632. The Successor

"Minister! I want you to accompany me, when I do the rounds in some parts of our country, in disguise, tonight" the King told the Minister.

The Minister nodded his head acknowledging the King's command, puzzled why the King wanted to take him along.

That evening, the King and the Minister disguised themselves as ordinary people and went to a place about ten miles from the palace. It was quite dark when they reached that place.

They got down from the chariot in which they travelled and sent the chariot back to the palace, instructing the charioteer to bring the chariot back to the same spot, the next morning around the time of sunrise.

After entering the village, the King stopped a man walking on the street and asked him, "Sir! We are coming from a far off place. We are heading towards the palace with a desire to see the King. Since it has become dark, we would like to halt at this village and resume our journey tomorrow. Can you suggest a place where we can stay for the night?"

"I can have you stay in my house. But there is a rule in our village that if any stranger visits our village, we should inform our village head about it. So, I will inform our village head about your visit and come back. I will be happy to accommodate you in my house, after I get the clearance from our village head" said that man. 

"Why should you inform your village head about a stranger visiting your village? Is your leader an autocrat?" asked the King.

"Sir! Please don't use such words about him. Our leader is a noble person. He has made this rule, only for the purpose of protecting us from any harm from unsavoury visitors" said the man.

"What if someone doesn't inform him?"

"Our village head is a kind man. But, if someone violates rules, he will act strictly against that person. That is why every one in the village loves him, even while respecting him. Till now, no one in the village has acted against his instructions. You can come with me and meet our leader. You can see for yourself what sort of a person our leader is."

When they went to the village head's house, he was reading some palm leaves.

The man who took them there, told the village head about the purpose of their visit.

The village head told them, "My family members are away. So, you can stay in my house. Just a minute, I will arrange some food for you two" and got up from his seat. 

"Don't bother, sir. We had had our food on the way" said the King.

The person who brought them there took leave of them. 

The King and the Minister took their seats on the pial of the village head's house.

"May I know what book you are reading?" the King asked the village head. 

"This is a book on the moral values to be followed by people. Since a leader has to be well versed in ethics, morals and principles of justice and equity, I am reading this book."

"If there is any dispute among some people in your village, will you adjudicate the dispute?" asked the King.

"People will come to me with a request to adjudicate the issue. I will have a wise man sit with me while hearing the dispute, take his advice and then decide" said the village head.

The King and the Minister returned to the palace the next morning.

"What do you think of the village head we met yesterday?" the King asked the Minister.

"Oh, he is a fine man. Even at the young age, he has maturity of thinking. He has the welfare of his people in his mind. He has created a system of getting any visitor to the village vetted by him, by making a rule that any stranger visiting the village should be reported to him. He has been enforcing the rule strictly for the safety of the villagers. Care and concern for his people while also being strict with them if they violate any rule, realizing the need to be well versed in the principles of ethics, morality and justice and reading books on these subjects to enhance his knowledge, taking the counsel of wise men when needed - these are the qualities which we were able to see in him, even during the short period of our interaction with him. He has the noble traits of wisdom, love and affection, learning and firmness. May I know how you came to know of him? Why did you take me along when you went to meet him?"

"During my rounds in various parts of the country, I came to know about this person For a few days, I observed him from a distance. The reason I took you along with me is to facilitate your meeting him and then ascertain from you whether he has the qualities needed in a minister" said the King, with a smile.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" asked the Minister, even as he began to discern the meaning of the King's words.

"Sometime back, you have conveyed to me your intention to retire from your post. So, I not find a replacement for you. How is my selection?" asked the King, with a feeling of pride.

"Your choice is excellent, Your Majesty. But, I am wondering whether I possess the traits of the person you are going to appoint as my successor" said the Minister. unpretentiously. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 64
Being A Minister

Verse 632 (in Tamil):
vankaN kudi kAththal kaRRARidhal ALvinaiyOdu
aindhudan mANdadhu amaichchu.

Meaning:

A sense of determination in tune with the task, protecting the citizens, learning and sustained efforts -

a minister is one who possesses these five qualities.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'amaichcharudan oru nagarvalam' by the same author.) 

Verse 633
Verse 631

146. A Shadow From the Past

"How I wish that my elder brother had chosen some other place to conduct the marriage of his daughter!" remarked Sivamani.

