Making a cult of Thiruvalluvar is doing disservice to his searing honesty: Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi praises Thiruvalluvar's honesty and wisdom, cautioning against making a cult of him.

“Thiruvalluvar was brilliant and brief. We must learn and seek the light from him. We would be doing a disservice to the searing honesty of Thiruvalluvar if we were to make a cult of him,” former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said here on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering at the launch of the book Best of Thirukkural: Wisdom to enrich yourself and humanity, written by former bureaucrat R. Poornalingam, Mr. Gandhi said: Let us in our admiration of allure not commit the error of making a cult of Thiruvalluvar....The name by which we call him may not have been the name by which he was called. And yet, from the miasma of doubt and the cloud of mysteries, one thing remains clear — that here was a man who spoke as he thought the truth.”

Referring to the couplet 1,062 that says Irandhum Uyirvaazhdhal Vendin Parandhu Keduka Ulakiyatri Yaan (If one must beg and live, let the creator of the world himself roam and perish), Mr. Gandhi called Thiruvalluvar a revolutionary. He further said that as a young lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi was attracted to Thirukkural after reading A Letter to a Hindu by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s to Indian revolutionary Tarak Nath Das, in which the author referred to Thirukkural in 1908.Releasing the book, N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, said there had been numerous translations of the Thirukkural and scholarly works. This book explored contemporary relevance and significance of the Thirukkural, applying it to the present, to test the claim that it was timeless and had universal value.

By referring to Mr. Gandhi’s foreword to the book, he said Thirukkural was great as it gripped the reader and made one experience it in real life. On the leadership qualities mentioned in the book, Mr. Ram said that a leader should have four qualities in abundance — courage, compassion, wisdom and determination. Besides, a leader should listen to criticism, he said, adding: “The tenure of a ruler will last long only if he or she possesses the virtue of listening patiently to differing views, unpalatable advice and even bitter or harsh criticism of one’s own policies...”

Referring to various contemporary incidents in India and the U.S., he said: “Today, we see intolerance towards criticism and even the mildest form of dissent. It only shows that they believe that they alone are right and will not tolerate criticism.”

Receiving the first copy of the book, Indus researcher and former bureaucrat R. Balakrishnan said if there was one literature that defied spatial and temporal boundaries, it was the Thirukkural. There are no temporal and spatial barriers for the Thirukkural as it stood relevant even today. He said we should take pride in Thirukkural not only because it was written in Tamil, but because It is beyond our identities. Calling the Thirukkural non-religious couplets — as mentioned by Mr. Poornalingam in the book — was a million dollar verse, Mr. Balakrishnan said, adding that it was giving a voice for the people in the fringes and margins. “At a time when India ranked 111 among 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index, the relevance of Thirukkural is very important as it talks about distributive justice, he added.

Mr. Poornalingam shared his experience in writing a book on the Thirukkural in English.