478. Owning A House

Soon after his marriage, Arjunan, with his newly wed wife Lakshmi, went to his friend Kathiravan's house, accepting Kathiravan's invitation for dinner,

After returning home from Kathiravan's house, Lakshmi asked Arjunan, "Your friend's house is spacious and luxurious. Is it his own house?"

"No. It is a rented house" replied Arjunan.

"The rent should be quite high. There are only two of them. Why have they rented such a big house, paying a large sum as rent?"

"Kathiravan has a good job. He is getting a handsome salary. So, he can afford to pay such a high rent."

"You two have the same educational quallification, don't you?" asked Lakshmi.

"Yes. But he got a well-paying job in a big company. I was able to get only a job with an average salary. Are you unhappy about this?" asked Arjunan.

"Not at all. I was just being curious. My mother would often say that wisdom lies in running the family within one's income and saving money for the future. I don't have the habit of making comparisons. Everyone's life is different" said Laksmi, smiling.

Arjunan was not sure whether his wife really had such a mature outlook or she was trying to show that she was not upset by the contrast between their economic status and that of Kathiravan. 

"Now that Lakshmi* has come into my life, I will get all the riches" he said, by way of making her feel good.

Thirty years had passed. Arjunan could not rise up much in his career ladder. His attempts to get a better job did not bear fruit.

The firm he worked for was not very big. His salary didn't see any dramatic rise. His economic status went up only marginally from the not so impressive annual increments, upward adjustments in salary due to inflation and the small rises he got on account of a few promotions he received.

Kathiravan and his wife Tara had come to Arjunan's house for lunch.

After the lunch, Arjunan and Kathiravan retired to the room upstairs. The ladies went to the bedroom situated on the ground floor.

"When did you construct the upper floor? It was not there, when I came here the last time" asked Kathiravan.

"About six months back. I constructed this house little by little, the way children build a toy house joining the blocks in the building set. I purchased this land many years back for a small price. I purchased this land only because it was available at a price affordable by me. At that time, this area had not begun to develop. There was no bus service too. Now you can see how developed this area is. A few years after buying this land, I constructed a small house and then we moved into it. After a few years, I constructed another room on the ground floor. I was able to construct the upper floor only recently. Both my son and daughter have been married and they have been living in other places. I constructed this room so that they could stay in this room, when they visit us. It is also useful as a retiring room, during the times friends like you and other guests visit us" said Arjunan.

"You have acted wisely. Look at me. I moved from place to place on getting promotions, changing jobs etc. Wherever I worked, I lived in a rented house. I could have bought a house at some place. As long as I was working, I had lived in big houses that had comfort and luxury. Now, after my retirement, I don't have a house to live. Considering the current prices, I can't afford to buy a house now. Except for performing the marriage of my only daughter, I have not done anything worthwhile with the money I had earned all these years. Though I held high positions in big companies and received a good salary, I don't have a house of my own. I earned a lot of money, but I don't know where all the money had gone. Because I had been spending money liberally and living a life of luxury, I failed to notice where my money went and for what purpose. It is going to be a challenge for me to live the rest of our life, paying house rent and meeting other expenses with the limited income I could get by investing the savings I have" said Kathiravan, with a sigh.

*Lakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of wealth

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 478 (in Tamil):

AgARu aLavittidhu Ayinum kEdillai
pOgARu agalAk kadai.

Meaning:

Even if your sources of revenue are limited, if your expenses are not high, there will be no harm.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vasadhiyAna vAzhkkai' the same author.)

Verse 479
Verse 477

1122. The Spiritual Experience of A Man in Love

"What is this? You have applied kunkum* on your forehead, like a woman!"

"Why? Even pious men wear kunkum on their foreheads!"

"Oh! So, you have become a pious person now!"

"Yes. And you are responsible for this!"

"Me? I was not in town for the past few days. We have not met for nearly a week. How could I have been responsible for your becoming a pious person?"

"Your having been out of station for the past few days was the reason for my turning to religion and spirituality. I will tell you how. For the first two days since you had left this place, I was roaming in the streets, feeling frustrated that I was unable to be with you. While walking near a temple, I heard a part of the speech of a person giving a spiritual discourse in the temple. I heard him mention the word 'love.' That made me curious to listen to the discourse. So, I went inside the temple, sat there and listened to the discourse."

"I am sure you would have been disappointed. In the religious narratives, some people use the word 'love' to refer to devotion to God. Without knowing this, you got lured and felt disappointed, no doubt!"

