I don't want this money. Not just today, never!" said Arun and returned the cash to Selvam.

"Don't do anything in haste!" interjected Natarajan. "The public can't get anything done in this office without paying a bribe to the employees concerned. No one working here can avoid taking the bribe either. Employees who had been honest and principled while working in other places were forced to adapt themselves to the system followed here, after coming and working here. I am also one such person. You will not have any problem. You are not working at the front office. You won't come into contact with the public. You are not going to seek or receive any bribe. Some others are collecting money and giving you a share. Just accept it!" 

"No, sir. Wherever I am, I will do only what is righteous and morally upright. This is something I have learnt from my father" said Arun.

*puja - a ritual of worshipping God

**prasad - flowers, dishes etc. offered to God and hence considered sacred.

ThirukkuRaL
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 33 (In Tamil)

ollum vagaiyAn aRavinai OvAdhE
sellumvAy ellAm seyal.

Meaning:

In whichever place you are, you should keep doing the morally upright deeds.

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

Verse 34 

Verse 32

32. After the Leak

"Hey buddy, the question paper has been leaked!" said Satish excitedly, even as he was entering the room, hopping in joy.

"What do you mean?" asked Aravind.

"Yes. The paper has been leaked. Only fifty persons have got it, including me!"

"How did it happen? The government won't take it lightly!"

"The test is tomorrow. The news might not even have reached the government. Even if the government authorities come to know of this at this late stage, they can't do anything about it. They won't even admit it since it will be embarrassing to them. I have bought the question paper for one thousand rupees. You may share half the price by paying me five hundred rupees!"

"Hey, let us not go for it. We have been preparing well for the examination. We don't need this kind of a shortcut."

"If you don't want to pay for it, it is fine. I will show you the question paper anyway. Taking a xerox copy may be risky."

"Money is not the issue here. When I said we shouldn't go for any shortcut, I was speaking for you also. The paper that you have obtained may not even be authentic. What if we get a different question paper in the examination?"

"It won't happen. I am sure that we will get the same paper in the examination. It will suffice if we make ourselves thorough with the answers for the questions in this paper!"

"I am imploring you once again. Don't do this. We have prepared well. Let us just revise what we have studied. Don't rely on this dubious paper and don't trade the time we have for revision for preparing for this paper!"

But Satish was not in a mood to listen to Aravind.

"How did this happen?" asked a furious Director of the Government department.

"Sir, that will be known only if we conduct an investigation. The examination is scheduled for tomorrow. We can't do anything at this stage" said the senior official of the department.

"Why not? How much time will it take to prepare a new question paper?"

"Well, a new question paper can be got ready within an hour or two. But it has to be printed and sent to all the centres. This can't be done in a day."

"How many examination centres are there?"

"737 centres."

"Do all the centres have an internet connection and a printer?"
  
"Yes, they have. But..."

"Ask the Chief Examiner to get a new question paper ready within one hour. Send it to the examiners at all the centres by email, along with detailed instructions. Ask them to take the print-outs using the printer at the centre. They should print out as many copies as required. If there are issues like printer not working etc, they could, at their own responsibility, take print-outs at establishments offering printing services. Let them send us the invoices and I will approve them for payment. But no one should know that the print-outs are question papers for tomorrow's examination. If the examiners are using the services of any other employee, they should create an impression that these papers are for some other mock tests. After taking the print-outs, the examiners should put them in large envelopes, seal them and keep them in their custody. All these should be done by tonight. If the paper is leaked at any place, the examiner at that place will be held responsible. Don't tell anyone why we are doing this. Just tell them that we are testing out a new procedure. Tell them that if anyone has any question or problem, they can call me up any time, even if it is late night."

"Sir, will this work?" asked the official, in amazement.

"It will and it should! I cannot allow a few people to gain an advantage from the question paper leak" said the Director, strictly

"Ok, sir."

"One more thing. This is very important. Please mention that everyone should immediately confirm the receipt of the email. Ask the Chief Examiner to send messages to all the examiners asking them to check their emails and confirm receipt of the emails. If we don't receive confirmation from anyone within an hour, call them up and check. No one should give an excuse that they didn't see the email. Sorry. You will have to forego your sleep tonight. So will I!"

Satish, who went to the examination centre with a sense of excitement and supreme confidence, was in for a severe shock. 'I should have listened to Aravind and focused on revising what I had studied already. But I was carried away by a sense of complacency that resulted from my having got the leaked question paper!' he thought, feeling remorseful about choosing a dishonest approach. 