"Why do you say so? Your brother is a person who commands good respect in the village. He is wealthy. He has a big mansion in the village. He has people around him, who would do things at his command. Why should he forego all these advantages and choose to conduct his daughter's marriage in another place?" asked his wife Santha.

"I had not been to my village for the past fifteen years. If I go there now to attend the marriage, people known to me will find fault with me for not visiting the village for such a long time."

"Should you be worried about it? Everyone knows that after my father passed away soon after our marriage, you have settled down at this place, in order to look after my father's business."

"That is true. But the villagers will still question me for having not visited my village even once, during these fifteen years."

"Yes. Even I have wondered why you didn't show any interest in visiting your native village all these years!" said Santha.

"There is no particular reason for this. Once I started looking after your father's business, I was unable to move out because my presence was always required here for the day-to-day running of the business. If you can't understand this, how are people in my village going to?" said Sivamani.

That incident had happened one year before Sivamani's marriage. His brother being a wealthy and influential person in the village, Sivamani was living a carefree life. Driven by the energy of his youth. he was roaming about the village in the company of hos friends, 

One day, he went to the house of Utharapathy, a resident of the village, to convey a message from Sivamani's brother. When Sivamani went there, Utharapathy was not home. His wife Susila was at home alone. Sivamani conveyed the message intended for Utharapathy to Susila and got up to leave. At that time, due to some impulse, Susila pulled Sivamani towards her and hugged him. Though stunned by this, Sivamani yielded to her desire.  

After that, Sivamani and Susila met quite a few times ensuring that nobody saw them together. Though both had the apprehension that they could be caught, neither did anything to end the relationship.

Eventually, the illicit relationship was sensed by someone in the village and through him the news began to spread. But no one dared to bring this to the knowledge of Sivamani's brother, out of the fear people had for him.

As soon as Sivamani came to know that his affair with Susila had become a talking point in some circles in the village, he stopped meeting Susila. But, even after ending is relationship with Susila, he was living in the constant fear of the information about his affair with Susila reaching the ears of either his brother or Utharapathy.

Once, when Sivamani was walking on a street in the village, he saw Utharapathy walking towards him from the opposite side, carrying a sickle in his hand. For a moment, Sivamani froze in fear, almost feeling sure that Utharapathy was going to cut off his head with the sickle.

But, after coming near him, Utharapathy passed him with a smile. Sivamani felt as if he was given a new lease of life. 

A person walking with a sickle in his hand is a common sight in village. Reflecting on the fact how such a common sight had created the fear of death in him, Sivamani cursed himself for having committed the wrong of having an affair with the wife of another man.

One day, Utharapathy committed suicide by hanging himself. His suicide was attributed to the insurmountable debt problem faced by him.

However, Sivamani had a lurking suspicion that Utharapathy could have committed suicide, driven by a sense of shame on coming to know of his wife's affair with Sivamani.

After a few months, Sivamani married Santha. With Santha's father passing away one month after the marriage, the responsibility of carrying on his business fell on Sivamani's shoulders. Sivamani shifted his residence to his father in law's place and took over the business. After that, Sivamani did not visit his native village.

'As pointed out by Santha, I have been avoiding visiting my native village. Now, I have to visit my village to attend the marriage of my brother's daughter!' reflected Sivamani.

Many people in the village exchanged greetings with Sivamani and conversed with him. He was not sure how many of them knew about his affair with Susila.

When Sivamani had a chance to be alone with his childhood friend Muthu, he asked Muthu, "How is Utharapaty's wife doing?'

"After the demise of her husband, she has seldom stepped out of her house. She has leased out her lands and been living on the income she gets from the lease. Why are you asking about her?" replied Muthu.

"Well. I remembered some people in the village gossiping that she had an affair with me" said Sivamani, reluctantly.

"Yes. I had also heard such a talk."

"Are they still talking about it?"

"In the village, such talks will always remain in the air. They may subside over time but will never go away. They will be carried from one generation to another."

"Do you believe it to be true?"

"Don't I know about you?" replied Muthu.

Sivamani was not sure what Muthu's reply meant.

"Why talk about it now?" asked Muthu, apparently intending to move away from that topic.

But, he continued to talk about Utharapathy's family.

