Disclaimer: A humble attempt to reflect upon thirukural from the modern day perspective.

பொருட்பால்- ஊக்கம் உடைமை - 595

"வெள்ளத் தனைய மலர்நீட்டம் மாந்தர்தம்
உள்ளத் தனையது உயர்வு."

நீர்ப்பூக்களினது தண்டின் நீளமானது நீரின் ஆழத்தின் அளவினது ஆகும்; அதுபோலவே, மக்களின் உயர்வும் அவர்களுடைய ஊக்கத்தின் அளவினதே ஆகும்

The stalks of flowers are proportionate to the depth of water, so is men's greatness proportionate to their mind's ( to the amount of wisdom in their mind/heart)

En sitrarivirkku thondrubavai:

I am not sure why ookam is brought in the tamil translation..however we can look at dechyphering it as below,

Vellathu anaiadhu malar neetam - vellam(water) needn't be flood...
Anai - limit
Malar neetam- length of the flower
Maanthartham- for the humanbeing
Ullathanaiyathu - limitations of their heart (thoughts/kindness)

Here valluvar didn't use arivu, he refers to ullam instead, though it indirectly means greatness in thoughts/ wisdom.

This flashes scenes of an argument my friend places often. When we talk about, 'Budhiku theriyudhu manasu kekalai'. He says there isn't anything the heart can think independently. While all of us know this, we still use it interchangeably mainly to bring in the emotional quotient. I beleive the same is the reason for the reference here too.

Same is why we say put your heart into whatever you do, rather than just applying your brain.

Image depiction recreated from Mr.Natarajan's art from thirukural.net

The kural says breed positive and good thoughts within. Happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Relating much to...

"Ennam pol vazhkai"

With the omnipresent social media,we are all exposed to the larger world. With devices in hand, most platforms are all ears for what we are browsing and tracking our digital footprints ( like what we are planning to shop etc)...it is eminent that we are vulnerable to so many things as we peep into anything and everything possible across everyday life and situations of people.

The more we look into, the more chances for our mind's to get corrupt. Leaving the learning we get from the exposure, there definitely is a major portion of information that affects us pyschologically. To be exposed but still remain unaffected is a boon. We may not be able to attain that stature, but awareness and self realization on what can be adopted and what works for our situation can help a great deal.

It is easier to say that happiness lies within us, but difficult to practice. We need assurance/re eassurance for every single thing we do. happiness is built by how people react and accept us. A simple acknowledgement of the work from your boss, friends or from your parents and/ spouse makes your day.

So it is evidently important to be appreciative of every little thing (lockdown resinstilled this in ways we never imagined).Being positive, breeding good thoughts, trying to understand we cannot relate ourselves to everything we see and being grounded is becoming more relevant these days.

The other important battle we are all fighting is to get out of the templatized expectations the rat races have put us in the society.

So all of us are inherently fighting so many things and the faces that are put out on social media ( where we see them) are not the real ones. Let's try to be grounded, keep our needs simple (how much ever rich we get), pledge sharing is caring and incubate positive thoughts.

We should actually strive to share as much as possible, alongside trying to save first before we spend.

Everyone has the right to live and together we can make this a better place for all.

So even if you want to get a little selfish, it is ok, cultivate good thoughts and ideas and spread positivity for your own good and for the larger world.

This reminds me of the difference between dhanam and dharmam.

Dhanam - palanai edhirparthu tharuvadhu
Dharmam - palanai edhirparamal tharuvadhu

Dharmam seiyavittalum Dhanam seivadhai vazhakamaga kollalamae..

Dhanama need not always be in terms of money..every small deed, good will and gesture with the best of intentions will take us a long way.

Time to reflect on ourselves 🙏