ThirukkuRaL
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 32 (In Tamil)

aRaththinUngu Akkamum illai adhanai
maRaththalin Ungillai kEdu.

Meaning:

There is no possession more precious than righteousness. No harm will be more severe than the one that will be caused by deviating from righteousness.

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

Verse 33 

Verse 31

31. A Reward for Integrity

Venugopal started his business with a tiny capital, but over time his business grew in leaps and bounds.

After thirty years, his group of companies came to be referred to as Venugopal group by the financial media at the national level.

Venugopal had a 'weakness.' He chose to be honest and transparent in his business dealings. He refused to bribe government officials for getting permissions and clearances relating to his business. He never bought or sold anything without proper invoicing. He made no attempt to evade taxes using loopholes in the tax laws.

Because of following this policy, Venugopal had to forego several promising business opportunities. But his approach of choosing business opportunities with high potential for business growth and high profits and starting with a small investment and achieving high growth by sticking to quality standards in the products and services offered by him made him succeed in his ventures.

After growing to a certain level, he was in a position to command services from government agencies for getting the approvals and licenses needed for his business, without greasing the palm of any government official.

Venugopal planned to set up a chemical industry with foreign collaboration. The European firm which agreed to provide the technology for his venture had a reputation at international level. 

Since the investment required for this project was quite high, Venugopal needed a partner to partly finance the venture. Gokul Varma. a big industrialist agreed to partner with him in this venture.

They needed to get approval from the government for the foreign collaboration. The minister who was empowered to grant the approval demanded a huge sum as bribe for granting the approval. 

Venugopal, in keeping with is policy, refused to give the bribe demanded by the minister.

Gokul Varma told Venugopal that he would pay the bribe. "You won't have to compromise your principles. I will pay the bribe from my own resources. I will recover this amount from my share of the profit after we start operating" he told Venugopal.

Venugopal didn't agree. "Whether the bribe is given by you or me, it is given for getting our project approved. How can I agree to this?" he said.

Because of Venugopal's uncompromising stand, the project had to be abandoned even at the initial stage.

After a few months, Gokul Varma implemented that project in another state in collaboration with the same foreign company. How he would have got the government approval for the project was no secret in the business circles.

This development was a big disappointment for Venugopal. It was a dream project for him. If he had succeeded in implementing it, his reputation would have gone up very high at the national level.

Venugopal was in his eightieth year. It was fifty years since he had started his first business venture. In the twenty years after his aborted business venture, he had been growing, crossing new milestones. But the pain of his failed venture was still lingering in his mind. Sometimes he would wonder whether his adamancy in sticking to his principles was a mistake.

Venugopal received a phone call from the Industries Secretary. The Secretary informed Venugopal that ten industrialists of India had been chosen to interact with the American President during his visit to India next month and that Venugopal was one among them.

Venugopal found it exciting that though there were many industrialists in the country who were taller than him in stature, he was among the chosen few.

The secretary also told him who the other nine industrialists were. Gokul Varma's name was not in the list.

Venugopal came to know later that Gokul Varma was under the lens of some investigating agencies for some irregularities committed by him.

ThirukkuRaL
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 31 (In Tamil)
siRappu Inum selvamum Inum aRaththinUngu
Akkam evanO uyirkku.

Meaning:

It yields distinction, yields prosperity; what gain greater than virtue can a living man obtain?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nErmaikkuk kidaiththa parisu' by the same author)

Verse 32 

Verse 30

30. A Bride for Ganapathy

Some incidents witnessed by Ganapathy when he was a boy had a deep impact on his thinking.

The river flowing on the outskirts of his village would become dry during summer. During that period, Ganapathy would play on the riverbed along with his friends. 

Sometimes, he and his friends would sit on the riverbed and chat.

Near one bank of the river, there was a large pit which contained water. That water had not dried up because the river was deep at that place. Water snakes would dwell there. A few boys would catch those snakes, hold them tightly by their necks and then throw them far. Some others would hang them using a noose made from the rope-like roots hanging from the banyan tree on the branch of the river. Others would enjoy the ordeal suffered by the snakes by clapping their hands and laughing aloud.

Ganapathy was pained to see the torture the snakes were subjected to. At one point of time, he stopped going to the river bed to avoid witnessing those gruesome scenes.