"You know that Utharapathy had a son. He has grown big. He has done his bachelor's degree from the college near our town. He told me that he wanted to meet you."

"Why does he want to meet me?" asked Sivamani, shocked by Muthu's words.

'Has he known the truth? As it happens in films, is he going to take revenge on me?'

Questions like these surfaced in Sivamani's mind.

"He wants to start a small business. It seems someone in the village advised him to seek your advice, since you have experience in running a business."

Sivamani felt as if his breath had stopped for a while and got revived.

'How long am I going to live in regret, shame and the fear of sin and vengeance for a wrong I had committed many years back?'

Sivamani had no answer to this question.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 146 (In Tamil)

pagai pAvam achcham pazhi ena nAngum
igavAvAm il iRappAn kaN.

Meaning:

Animosity, sin, fear, disgrace; these four will never leave a person who had a liaison with another man's wife.

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

Verse 147
Verse 145

631. The People's Army

"Minister! You have not taken any steps to put down the agitation that has been taking place in the region, near our western border" the King told the Minister, in an accusing tone. 

"Your Majesty! The people in that area are angry with the government. I have been thinking of ways to pacify them. I have been discussing the issue with the officials in that region. I will soon submit a plan of action for your approval" said the Minister.

"Why are you trying to pacify the people, instead of sending the troops to that place and quelling the agitation?"

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. It is a region adjoining our border. Our enemy country has been waiting for an opportunity to annex that region. If we try to put down the protests of the people using force, people may become alienated from us and fall a prey to the schemes of our enemy. Therefore, we should approach the issue carefully, by empathizing with the people" 

"Why are those people agitating? Have we not provided them adequate facilities?"

"Those people have not been protesting seeking facilities. To check the infiltration of people from our enemy country in that region, our army has implemented certain stringent measures. The army arrests people on suspicion, takes them to the army camp and interrogates them. In this process, some innocent people are also being subjected to harsh treatment. The people have been mainly agitating against the highhanded measures of the army."

"What can we do about? Unless the army follows stringent measures, how can it identify the infiltrators and punish them or expel them?"

"I have discussed the problem with the army officers in that place and devised a plan. I planned to submit this to you for your approval, after finalizing the details. Now that we are discussing this issue, I will outline the plan to you.

"The plan involves creating a people's army, comprising people living in that region since long. The members of the people's army will operate in secrecy, identify the infiltrators and report them to the army. The army will take the infiltrators into custody secretly and interrogate them. Since the members of the people's army will be citizens living in a particular place for a long time, they will be able to identify the strangers trying to infiltrate their places. That way, the chances of innocent people getting arrested on suspicion will be minimized. By arresting and interrogating the infiltrators, the army will also be able to extract information from the infiltrators about the plans of the enemy country and thwart those plans and thereby protect our border regions."

"This appears to be a good idea. Why are you delaying the implementation of the plan?" asked the King.

"Your Majesty! The people's army is a tool to resolve the issue of infiltration. We are still working out the details of implementing the plan, by discussing the with our army chief about the modalities of implementing the plan, after identifying the challenges in implementing it and formulating the steps to implement it.

"First, we need to give some time for the people's anger to subside. We should reduce the army's operations for a while. We should then identify the people who could be included in the people's army, talk to them discretely and after getting satisfied about their suitability and inclination, tell them about the plan and enroll them. With the help of those recruited, we could enroll more people, following the same screening process.

"We should exercise extraordinary care to ensure that no infiltrator gets recruited in the people's army, inadvertently. After recruiting the people, we should keep a secret watch over them for some time through our intelligence men, to satisfy ourselves about the integrity of the recruits. Only if we carry out these steps carefully, will the plan succeed."

"Very well, Minister. As outlined by you, work out the plan in detail and implement it carefully. I am now giving you the permission to do whatever is required to execute this plan" said the King.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 64
Being A Minister

Verse 631 (in Tamil):
karuviyum kAlamum seygaiyum seyyum
aruvinaiyum mANdadhu amaichchu.

Meaning:

A minister is one who can envisage a great deed,

the resources and time entailed, and the means to execute the deed.

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

Verse 632
Verse 630

630. A Miserable Life

"I consider only Madhavan as my competitor. I am not concerned about others" said Vivek.