"Obviously, you are better informed than me. But, I was not totally disappointed."

"Yes, how can you accept that you were disappointed because of your misunderstanding the contextual meaning of the word 'love?' So, to justify your attending a religious discourse, you have turned yourself into a pious man. Am I right?"

"It is true that having gone to the discourse lured by the word 'love,' I was initially disappointed hearing the speaker talk about devotion to God. But after hearing him narrate how Azhwars and Nayanmars**, who had immersed themselves in their devotion to God, considered themselves as God's lover, I thought that when devotees considered love divine, I, a person in love, should respect devotion. That's why I started wearing the kunkum."

"Your story is quite interesting."

"The story is not yet complete. I have still not told you one important thing I have learnt from the spiritual discourse."

"What is that?"

"Because the Vaishnavite saints called Azhwars had understood that we, the human beings, are the body of God, who is our life force or soul, they didn't want to be separated from God even for a second and desired to reunite with God immediately. The body can't exist without the soul inside it, can it?"

"Okay. So?"

"I realized that I can't be separated from you even for a second, because I am the body and you are the soul, the life force that keeps the body alive!"

*kunkum - a small saffron colour mark Hindu women place on their foreheads.

** Azhwars and Nayanmars were Vaishnavite and Saivite saints, respectively, who lived in Tamilnadu, known for their deep devotion to God and the hymns written by them in praise of God.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1122 (in Tamil):
udambodu uyiridai enna maRRanna
madandhaiyodu emmidai natpu.

Meaning:

My relationship with this girl is like the relationship between the body and the soul.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'oru kAdhalanin AnmIga anubavam' by the same author.)

Verse 1123
Verse 1121

477. Cheque Book

"Sir! Last year, our turnover had fallen. Profit had also decreased."

"Yes."

"This year too..."

"This year too, the turnover is going down. Though you are the one who looks after the accounts, I know the state of our affairs of our firm!" said Purushothaman, in a tone that showed his exasperation.

Purushothaman was the Proprietor of that small firm and Kannan, the Accountant.

"Sir! You have a noble heart. In keeping with your philanthropic nature, you donate money to several good causes. That is commendable, no doubt. But, when our finances are not in a good shape, should you not cut down the donations?" said Kannan, reluctantly.

"Mr. Kannan! We cannot reduce any item of expenditure like rent, electricity etc. Nor can we reduce the salaries payable to our employees. Should we cut down only the donations we give?"

"Sir! Please don't mistake me. As the Accountant, I deem it my duty to tell you this. As you have said, we can't cut down any of our expenses, since they are not under our control. But deciding the quantum of donations is within our - your - control. You have been giving donations very liberally for certain causes. When our income was high, we were able to do so. But, when our income has come down, should we not reduce the quantum of donations we give? Nowadays, we face a cash crunch quite often. We are forced to delay the payments due to our suppliers. Some of the suppliers have called me up and expressed their concern about the payments getting delayed."

Kannan looked at his Proprietor, hoping that he would understand the situation.

After thinking for a minute or two, Purushothaman said, "We will continue to give donations only to those whom we have already committed. We will not make any new commitments. Is it ok?" smiling at Kannan, in a friendly way.

Kannan felt relieved that his Proprietor had at least agreed to not consider new requests for donations

However, Purushothaman continued to give donations to some new people and organizations that approached him.

After issuing cheques, Purushothaman would write the details in the counterfoil and send the cheque book with the counterfoils to Kannan. Arranging funds to clear those cheques was a challenge to Kannan.

"Sir! Some untoward incident has happened" said Kannan.

"What has happened?" asked Purushothaman, apprehensively.

"As you know, our funds position has been tight for the past few weeks. On several occasions, I had to plead with the bank manger, requesting him to clear a cheque, when there was no sufficient balance in our bank account. Yesterday, the bank returned the cheque we had issued to one of our suppliers. Normally, the bank manager will call me and tell me that he is going to return a cheque and after I plead with him, will pass the cheque, grudgingly. But since this has been happening repeatedly, this time, the bank has returned the cheque, without calling me and informing me. I came to know of this only after the supplier, upset by the cheque getting returned, called me up and expressed his anguish, pointing out that such a thing had never happened before. I pacified him saying that it had happened by mistake and that it won't happen again."

"Oh, how embarrassing! Such an event should never occur again" said Purushothaman.