One day, he decided to abstain from eating meat. His parents tried to dissuade him from carrying out his decision, but he didn't relent. His mother taunted him asking, "Do you think that you are a Brahmin*?" 

Ganapthy said, "One doesn't have to be born a Brahmin, to abstain from eating meat. Killing living beings is not acceptable to me."

When it was time for Ganapathy to get married, his parents searched for a suitable bride for him. Ganapathy met one of the prospective brides selected by his parents and spoke to her.

"I have one request for you. In our home, we should not use devices like mousetraps, mosquito coils, insect sprays and other such things for killing insects and other creatures. Will you agree to this?" asked Ganapathy.

"Are you suggesting that we should allow ourselves to be bitten by mosquitoes?" asked the girl, half in surprise and half in disbelief.

"If we keep our home and our environment clean, mosquitos won't be able to thrive at our home. We can sleep inside a mosquito net. For preventing mosquito bites, we can apply an ointment on our skin. If a mosquito bites us, we will be inclined to crush it with our palm against our body. I won't say we shouldn't do so. But should we go on an offensive hunting living creatures?"

The girl said, "I am sorry" and left.

Ganapathy had the same experience with a few other girls also.

Once, when Ganapathy discussed his idea with a Brahmin friend of him, the friend said, "Where did you get this idea? Our scriptures say that killing a creature that could harm us is justified. This is what I have heard from the elders in my community." 

It is another matter that neither he, nor the elders from whom he has heard this concept would have been able to specify where such a thing was mentioned in the scriptures!

Ganapathy said, "It is one thing to kill a being in self-defence, but going all out to kill living beings appears abominable to me."

"I hear that there is an opening in the United Nations Organization in mosquito eradication division. I suggest you apply for this job. If you get that job, you will be forced to work towards killing mosquitoes. If you go around the world killing mosquitos for a couple of years, perhaps you may have a change of heart!" said the friend, sarcastically.

Frustrated, Ganapathy's parents have stopped looking for a bride for him. If you come across a girl who would accept the condition set by Ganapathy for marriage, please get in touch with him!

*South Indian Brahmins are vegetarians by tradition.

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 30 (In Tamil)
andhaNar enbOr aRavOr maRRevvuyirkkum
sendhaNmai pUNdozugalAn

Meaning:

A Brahmin (a virtuous person) is one who pursues the path of morality. He showers love on all creatures.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'uyirgaLidaththu anbu vENdum' by the same author)

Verse 31 

Verse 29

30. When the Virtuous Is Provoked...

After serving for thirty five years in a government department, Kuppuswamy retired from his job. 

In the office Kuppuswamy worked, there was a practice of organizing a grand send-off at the time of an employee's retirement. 

The organizers would collect money from the other employees for meeting the expenses for the function and for buying a valuable gift to the retiring employee. They would ask the retiring person to choose a gift within a price range, buy and present it to him or her.

The gifts presented in the past included air-conditioners, LED TVs, Laptop Computers, Mobile Phones etc.

Since most of the employees working there were earning extra income by way of bribes for providing services to the public, they didn't grudge contributing liberally towards the expenses for the send-off function.

But Kuppuswamy was cast in a different mould. 'Moron', 'saint', 'idealist', 'person living in a fool's paradise' were some of the sobriquets his colleagues, superiors and subordinates in the office used about him. He was widely perceived as a person who would neither make use of the opportunities for earning money coming his way nor allow others to do so.

Kuppuswamy's integrity and incorruptibility were the factors that earned him this kind of criticism. Working in an office where taking bribe was a way of life, but firmly refusing to seek or accept bribes, Kuppuswamy was like an island in the middle of a vast ocean.

Till the day he retired, Kuppuswamy strictly followed the policy of doing his duty as per the rules and regulations with no deviations or compromises.

However, Kuppuswamy never quarreled with anyone. If he was pressurized by his superiors or colleagues to do something that was not in conformity with the rules, he would politely but firmly decline to do so.

He would never try to explain his stand by claiming that he was a straightforward man and that he won't do anything in violation of the rules.

Perhaps, he realized that if he gave any scope for others to argue with him, he might end up losing the argument and accepting the other person's stand. Because of this, he was also called a 'hard rock.'

One of his superiors once lamented, "If the man attempts to explain why he wouldn't do a particular thing, it may be possible to argue with him, persuade him or trap him in his own arguments. But he never goes beyond saying, 'Sorry. I won't do it.' What can I do with such a person?"