"Twenty of us have joined this company as management trainees in this batch. Why do you consider only Madhavan as your competitor?" asked Murthy, another trainee.

"A competitor is a rival. 'Rival' also means 'enemy.' Vivek seems to view Madhavan both as a rival and as an enemy" commented Madhu, another trainee.

"Why do you have such an antagonism towards Madhavan?" Mohan, another trainee asked Vivek.

Vivek, who was quietly listening to the observations of his co-trainees, did not respond. 

Born in a wealthy family, Vivek had the advantage of studying in educational institutions of repute and having access to facilities like tuition, coaching etc, which helped him complete his education with high scores.

Vivek was one of the twenty people selected as management trainees by the company through a vigorous selection process, from hundreds of people who had applied for the position, .

Vivek made no secret of his conviction that he was the best among the twenty candidates selected as management trainees. Several among the twenty people in the batch, swayed by Vivek's wealthy status and the impressive personality built up by him, with the help of the high level education and training he had and his self-confidence resulting from his feeling of superiority, acted as if they had accepted him the best in the group of twenty.  

For some reason, Vivek developed an antagonism towards Madhavan, one of his fellow trainees, from the time he had first met Madhavan. 

Madhavan hailed from a poor, socially backward family. He had his education in government schools. He excelled in his learning through sheer hard work. 

After completing his college education in a government college, Madhavan applied for the job of a management trainee in the company and got selected.

Since the training program was residential, the trainees had the opportunity to get acquainted with one another, when they were in the hostel every day, after the training sessions were over

After coming to know about Madhavan's background, Vivek looked down upon him. He even developed an antagonism towards Madhavan, after observing during the training that despite his disadvantageous background, Madhavan excelled in knowledge and skills. 

One day, after the dinner, the trainees sat together in the common room of the hostel for a chat. One by one, each of them shared their experiences about their childhood days and the interesting experiences they had had in their school and the college.

Madhavan was listening to the narrations with a smile .

When Madhavan's turn came, Vivek announced mockingly, "Now, Mr. Madhavan will share his experiences starting from his childhood."

Madhavan began to narrate his life's events,.

Madhavan talked about his life in a hut situated near a drainage canal which constantly released a stinking odour, in unhygienic surroundings, where he ha lived with his parents and four siblings. 

He spoke about the hunger and malnutrition suffered by his family and how he and his siblings were sent to school only because meal was served to the students free of cost in the school, about the chronic illness of his mother resulting in her getting hospitaized every now and then and about the insults and humiliations suffered by him in addition to the deprivations suffered by him.

He spoke about his misfortunes and sufferings with a smiling face, as if he was telling a story.

"How do you manage to be so cheerful while narrating your harrowing experiences?" asked Madhu, expressing his astonishment.

"I don't know. I was always been thinking that I was living a happy life in the company of my parents and siblings. During the times we were starving, with no food to eat, we suffered the pangs of hunger. But, when we had something to eat, we would rejoice. We would even celebrate that experience. My parents didn't feel depressed about being poor. They were always cheerful and were often talking about the good things we had in life. Maybe because I had been witnessing my parents being cheerful and happy even during trying times, I also learnt to be happy, by not focusing my mind on my problems" said Madhavan

Vivek got up from his seat, went near Madhavan and embraced him. "You are great" he said, with genuine admiration. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 630 (in Tamil):
innAmai inbam enak koLin Agum than
onnAr vizhaiyum siRappu.

Meaning:

If one accepts adversities as pleasures,

his adversaries too will acclaim him.

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

Verse 631
Verse 629

629. A Lesson From Tulsi Leaves

"How true are Avvaiyar's* lines 'Poverty is cruel. Poverty during the younger age is still more cruel!'" I exclaimed.

"Is it so?" asked my friend Alagesan.

"What do you know about poverty? You are a person who can afford to use rose water for taking bath and milk to gargle your mouth!" I retorted. 

"But I take bath in cold water. If I have to gargle, I will use salt water. I eat rice and gravy like you do. My lunch box contains idli covered with a paste of chilli powder and oil, just as your lunch box does!" said Alagesan, laughing.

"You can talk lightly about life. Only if you had suffered from the pangs of poverty like I had, you would have realized the agony poverty would cause. As a boy, I have watched my father and mother fight over a few pennies. Can you believe it?"