After reflecting for a moment, Purushothaman opened his drawer, pulled out the cheque book and gave it to Kannan.

"Let the cheque book remain with you. If I want to issue a cheque to someone, I will tell you. you can write the cheque and I will sign it. If a cheque can't be issued due to our financial position, just say so. I will accept your judgement" said Purushothaman.

Kannan hoped that his employer would follow the system outlined by him. What else can Kannan, the Accountant do?

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 477 (in Tamil):

ARRin aRavaRindhu Iga adhu poruL
pORRi vazhangu neRi.

Meaning:

Let your charity be according to the measure of your wealth. That is the way to utilize and protect your wealth 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'Cheque Book' the same author.)

Verse 478
Verse 476

111. Yudhishtira's Strategy

All arrangements had been completed for performing the Rajasuya Yajna*. Various kinds of people were heading towards the site of the ritual, some to participate in the ritual and others to witness it.

Yudhishtira received sages like Vyasa who would be conducting the rituals for the yajna and seated them at the appropriate places in the site of the yajna.

He then called his brothers and told them, "Bhishma, Drona, Vidhura, Duryodhana and his brothers and kings of various countries will be arriving soon. Arjuna should receive the kings, have them take food and get them seated in the site of the yajna."

Arjuna nodded his head in acceptance of his elder brother's command.

"Bhima! Your job is to receive Duryodhana and his brothers."

"Me?" exclaimed Bhima, in protest.

"Yes. After getting them take food, you should hand over the treasury to Duryodhana and request him to look after the task of doing charity by distributing gifts and giving donations to people attending the yagna" said Yudhishtira.

"Duryodhana always thinks about harming us. Why should we give this responsibility to him?" asked Arjuna.

"There is a reason for my doing this" said Yudhishtira, tersely. "I will take the responsibility of receiving Bhishma, Drona, Vidhura and our other relatives" he continued.

"What are the tasks assigned to Sahadevan and me?" asked Nakulan.

"You two should be in the dining hall and take care of the diners, ensuring that every one gets sumptuous food. In the matter of serving food, there should be no discrimination. Every one sitting in the dining hall should be considered an honourable guest and treated equally."

The yajna had got over and all the guests had left.

That night, the Pandava brothers were conversing among themselves.

"The yajna was performed well" said Yudhishtira, with satisfaction.

"The arrangements you had made ensured that the yajna was performed well" said Sahadevan, the youngest of the Pandava brothers.

"Being in the dining hall, supervising the serving of the food and ensuring that all the guests had a sumptuous meal gave us a lot of satisfaction" said Nakula.

"The kings were very happy about my taking good care of them" said Arjuna.

"Bhishma, Drona, Vidhura, Kripa and others were much satisfied with our hospitality" said Yudhishtira

There was silence for a while.

"You don't have anything to say, Bhima?" Yudhishtira asked Bhima.

"What is there for me to say? Duryodhana was very happy. Won't he be, at our giving him an opportunity to empty our treasury? He liberally gave away gold coins and other gifts to all those who attended the yajna and emptied our treasury" said Bhima, feeling annoyed.

"Doing charity has more value than performing a yajna. If one of us had been in charge of the treasury, we, in our apprehension that our treasury shouldn't be emptied, would have distributed the treasure to the visitors somewhat stingily. But Duryodhana, with the intention of emptying our treasury, distributed the treasure liberally. Though he did this with a bad intention, we will get the benefit of the charity done by him for us. It is with this objective that I asked you to entrust the responsibility of giving charity to Duryodhana" said Yudhishtira.

"Dear elder brother, our teacher Drona had taught us the art of building strategies to fight a war. But you had built up a strategy for performing this yajna and executed it efficiently. Can you explain your strategy in detail?" asked Sahadeva.

"Sahadeva! We all know that you, though the youngest, are the wisest among the five of us. Therefore, you are aware of the components of my strategy. But out of humility, you are asking me to explain the strategy! I will. We can divide the guests that attended today's yajna into three categories - well-wishers, enemies and neutral people. Our relatives and teachers belong to the first category. It would have been appropriate, only if I, the eldest of us, received them. The neutral people comprise the kings of various countries. Though we had won many of them in a war, since they know that winning other kings in a battle is a prerequisite for performing the Rajasuya Yajna, they wouldn't have hostility towards us for defeating them in a war. They won't be friendly with us either. So, we should make an attempt to make them our friends. I thought if Arjuna, who played the major part in the war from our side, received the kings and extended our hospitality to them, they would be pleased. Duryodhana and his brothers belong to the third category - the enemies. Though we don't consider them enemies, they are hostile towards us. However, when they come here at our invitation, as our guests, they should be treated with the respect due to them. They should also feel honoured. That is why I gave Duryodhana the responsibility of doing the charity on our behalf, by entrusting our treasury to him. Since he was carrying out the responsibility given to him, his mind was diverted from planning to harm us. His liberality in giving charity has also turned out to be a blessing to us."

