718. Riverbank Lectures

It was 7 o'clock in the evening, when Arumugam returned home from the school.

"Why are you late today?" asked his wife Mekala.

"Our school has started special classes in the evenings, for the students who have been lagging behind in their studies. Hereafter, I will be able to come home only by 7 pm. Can you make me some coffee? I have to leave for my riverbank lecture. People will be waiting for me."

Mekala went to the kitchen returned with coffee in five minutes. "You say you will come home only by 7 pm, hereafter. Why don't you discontinue the riverbank lectures?" she asked Arumugam. 

"Let us talk about this, after I return home after today's lecture" replied Arumugam.

Arumugam returned home after 8 pm. After having his dinner, he came and sat in the living room.

Mekala came to the living room after a while, after completing her chores in the kitchen and sat near her husband.

"You are handling classes in the school, from the morning to the evening. In the evening, you are giving lectures on the river bank, sitting under a tree, to an audience comprising people from of diverse age groups and backgrounds, from the village. Now that you have to take classes for one more hour in the school, why can't you discontinue the riverbank lectures, in which you preach morals to the people?" asked Mekala.

"Mekala! My lectures at the river bank are not aimed at preaching morals to people. I just communicate various things I have learnt about this world, facts relating to nature, principles of basic science, truths and principles about life, living in tune with nature, moral values, making ourselves useful to other people etc. A number of people, ranging from kids to senior citizens, come to the riverbank and listen to my talks, with interest. When I tried to talk about these matters to my students in the school, they said, 'Sir! Please teach us topics relating to the examination.' But, a wide cross-section of the people of this village realize the significance of the things I talk about and are even inclined to implement in their lives what they have learnt from my talks. That is why I enjoy talking to these people. We water a plant, hoping to help it grow. And if we see that the plant is growing, won't we feel even more interested in watering the plant and helping its growth in other ways? Though the time available at my disposal has become less, because of  the increase in my working hours in the school, I don't want to discontinue or curtail my riverbank talks" said Arumugam.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 718 (in Tamil):
uNarvadhu udaiyAr mun sollal vaLarvadhan
pAththiyuL nIr sorindhRRu.

Meaning:

To speak before an audience, who have a keenness for learning,

is like watering a sapling, growing by itself, in a nursery.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mAlai nEra vaguppugaL' by the same author.) 

Verse 719 (Soon)
Verse 717