Making a cult of Thiruvalluvar is harming his burning honesty: Gopicalkrishna Gandhi

N. RAM, director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, delivering the first copy of the book on Thirukkural to former bureaucrat R. Balakrishnan in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo credit: M. Vedhan

“Thiruvalluvar was bright and brief. We must learn and look for him. We would be harming the abrasing honesty of Thiruvalluvar if we had a cult of him, ”said the former governor of Western Bengal, Goparkrishna Gandhi, on Tuesday.

Go to the meeting at the launch of the book THE BEST OF THIRUKKURAL: Wisdom to enrich yourself and humanityWritten by former bureaucrat R. Pornalingam, Mr. Gandhi said: In our admiration of charm we do not make the mistake of making a cult of Thiruvalluvar … the name for which we call it may not have been the name by which it was called. And yet, because of the miasma of doubt and the cloud of mysteries, one thing remains clear: that here there was a man who spoke while thinking about the truth. “

Referring to the pairing 1,062 that says Irandhum Uyirvaazhdhal Vendin Parandhu Keduka Ulakiyatri Yanan (if one must remembered and live, that the creator of the world itself wanders and perish), Mr. Gandhi called Thiruvalluvar a revolutionary. He also said that, as a young lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi was attracted to Thirukkural After reading a letter to a Hindu by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, the Indian revolutionary Tarak Nath Das, in which the author referred to Thirukkural In 1908. Librar the book, N. Ram, director, Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, said there had been numerous translations of the works Thirukkural and academic. This book explored contemporary relevance and the importance of ThirukkuralApplying it to the present, to prove the statement that it was timeless and had a universal value.

When referring to the prologue of Mr. Gandhi’s book, he said that Thirukkural was great since he grabbed the reader and did an experience in real life. On the leadership qualities mentioned in the book, Mr. Ram said a leader should have four qualities in abundance: courage, compassion, wisdom and determination. In addition, a leader must listen to the criticism, he said, adding: “The possession of a ruler will last a lot only if he has the virtue of listening patiently to different points of view, unpleasant advice and even bitter or hard criticisms of the policies of one themselves .

Referring to several contemporary incidents in India and the United States, he said: “Today, we see intolerance to criticism and even the softest way of dissent. It only shows that they believe they are only right and will not tolerate criticism. “

Receiving the first copy of the Book, Indo’s researcher and former bureaucrat R. Balakrishnan said that if there was a literature that challenges spatial and temporal limits, it was the Thirukkural. There are no temporary and spatial barriers for the Thirukkural as it remained relevant even today. He said that we should proud Thirukkural not only because it was written in Tamil, but because it is beyond our identities. Calling al Thirukkural The non -religious even, as Mr. Pornalingam mentioned in the book, was a verse of one million dollars, said Balakrishnan, adding that I was giving people people in the margins and margin. “At a time when India held the 111st position among 125 countries in the world hunger index, Thirukkural’s relevance is very important since he speaks of distributive justice, he added.

Mr. Pornalingam shared his experience when writing a book about the Thirukkural in English.

R. Selvam, bureaucrat; and M. Arumugam, a member of the Harvard Tamil chair, among others who spoke during the event.