"My parents also used to fight over several things."

"What did they fight about - whether to drive to the beach or to go to a movie in the car?" I asked sarcastically. 

Alagesan was not provoked by my outbursts. He laughed, as if he enjoyed my humour.

Though I often prided myself about having scored over Alagesan in the sparing contest, deep in my heart, I realized that I had been rhetorical, rather than reasonable.

Alagesan and I were classmates in our school. Alagesan hailed from a family for whom money would never be an issue. In contrast, our family had been struggling to meet both ends meet. 

For some reason, a strong bond of friendship had developed between Alagesan and me.

Even though I have always considered Alagesan my friend, I would, now and then vent out my grudge against him that sprouted out of my jealousy, resulting from my comparing the economic status of both of us. 

I should have discerned even at that time that though Alagesan, having been born in a wealthy family, was in a position to enjoy the good things of life, he was more interested in enjoying the company of friends like me than in enjoying the comforts he could get by spending money. But, the jealousy that was underlying in the deep layers of my mind had blinded me to his sense of detachment.

His magnanimity in not getting hurt by my snide remarks, combined with his geniality and the affection he had for me, had gradually pushed out my feelings of jealousy and made me reciprocate his geniality and friendliness.

They say that time is a great leveler. It acted as one in our lives.

After competing my studies, I landed a plum job, earned well and attained a fairly high financial status, in a few years.

The reverse happened to Alagesan. Even before Alagesan could complete his studies, his father suffered a heavy loss in his business. Within a short period, the wealthy family was reduced to a lower middle class family.

Alagesan could not get a good job. He was sticking on to a mediocre job he was able to get and was just surviving.

The friendship between Alagesan and me remained as strong as it was during our school days.

I felt a sense of pride and satisfaction in continuing to be a close friend of Alagesan, even after the steep fall in his economic status, by contrasting my jealousy towards him, when he was wealthy.

"Don't you feel frustrated by comparing your present position to the wealthy state you were in during your younger days?" I asked him. 

"I have no such feelings" said Alagesan. "I have always had the attitude of accepting what comes to me. You know that I go to the temple every day. In the temple, they will offer Tulsi leaves as prasadam**. Some days, the Tulsi leaves will be fresh and green. When I munch the leaves, I will experience a stimulating taste. But, some other days, the Tulsi leaves would be dry. They would taste bitter. But, I would always accept the Tulsi leaves as God's offering, munch the leaves and eat them, not minding the bitter taste. I have been adopting a similar attitude to the experiences that happen to me in my life. My mother had taught me this lesson in my childhood. I think that that lesson is deeply ingrained in my mind. That may be the reason why I have been able to accept misfortunes with equanimity."

Reflecting that I had been jealous of a person with such a noble attitude, I felt ashamed.

* Avvaiyar - A female Tamil poet

** prasadam - a food item offered to the idol in Hindu temples, then distributed to the devotees as a divine offering.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 629 (in Tamil):
inbaththuL inbam vizhaiyAdhAn thunbaththuL
thunbam uRudhal ilan.

Meaning:

He who does not yearn for pleasure in joyous times, will not

be distressed in times of sorrow.

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

Verse 630
Verse 628

628. When the House Was Taken away

When Paranthaman was studying in the college, his friends used to call him a monk.

"You don't smoke or drink. That is fine. But won't you even come for a movie?" his friend Annamalai asked him.

"Only last week we saw a movie" replied Paranthaman.

"We have been thinking that it has been a week since we watched a movie. But you say only a week has passed since we went to a movie! Will you get married or will you remain a celebate?" taunted another friend.

Paranthaman did get married.

In the early days of marriage, Paranthaman's wife Sarasu was a little concerned that her husband was acting like a monk. 

But, as time passed, Sarasu realized that her husband was not a monk but a person who observed restraint in enjoying life's pleasures and that he was a man who didn't harbour desires for luxuries.

However, Paranthaman fulfilled her wants and desires. Sarasu was happy.

"This house is your ancestral property. But, they are taking it away from you. Are you not agitated about this atrocious decision?" Sarasu asked Paranthaman.

"My father got this property as an ancestral property. But my father's uncle had filed a suit in the court claiming that the title to the property should have legally been passed on to him, since my father's father was adopted by another person. After many years of litigation, the judgement has come in favour of my father's uncle. There is nothing we can do about it" said Paranthaman. 

