DEIVATHIN KURAL # 59 (Vol #4) Dated 20 Aug 2010.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 59 (Vol #4) Dated 20 Aug 2010.

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para on page number 328 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
{Note: In these talks, PeriyavaaL is talking about Educational Institutions of yore, which were bigger than a single Guru Kulam, of the size of a School or College or even University, with a number of teachers, curriculums and syllabuses. These were called variously as Gatika or Gatikai or Katika or even Kadigai. As per English grammer rules, a pronoun can be spelt differently based on the pronunciation. In these translations, I am sticking to Gatika and Gatikai.}
475. The tribal aborigines end up in some family feud or fights between tribes, that too very rarely! Even those will not be premeditated murders but some confrontations happening on the spur of the moment. (KTSV adds: - One day in 1969, I was walking around in Bhutan high up in the Himalayan hills. I came across a teen ager in a village far away from the roads. He had studied in Delhi. He was bemoaning the social effects of so called progress! This is what he said. “Dear Sir! Till very recently we never closed our doors of our houses except against rain and winds. Even then we had no system of locking the doors! Thefts were never heard of in our villages. There were no roads, only foot paths. So if you happened to be in another village by night fall, you just stayed there. Any such guest was always welcome, to all our comforts at our homes including our women! There was never any sex related crimes, as you could never consummate sex with a woman, against her will! Rape was never an option! Things are going from bad to worse now!” He was sounding like a sad old man! Similar has been the situation in places like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya too!) Cheating and organised crimes have never been part of the scenario in tribal areas!
476. Why the conflict? Does it mean that we should not make any effort to improve the educational standards in a society? “eNNum ezhuththum kaNNenath thagum” says a Tamil proverb meaning, ‘letters & numerals are as important as the two eyes’! Avvayaar has said something more! “kavai aagi kombaagi kattagathe nirkum avai alla nalla marangal – sabai naduve neettolai vaasiyaa ninraan; kurippariya maattaadavan nan maram”, meaning, ‘those fertile trees with many branches, leaves and under growth in the forest are not the great trees but – the one who stood in the centre of an assembly of people and could not read the page in his hands, HE is the TREE!’ Bartruhari went one step beyond. He said, “the unread is as good as an animal -vidya viheena: pasu:” !
477. The learned seem to be more corrupt as we have observed. But Avvayaar and Bartruhari, who are highly respected for their views, seem to highly appreciate education. Why this apparent disaccord? If you carefully analyse, you will see that there is no difference of opinion. The education they were talking about and what is being taught in the name of ‘secular education’ are two different things. If the education is on the lines of what they have recommended, there will be no growth of criminality. Actually crime will vanish from the scene. What were they talking about? They did not talk about education that causes only growth of brain power, intelligence and inference capability. They talked about education that would increase devotion to God, (in addition to the above benefits of brain power, intelligence and inference capability,) as the source of it all! ThiruvaLLuvar says, “kartradanaal aaya payan enkol? vaalarivan nartraaL thozhaa(ar) enin”, meaning, ‘what is the use of any education, If you do not believe in devotion to the omniscient?’ When you make education totally unrelated to belief and devotion to God, it will lead only to mischief!
478. Western and Muslim Countries. You can say that indiscipline and immorality is universal in almost all countries of the world, whether they are secular or not. In the Western nations there are some prayers or Sunday Mass that some people attend, read and distribute Bible. Mostly those who are following some such regular devotional procedures are generally well behaved. But their per capita ratio is rather limited. This is not enough. Once the children are brought under some regular observance of meaningful rituals such as prayer meetings, it results in reduction of crime statistics. There is a saying in Tamil which goes like this. “Aindil vaLaiyaadadu aimbadil vaLaiyuma?”, meaning, ‘what does not bend at five years of age, will it do so at fifty?’ The trouble is that, in these western countries in the name of freedom, they do not make the children follow any regular procedures. In addition, in their sense of priorities, religion comes after science! Their intelligentsia and the older generation and even the middle aged are not happy with the way things are going! But they do not seem to know as to what they can do to correct the imbalance!
479. Comparatively the Muslim countries are better off! Crimes that are normal ‘run of the mill type’ in other countries are rare in the Muslim countries. Yes, toppling of governments seems to be their pastime! Majority of the masses being regular with their daily dose of prayers five times, are positively motivated against crime! Then they have what is known as ‘Shariyat’, which gives punishments for each possible crime. In the countries where they have ‘Shariat’, they do not have any separate Jurisprudence. Though in some cases these punishments seem to be too inhuman and get adverse publicity, mostly they are being followed with discipline in those countries.
480. In the west, in the name of fashion, there is more shameless display of physical allure instigating prevarications and permissiveness. Comparatively in the Muslim countries, they are sticking to their old habits in dress and restrained behaviour! Though the Muslim invaders in this country have done much harm to our Religion and Culture, destroyed our temples, killed people and looted their properties, I cannot but speak highly of the Muslim’s fervour and discipline in Anushtaana!
481. Similarly in countries like China and Russia, where communism is in force, where there has been total negation of religion too, we find that there has been comparatively less occurrence of crime! I am not trying to make a case for an irreligious political form anyhow. But my observation still stands that they came to power on the grounds that they are releasing them from the tyrannical clutches of the Church and State, by making all the people equal as comrades! Once they realised that loosening of all control will lead to inevitable chaos, they imposed much stricter checks and balances of a totalitarian regime!
482. But, if a society is obedient to manmade laws being afraid of the likely punishments, because of which there is less criminality, it is nothing to be proud of! But, if we obey the God’s rules and laws, seeing God as Nature and Humanity and if that discipline is as taught by elders by word of mouth as to what is right and wrong, then that sort of discipline is what is much preferable! As I always say that, discipline is never transgressed if it is applied by one self voluntarily with a clear understanding of what is Dharma! Since everyone will not be able to raise to such levels, the younger generation was brought under the control of God’s laws in the form of Dharmic rules and regulations imposed by the Gurus who displayed equal amount of strictness and compassion, while running the Guru Kula Paathashaalaa-s and thus demonstrated that good education means learning with discipline!
483. It is a regrettable fact that, in this highly religious country, the democratic leaders elected by the common man, in all good intentions opted for a secular arrangement, possibly so as to appease the non Hindu population from untoward apprehensions. But what has happened is a monstrosity. Having decided that they will impart only such education as not religiously oriented, they have under mined the teaching of morality at the grass root level! Then in a country where there is no draconian enforcement as in the communist countries, we have made it free for all, to do right or wrong. From a religious country, we have become not secular but ‘irreligious’ or even anti-religious!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.