Anand Amaladass S. J.
The geographical location of Tamil land in the Indian subcontinent is significant which accounts for its prosperity. The Tamil grammar Nannūl (Introductory verses 8–9) specifies the boundaries of Tamil land as follows: The Eastern sea, Cape Kumari, Kuṭakam (Coorg) and Venkaṭam. This land has sufficient rains; springs that send their waters down the hills; a fine chain of hills as its Western frontier, down which flow the Pālāru, the Pennāru, the Kāveri, the Vaigai and the Tambaraparani, with many tributaries; and mountain heights which a little effort can convert into strong places of defense.
Perhaps Valluvar has this background in mind when he defines a prosperous country: “Waters from rains and springs, mountains, rivers and forts make up a prosperous country.” (737) In the same tone, he continues to suggest ways of protecting the land. “A proper fortress must have a fount of waters crystal clear, with an open space, with all-around line of sight, backed by hills and woods with shady trees.” (742)
It may not be a surprise then that Valluvar in his Kural after the introductory chapter on the Divine devotes a chapter on rainfall. The reason suggested by the commentator is that neither virtue, wealth, nor pleasure could exist without rain. In the first seven verses rain is said to be cause of the affairs of the world moving in its rhythmic way. Verses 8–10 point out how rain is the cause of the continued existence of virtue, wealth, and pleasure on earth. Rain is the link that connects heaven and earth in this cosmic vision of Valluvar.
What is significant is the concept of the Divine behind Valluvar’s thinking. He is not an atheist nor does he erect a religious code, but he is aware of the Divine operative through the five elements. For him the Divine is not a super-hero sitting on high heavens supervising the world and comes down occasionally to console and to give direction to the mortals. The Divine is always present and cannot not come and go. That kind of language itself is rather misleading. One cannot think of God without man and world; so also human being does not exist without the presence of the Divine and the cosmos. They are interconnected.
Secondly, for Valluvar this world is not an illusion (māyā) or evil nor is the heaven all holy. This universe is real where a great mystery is played out. For him the world consists of the five elements and, “those who lead a righteous life in this world will be ranked among the saints in heaven.” (50) It is love, compassion, purity of heart that makes human beings great, that is, fit to be honoured as divine in the heavens.
In the biblical narrative the Divine presence is indicated though the clouds, the rainbow, the rain, the wind, the fire, the burning bush etc. The Divine is hidden and mysterious, but within the grasp of the human intellect. But people felt his presence in their midst and built up relationship as partners of God in their journey.
This connection may be clear to those who are familiar with the Christian scripture. We read in the Acts of the Apostles 14, 17: “Yet, he did not leave himself without a witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with good and gladness.”
St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises proposes a meditation for obtaining love. Where and how do I find love? In his own words:
“I shall consider how God is present and works for me in all creatures on the face of the earth; that is, in the manner of one who is laboring. For example, he is working on the heavens, the elements, the plants, fruits, cattle and all the rest — giving them their existence, conserving them, concurring with their vegetative and sensitive activities.” (№236)
“This is to consider all blessings and gifts as descending from above. Thus, my limited power comes from the supreme and infinite power above, and so, too, justice, goodness, mercy etc., descend from above as the rays of light descend from the sun, and as the waters flow from their fountains, etc.” (№237)
The parallel thinking of Valluvar and Ignatius cannot be more striking. But then how is it that we do not directly perceive the Divine presence in this world with our naked eyes?
A mystic response comes from Abhinavagupta, a tenth century Saiva- philosopher from Kashmir, with a rain metaphor, how divine revelation is taking place all the time:
“Slender rain falling continuously is not visible in far-spreading sky, but it is clearly visible in juxtaposition with the trees of the forest or the eaves of the roof of the house. Even so, the Supreme Lord, being too subtle, never appears in the range of experience. Under the circumstances which depend on space, form, time, pattern and state, that consciousness is generated instantaneously in them in whom the awareness of the Divine is subdued — the consciousness that is indicative of Thy presence, O Lord!” (Parātriśikā, 8)
The metaphor of rain to disclose the Divine presence is all-pervasive across varying cultures. R. Balakrishnan (IAS) carries over this metaphor while describing the biodiversity of the Indian sub-continent: It is not a ‘melting pot’ or a ‘salad bowl’, but a ‘rain forest.’ The reason is that India is not merely pluralistic in culture, with thousands of languages and ethnic varieties, it consists also of multifaceted flora and fauna, of snow-clad mountains and desert areas like Rajasthan. To corporatize its resources in the name of modernization would be destroying the ‘rain-forest’ root and branch irrevocably.
About the Author
Anand Amaladass S. J. after his Ph. D in Sanskrit (1981) started teaching in Satya Nilayam Faculty of philosophy, Chennai. His publications include a book on the Dhvani theory in Indian Aesthetics (1984), and five books in German: one on the Vainava tradition, two on the God of Dance, Shiva, the fourth one, on the Goddess phenomenon with a translation of Abhirāmi Antāti and the fifth one on Art and Religion.(2020). The Christian Themes in Indian Art (Documentation of how the Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Christians interpreted Christian themes in India) was published together with Gudrun Löwner (2012). His present research focuses on aesthetic spirituality and option for the least, Jesuit history in India and Tamilology.