"Dear brother! You are not just elder to me in age. You are superior to me in wisdom too. Who else knows better than you about being righteous?" said Duryodhana.

* Rajasuya Yagna was a religious ritual performed by Hindu kings of ancient India, after declaring themselves as emperors.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 12
Neutrality

Verse 111 (In Tamil)

thagudhi enavonRu nanRE pagudhiyAl
pARpattu ozhugap peRin.

Meaning:

Treating different categories people like friends, foes and strangers

appropriate to their status is considered neutrality.

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

Verse 112
Verse 110

476. Dealing With A Traitor

"A person who was employed by me starts the same line of business as mine, becomes my competitor and lures my customers! How treacherous! When I think of Sankaran's betrayal..." lamented Paramasivam. 

"You treated him as a son and entrusted him with the responsibility of managing the business. Armed with the authority given by you and emboldened by your support to his actions, he treated all of us with disrespect and indignity. Now, he has betrayed you and become your competitor" said Manickam, a senior employee of Paramasivam's firm.

Paramasivam sensed the grievance behind Manickam's words over Paramasivam's giving importance to a young newcomer and undermining the position of senior employees like him in the firm.

"Placing excessive trust on him was my mistake, no doubt. But he has underestimated my power and influence. I will drive him out of business within three months" said Paramasivam.

Paramasivam couldn't drive Sankaran out of business in three months, but he did it in six months.

Using business strategies, his wide circle of contacts and his money power, Paramasivam created problems for Sankaran making him face setbacks in his business and suffer losses. Eventually, Sankaran was forced to wind up his business.

Paramasivam was able to overcome the initial setbacks and financial losses caused by Sankaran's sabotage, in about a year. He brought his business to a stronger position than it was earlier.

After a few months, Manickam told Paramasivam, "Sir! Sankaran has started a new line of business."

"Yes, I heard" said Paramasivam.

"You know about this already!" said Manickam, surprised. "Even after you have clipped his wings, he is rising again. We should ensure that he winds up this business also" he added.

"Manickam! Sankaran struck against me. I retaliated and taught him a lesson. If he does some other business, why should I be concerned about it?" said Paramasivam.

"Sir! He betrayed you and tried to sabotage your business. Can he be allowed to get away with it?"

"Manickam! When someone attacks us, we should repulse the attack, using our entire strength and mobilizing all our resources. But if we keep chasing that person, even after repulsing his attack, we will end up causing harm to ourselves. History is rife with stories of kings, who, intending to demonstrate their power and strength, went to war with other kings for no justifiable reason and ended up destroying themselves. I will never venture into such self-destructive activities" said Paramasivam, firmly.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 476 (in Tamil):

nunik kombar ERinAr ahdhu iRandhu Ukkin
uyirkku iRudhi Agi vidum.

Meaning:

If a person climbing up to the top branch of a tree attempts to climb further up, it will lead to his destruction.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'engitta mOdhAdhE' the same author.)

Verse 477
Verse 475

1121. What made Suganthi Angry?

"In the mythological work 'Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam,' there is a story. The Pandya king had a doubt whether women's hair had a natural fragrance. So, he announced a contest..." Sundar began to narrate.

"Stop it, buddy! You are narrating this story as if this is something new. This story had become popular, when it was featured in the film 'Thiruvilaiyadal,' with actor Nagesh playing the character Dharumi and making the story viral through his brilliant performance. There won't be a single Tamil-knowing person who doesn't know this story!" said his friend Murthy, interrupting him.

"Every one will remember Nagesh's performance, but not many may remember the story."

"But, why are you mentioning this story now?" asked another friend Ramesh.

"I have a doubt. We three have our lovers. So, answer this question. Do women's lips have a natural sweetness?"

"Of course, they have. Do you think that women apply honey on their lips?" asked Murthy.

Ramesh didn't say anything.

"What is your opinion?" Sundar asked Ramesh.

"My answer is: women's lips don't have any natural sweetness" said Ramesh.