Kuppuswamy's send-off party was conducted in a lacklustre manner. Breaking with the practice of ordering expensive dishes from a high profile restaurant, snacks and tea were brought from a nearby tea shop. Quite a few employees including some senior executives skipped the function citing some excuse. 

A few of his colleagues made ceremonial speeches mentioning Kuppuswamy's long service in that office, but made no reference to his contributions or qualities. One of them, however, was a little outspoken. He lamented that if only Kuppuswamy had been more 'accommodative,' he would have been more valuable to himself and to others. 

A wall clock of mediocre quality was presented to him as a gift.

Kuppuswamy's speech was short. He just thanked everyone for their affection and co-operation.

Usually, a retired employee in the office where Kuppuswamy worked would get his retirement benefits including pension sanctioned in about two months after retirement. But in the case of Kuppuswamy, his pension was not sanctioned even after six months.

When Kuppuswamy checked with the head office, they told him that they had not received the papers from the office where he had worked.

Kuppuswamy went to the office where he had worked and met the clerk who was looking after pension papers. 

The clerk replied nonchalantly, "We have sent the papers long time back!" 

"Don't lie to me!" said Kuppuswamy, angrily.

Offended by Kuppuswamy's acerbic tone, the clerk told him, "Go and ask the executive in-charge."

"Where is the executive? Ask him to come out of his cabin!" shouted Kuppuswamy. His voice was heard throughout the office. The employees who had known Kuppuswamy as an unperturbed and soft-spoken person were surprised by his indignant tone. 

The executive, hearing Kuppuswamy's voice, came out of his cabin.

"What is going on here?" he asked, in an authoritative voice.

"Good Morning, Mr. Dharmalingam! Your clerk lies to me that he has sent my pension papers to the head office. Will you please check and ascertain the position?"

Kuppuswamy was polite but his tone was loud and assertive. His former colleagues looked at him in amazement, wondering how Kuppuswamy was capable of being so indignant.

The clerk, taking offence at Kuppuswamy's remark, replied angrily, "How dare you say I lied, you scumbug!"

Kuppuswamy turned to Dharmalingam and told him, "Sir, please ask your clerk to be respectable while speaking to others. I am not seeking any favour from him."

"But your remark that he was lying to you was offensive, wasn't it?" asked Dharmalingam.

"I have checked up with the head office and confirmed that the papers have not been received by them. But your clerk tells me, even without checking the records that he has sent the papers long time back. Am I not justified in saying that he is lying? Let him check the records and tell me when the papers were sent. Then I will apologize to him!" 

"Please come tomorrow. We will check up and give you the details" said Dharmalingam, in an attempt to pacify Krishnaswamy.

"Why should I come tomorrow?" Kuppuswamy's voice became louder again. "As per the norms, the papers should be sent within a month. But nothing has been done even after six months. I won't leave this place unless you give me the date and reference number of your letter forwarding my papers."

"Why don't you check up now and give him the details?" Dharmalingam asked the clerk.

"I have to search. It will take time. I can't do it now" said the clerk, adamantly.

Dharmalingam looked at Kuppuswamy again. Realizing that he won't relent, he told the clerk in a low voice, "Please search and take out his file. The public who have come here for their work are also witnessing this scene." 

The clerk grudgingly went to the filing cabinet, took out a file after a brief search and browsed through it.

He then told Dharmalingam in a toned down voice, "Sir, the papers are here. I will forward them tomorrow." 

Hearing this, Kuppuswamy said in an angry voice, "So, you lied to me that the papers have been sent already! Why have you kept this pending for six months? Did you want to extract some bribe from me the way you extract money from the public?"

Dharmalingam moved closer to Kuppuswamy and spoke to him in a low voice. "I am sorry for what has happened. I will see to it that the papers are forwarded tomorrow. Please leave now!"

"Why not today?" said Kuppuswamy. Then, relenting a little, he said, "Okay. I hope you keep your word and send the papers tomorrow. If the papers are not received by the head office within the next two days, I will file a complaint with the Vigilance department."

After Kuppuswamy left the office, Dharmalingam told the clerk, "Process his papers and forward them to the head office today. Don't wait till tomorrow!"

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 29 (In Tamil)
guNamennum kunRERi ninRAr veguLi
kaNamEnum kAththalarithu.

Meaning:

We cannot withstand, even for a moment, the rage of a person who has scaled the peak of morality.

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

Verse 30 

Verse 28