"Where can we go now? Can we afford to take a house of this size for rent? How are we going to find the money for our children's education, after spending a substantial portion of your salary towards the house rent?" asked Sarasu, feeling depressed.

"We enjoyed the ownership of this house all these years. Now that it has gone out of our hands, we need to leave this house. Paying rent and meeting other expenses from my salary is going to be a challenge. But we have to accept the reality and live our life, doing what we can" said Paranthaman, in an unperturbed tone.

'You will be able to accept this setback calmly, but I won't' thought Sarasu. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 628 (in Tamil):
inbam vizhaiyAn idumbai iyalbenbAn
thunbam uRudhal ilan.

Meaning:

He who doesn't yearn for pleasures and accepts adversities as normal happenings will never be distressed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kai vittup pOna vIdu' by the same author.) 

Verse 629
Verse 627

627. What my Father Learnt From My Mother

My mother has not been well. She has been bed-written for the past two years, lying in the hospital bed for some days intermittently and in a bed at our home, during the other days.

My has been sitting near my mother most of the time. Both would be conversing for a long time. I wondered what they talked about for such lengths of time.

When I am at home with my wife Charu, we won't have matters to talk about for more than a few minutes. Even during those few minutes, we would be talking about problems like some home appliance needing repairs, the air-conditioner not giving enough cooling, issues relating to our children's school education etc.

We would feel gratified that we didn't have problems needing discussion for more than a few minutes.

"How is your health?" I asked my mother.

My mother nodded her head, trying to give me a positive signal, but her nod only signaled her physical weakness.

"As always" said my father. "Sometimes, she is calm. Some other times, she is suffering from pain."

I signaled to my father to follow me. We both came out of the room and seated ourselves in the living room.

"Dad! At a time mom is suffering from pain, you have been sitting near her and talking to her. Will it not give her more strain?" I asked my father.

"My sitting near her and talking to her makes her happy. In fact, it gives her some relief!" replied my father.

"It is amazing to me how mom has been conversing with you cheerfully, while she is under so much pain!"

"Your mother has always been that way. I am a person who would be perturbed even by a small obstacle or even an inconvenience. It was your mother who would speak to me in an encouraging way and uplift my spirits. If someone in our family fell sick, I would start worrying. But, your mother would tell me, 'the human body is bound to suffer some illness now and then. Don't appliances like TV and Mixer malfunction? Sometimes, they can be fixed with some minor repairing and some other times, they would need an intense repairing. Some times, they could not be repaired at all and have to be discarded' and laugh. 

"Whenever I encountered problems in my job or in the family or faced financial problems, she would counsel me in a similar way. 'When you commute to your office every day in your scooter, are you able to ride non-stop? Are you not stopped at different places by traffic signals? Sometimes, the tyre gets punctured or the vehicle breaks down. Don't you leave the vehicle there, go by bus or autorickshaw, get the scooter repaired and then resume using it? We should accept things that normally happen to us in life.' This is the kind of advice she would give me.

"In the beginning, I was irritated by her words. I would hit back saying, 'it is easy for you to sit at home and advise me. Only the person who faces a problem will understand the pain!'

"But, over the years, I began to realize the truth of her words and changed my attitude gradually. After that, I found that facing and overcoming problems was easier. If your mother is able to maintain her cheerful disposition in spite of the torment she has been suffering because of the health issues, it is due to her attitude that being challenged by problems is a normal thing in our lives."

My mother has spoken to me many times the way she had, to my father. But, I didn't ponder over her words. Only after hearing my father say how my mother's advice had helped him, I began to understand the importance of the life lessons my mother tried to inculcate in me.  

"I have to learn a lot from mom, dad. Hereafter, I will also sit near mother for sometime every day and listen to her words of wisdom" I told my father.

"Start doing it immediately. I think you are not left with much time" said my father.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 627 (in Tamil):
ilakkam udambu idumbaikku enRu kalakkaththaik
kaiyARAk koLLAdhAm mEL.

Meaning:

Knowing that the human body is ever a target for afflictions,

the wise will not be distressed by distress.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ammAvin udal nilai' by the same author.) 

Verse 628
Verse 626