"Hey! If your lover Suganthi comes to know of what you have said, she won't spare you!" said Murthy.

"We three are talking among ourselves in a lighter vein. Who will tell Sugandhi about this?" said Sundar.

But, someone had told Suganthi about this! Ramesh surmised that one of his two friends would have told his lover about this and she, in turn, would have told Suganthi.

"Suganthi! We friends had a casual conversation among us and we said things in a lighter vein. Why do you get upset about this?"

"Why should you say such a thing? What did you imply by this? Hereafter, don't come to see me!" said Suganthi, angrily.

"Oh! Don't say like that. What will I do, if you impose such a ban on me?"

"Why did you make such a statement?"

"Sundar asked me whether the lips of women have a natural sweetness. I said no. I didn't say that your lips don't have sweetness."

"What does this mean?"

"Let us take an example. One person is born rich. Another person is not born rich, but becomes wealthy by his own efforts. Of the two, who is superior?"

"I will say that the one who became wealthy by his own efforts is superior. But what has this example got to do with the nonsense you uttered" said Suganthi, her anger still not showing any sign of subsiding.

"What I said was not nonsensical, but factual. The lips of women don't have a natural sweetness. But your lips have sweetness. You have earned it!"

"I have earned it! How?"

"It is the sweetness of the words coming from your mouth that makes the saliva oozing out from your teeth sweet. By using harsh words against me, don't block the flow of sweetness from your mouth!" said Ramesh, wondering how she would take his explanation.

Suganthi laughed spontaneously and said, "You are being very clever!"

She came close to him, bringing her lips close to his.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1121 (in Tamil):
pAlodu thEn kalandhaRRE paNi mozhi
vAl eyiRu URiya nIr.

Meaning:

The saliva coming out of the clean teeth of this girl of sweet words is like the taste of honey mixed with milk.

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

Verse 1122
Verse 1120 

475. No Fatigue For Me!

"You seem to be more busy after retirement than you were when you were working!" said Sundaresan.

"It is true. Because I am engaging myself in the activities I enjoy doing, I don't feel bored or tired" said Raju.

"What kind of activities are you engaged in?"

"I enjoy gardening. So, I bought this house with a garden, located in the outskirts of the city. I grow the plants I like and maintain them. The garden area is small. So, I have set up a garden on the terrace too. I am also interested in social service. I go to an old age home now and then and render whatever service I can."

"What kind of services?"

"Maintaining accounts, getting things from shops, taking the physically weak inmates for a walk by holding their hands and other kinds of help they need."

"Remarkable! I am of the same age as you. But I can't do these kinds of jobs, exerting my body" said Sundaresan.

"When we do the activities we enjoy doing, there will be a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. Therefore, we won't feel any fatigue" said Raju.

After Sundaresan had left, Raju's wife Uma told him, "Your friend says only what I have been telling you repeatedly. When you were working, on holidays, you would rest for the whole day. Whenever you were taking me and our children out, you would feel fatigued. But, nowadays, you go out even on festival days for doing service at some place or other. Even during the time you are at home, you are working in the garden, unmindful of the scorching sun. Will your body withstand all this strain?"

"My answer to you is the same as the one I gave Sundaresan. If we do something we enjoy doing, how can there be fatigue or tiredness?" said Raju, smiling with pride.

"I don't know" said Uma, feeling tired of talking to her husband on this repeatedly.

Uma received a phone call from the organization, where Raju was rendering services. The caller told Uma that Raju suddenly complained of chest pain and that he was taken to a nearby hospital.

Uma rushed to the hospital.

Raju was lying on the hospital bed. Medicine was being injected from a bottle hung on the top of the cot, through a needle pierced into his wrist.

"Your husband had a heart attack. Don't worry. It is only mild. He will have to be in the hospital for a couple of days. After he is discharged, he has to take complete rest. Take care" the Doctor told Uma.

Uma looked at her husband with an expression of concern and anger, as if telling him, 'Did I not tell you repeatedly not to strain yourself too much?'

Raju turned his face away from her, feeling guilty and embarrassed about having not listened to her advice to restrain himself from getting strained too much.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 48
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 475 (in Tamil):

pIli pey sAgAdum achchiRum appaNdam
sAla miguththup peyin.

Meaning:

Even a cart loaded with peacock feathers will have its axis broken, if it is overloaded with the feathers.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sOrvA enakkA?' the same author.)

Verse 476
Verse 474