Malarvizhi Baskaran
What does it mean to be human? We believe that we know the answer for this one, yet we cannot clearly define it in its entirety. Is it defined by the inherent qualities we obtain as a human being by default or is it something we develop or expected to develop gradually over time? Social psychologists categorize humanness by two senses, one is human nature — representing those traits that are essential or fundamental to the human species and the other being human uniqueness — representing qualities that are unique to our species. We share some of the former qualities with animals, and even few of the later qualities — certain emotions and rationality can be found among few nonhuman beings. Then what is unique to human kind?
It is strongly believed that it is the ability to reason that distinguishes us from other nonhuman beings. In a simple sense we may say being human is being aware. And as a result of being aware — we try to acquire moral values, virtues and essentially many other complex social behaviours. What then is considered as an ideal set of virtues and social behaviours of being a human and is that universal? Scholars say that social orientation greatly influences the fundamental aspects of our human reasoning. The thinking styles reflect the philosophies of that region. A great many philosophies born out of various lands dictate each their own set of values and virtues that makes an ideal human being. While western philosophies emphasised on freedom and independence, eastern traditions have always nurtured a concept of unity.
Expectedly, humanistic thinking is not a new concept in Tamil realm. We have a time-honored indigenous tradition that has imbued us with the quality to take a holistic approach in perceiving the world around us. It is often the written word that will provide an effective observation of the nature of a society. In that sense, Sangam literature stands as the perfect showcase of the expected and prevalent social behaviours of our ancestors, from which we have been deriving our codes of conduct. They have left us a legacy of moral and social roadmap. Simply put they have given us a comprehensive memorandum on how to be a better human being and a better society at large. There are numerous references that can be quoted. We can start with Thiruvalluvar. The profoundness in which Thiruvalluvar handles the concept of humanness astounds us. He teaches in the simplest way to be a happy and prosperous human being by being righteous.
Cirappu-īṉum celvamum īṉum aṟattiṉ-ūunku
ākkam evaṉō uyirkku — (Kural 31)
“Virtue will confer heaven and wealth; what greater source of happiness can man possess?”
And he goes on to teach how to be righteous too. ‘That conduct is a virtue which is free from these four things: malice, desire, anger and bitter speech’ (Kural-35). While expounding on the importance of love and compassion he also emphasises on good conduct being one of the greatest virtues that keeps the world afloat.
‘paṇpuṭaiyārp paṭṭuṇṭu ulakam atu-iṉṟēl
maṇpukku māyvatu maṉ’- (Kural 996).
“The world goes on smoothly, because of people of good breeding and culture; but for them all this harmony would be buried in dust.”
If his ‘Aram’ teaches about the duty of the Individual to Society and the Race, his ‘Porul’ is all about the duty of Society to the Individual. This one book encompasses everything that needs to be told. If we follow at least a few of the couplets, we can lead a much humane life. Until a few centuries ago in the west, man was distinct from the biosphere, he held the dominant status over nature. But the East, our ancient Tamil traditions have taught us to be one with nature. We can show many agam poems that call a nonhuman entity as part of their very life. We are taught to be grateful for everything. We are taught to be impartial to injustice yet progressive to diversity. We are taught to feel for every sentient being.
‘Vāṭiya payirai̇k kaṇṭapōtellām vāṭiṉēṉ (“I was in anguish and pain, whenever I saw the withered crops in the fields.”) are the words of a Saiva mystic,Vaḷḷalār. ‘Taṉi Oru maṉitaṉukku uṇavillai eṉil jagattiṉai aḻittiṭuvōm’ — (“If one individual person goes hungry, we shall destroy the whole universe,”) sang the great poet Subramanya Bhārati.
Although they are written in different tones they both emphasise the same thing and that is compassion towards fellow beings. When the rest of India needed religion to teach virtue, Tamil land looked upon nature. Secularism and tolerance have always been a part of our culture. We had philosophers and humanitarians who rose upon various time periods to teach us to practice a more inclusive life. A life that is filled with kindness, compassion and empathy for everything around us.
‘Yātum ūrē, yāvarum kēỊir, tītum nanrum pirar tara vārā-
“All towns are ours; Everyone is our kin;
Evil and goodness do not come to us from others.”
(Kaṇiyaṉ Pūṅkuṉṟaṉār, Puṟam — 192)
Such poignant words, imparting a great message — to live together and take responsibility over our actions and thoughts. Indeed, this world is not created just for us, every being here is entitled to the same rights we have and yet we hardly give a second thought about others’ rights and we seldom take the responsibility that comes with the rights. These teachings are here to remind us of our mistakes and be a better human.
Time has empowered us with so many things. We as a species are getting more powerful and thus arrogant. All that lessons lost, here we are, slowly losing the seeds of virtue that had been carefully sowed into our very fabric of life. Our values are stripped from us, wrapping us in turn with vanity and greed. Social indifference is slowly replacing our compassion. It is dangerous that a single species should have the power to denude and destroy the planet that gave rise to it. It is very important for us to remember that being able to change anything around us comes with the responsibility of caring for the same.
This world, everything in it and our life — they have too much beauty. Our human brain has too much capacity for wisdom, and our human heart too much capacity for love, love for the entire world.Let us not forget who we are while revelling at what we have become. Let us not forget where and how we started. Let us get back to our roots and find those invaluable seeds. Let us sow them around us and reap the joy of togetherness. Let us be human.
About the Author:
Malarvizhi Baskaran is a dynamic new age Tamil fiction writer with strong affinity to history and science. She is best known for her historical fiction ‘Kadaaram’ (based on Rajendra chola I’s infamous naval expedition) and sci fi novel ‘Unit109’ (amazon pen to publish entry 2019). She has written over six fiction novels, a non fiction historic travelogue and various short stories and articles. As a research enthusiast, her interests lie in the ancient history of tamils in south east asia and she has travelled extensively in exploring the same. A keen participant in many ventures of THF (Tamil Heritage Foundation) her contributions reflect her love for Tamil history at large. She is also a self-taught artist/ multimedia designer and is currently working as a user experience consultant for in a startup IT company. )
