'ON VIRTUE' - In Praise Of God - Kural - 1

Praise God

oi-Staff

By Super

Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 14:50

1. Akara mutala eluttellam; ati
   Pakavan mutarre ulaku.

The alphabet begins with A;
So does the Universe, with God.

Just as the letter 'A' begins and energises all other letters of the Alphabet, God is the origin and sustenance of the entire Universe. This is the first of the ten couplets in this chapter, all in praise of God. Parimelalagar would say that according to the custom of the day, the poet hails either his own favourite deity, or the deity appropriate to the theme, and concludes that virtue, wealth and love are connected with the three qualities, Satva, Rajas and Tamas, of primeval God as stated in the Gita (7,12), and that, therefore, Valluvar has sung this chapter as a general prayer of praise to the Hindu triad.

Though we may admit that the basis of the Poet's religious thought is Hindu and ethical philosophy is Tamil, this interpretation cannot be considered fully sound, in as much as Valluvar has so carefully and ingenuously worded these Kurals avoiding denominational names and exclusive doctrines, that every religionist all over the world is able to see the God of his own conception, in the references by the author. In fact, specifically, the Jains would claim 'Aadhibagavan' (Tamil word) as the first of their Thirthankaras. Some Christians would see Christ in the reference to 'Porivaayil aindhavithaan'. But running through the warp and woof of the entire work, we could see the basic Hindu doctrines of Karma, virtue and devotion to God superimposed upon the healthy rationality and social conscious of the Tamils of the Sangam age.

In this particular couplet, there is more in the comparison of God to the first letter of the alphabet, than is obvious in the ordinary context. Linguists would realize that the sound of the letter 'A' is that which energizes all other letters and is the indispensable origin and source of utterance for all letters of the alphabet of most languages. In this way, the letter 'A' and its sound not only form the starting point for all the letters of the language, but also give life ad integrity to all other sounds and letters. In the same way God is the fountainhead and source of all life and activity in this universe. Perhaps that is the reason most invocations to God begin with 'Ohm'. It is interesting to note also that Thirumanthiram refers to God as ' Akara Mudhalaa Anaithumaai Nirkkum' ( Thirumandiram 1751, 1753)

The idea is that God is everything from A to Z.

This is not only in keeping with the Tamil tradition of hailing God as the prime mover of all things at the commencement of the poetical work, but also in accordance with the general practice of acknowledging God as the origin and source of life itself. This has parallel in the Biblical lines, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega' (Revelations 216) meaning, the beginning and the end (i.e., all of life). That is why Spinoza called God, 'the first cause' in his philosophic discourse on Ethics. So does Thomas Acquinas and, from a more rational angel, DeCartes.

The idea is found equally well in the Bhagavat Gita. (7,6). 'I am the origin and dissolution of the whole universe' and in Zoroaster's teachings as well as in the Holy Koran ad the sacred books of almost all religions of the world. That really is the special feature and vital core of Valluvar's universality of religious outlook. And it is not as if it is all a patchwork. On the contrary, what he presents in Tirukkural is a well digested happily integrated universal philosophy which is all his own and at the same time, acceptable to all thinkers, including those of all acknowledged religions.

There are those who would say that the reference to 'Adi Bhagava' in this very first Kural of the poet's work is to his own parents Adi ad Bhagavan. There is no real evidence to prove that this is so. Valluvar's parentage and early life are surrounded in a measure of mystery.

Tirukkural to be continued