Suresh Chandrasekaran's Blog

As I have had reason to say, various human abilities are given pole position in different contexts by philosophers, especially if they are also poets. And, so, here we are with the most laudable ability of them all in today's post. Whether or not you agree is left to you.Ah, no, no, no, I am NOT the poet-philosopher that I am referring to. Tiru is.Enaiththitpam eidhiyak kannum vinaiththitpam

There is no dearth of advisers in the world. Get onto social media and ask ANY question and you will find scores of people ready with advice. People never let pesky little things like lack of knowledge get in the way of giving advice to other people. There is, therefore, this difficulty in knowing whose advice to take.Tiru has this to say...Utra noi neekki uraa-amai murkaakkum petriyaar

Assembly lines may come and mess up the tenets of production; Computers may come and kill the need for arithmetic abilities; AI may come and muck up things for all and sundry; but, for as long as man management exists, the basic principles of man management may probably not change. (What if ALL you employ is AI? Well, then, would the need for man management still exist?)And so it proves with Tiru

There is this general opinion that India has been the society of mystics and monks; a place where renunciation has been set at such a pinnacle that there is no respect for work. In a way it is true, since the ultimate goal of life is seen to be to renunciation. But that is not the whole truth, is it?After all, this IS the society that splits life into four parts - Brahmacharya, Grihastha,

One tends to think of joy as an undiluted benefit. And, yes, when you are happily celebrating the last thing you want is someone disturbing the mood with cautions. But, then, is it not the nature of philosophers to keep disturbing you? Have you not felt that they exist for the sole purpose of raining over your parade? Can Tiru, then, be an exception?So, yup. Tiru goes...Irandha veguliyin theedhe

No, no, this is not a diatribe about how eyes are useless if used only to binge-watch OTT series. Nor, indeed, is it a push for the latest online tutorial class on AI which will push your marketability so high that Trump will have to set a special tariff rate to ensure that American companies do not queue up for your services. Nor, indeed, is this a push to ensure that you work 120 hours a week

There are these times when a philosopher's advice seems so attractive to you merely because it allows you to interpret it to suit yourself. The true meaning of what he said may actually be unpalatable to you but who cares about true meanings? It is enough that you can quote the guy to support your own point.Thus, when Tiru says this...Vaanigam seyvaarkku vaanigam penip piravum thamapol seyin -

There are these things that are told over and over again, so much so that you dismiss them as cliches. Apparently Goebbels said (AND thereby fathered propaganda or so I have been told) that if you keep repeating a lie it will get established as the truth. Whether or not such is the case (AND it probably IS going by all those things that Social media has established as incontrovetible truths), it

There are times when you need to be told the most obvious things. Advice is not always the esoteric or the deep things that only the wise may know. Sometimes, wisdom lies merely in applying that most uncommon of things - commonsense.Like, this advice by Tiru would seem almost silly, except if you think back on how often you have failed to live by it.Peelipey saakaatum acchirum appandam saala

Who does not want to attract good fortune? It is all fine to tout the merits of sacrifice and the benefits of renjunciation. BUT, even when it comes to that, you prefer that you have it first and renounce it yourself; not to never have it OR have it snatched from you. So, yes, you do prefer to have the good fortune of possessing things and of having the choice to hold to them or renounce them.AND