Essay on Thiruvalluvar

Passing through the corridors of Time, turning the pages of human history with a discerning eye and an open mind, one comes across Great Minds in all climes and in all eras. All these have lived, moved and had their being amidst humanity, always with a sincere desire to live to benefit others, and proclaiming the ancient, ageless, Universal Truths, now in one form and now in another, helping and guiding humanity in its onward march to peace and progress. Some have been Sages, some Raja-rishis, some Poets, some Philosophers, but all Men among men. These belong to the "Deathless Race" and live in their teachings. They have risen above the common distinctions of caste, creed, nationality and even space and time, and thus belong to the whole of humanity which is one and indivisible. Therefore, it is said that humanity has never been without a friend. They are ever in the world, rendering gentle service to all that lives.

The most important contribution of Valluvar (Thiruvalluvar) is his picturing to us the value, dignity and sacredness of the Grihastha Ashrama--the stage of the home-builder, which has unfortunately been very much misunderstood and lowered by modern man. The author of "Living the Higher Life" writes:

To my mind, no ascetics, no teachers of mankind, however eminent and full of the highest knowledge, are really such good and practical benefactors of humanity as Valluvar, of ancient times, who incarnated on earth for the express purpose, among others, of setting an example of an ideal household life to mortals who were prematurely and madly rushing against the rocks of renunciation, and of proving the possibility of leading such a life in any age however degenerated; or as Rama, who, even after having become an avatar-purusha, came down amidst mortals and led a household life. (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 34, p. 5)

India, the ancient land of Aryavarta, has been the birthplace of many a poet, philosopher, saint and sage of universal repute. H.P.B. calls this land "the Motherland of my MASTER" (Raja-Yoga or Occultism). Though these Great Beings lived and moved in the far past, yet today we can contact them through their Teachings, in the hearts and minds of the holy Tathagatas. One such noble soul, who incarnated in South India, is known to us today as "Valluvar."

It is strange that the poet and his work are both without a name. The author himself is commonly known as Thiruvalluva-nayanar (literally, "the sacred devotee"). Since most of the facts concerning his life are vague, where they are not controversial, tradition is our main source of information. It is said that he was a weaver by profession and that he belonged to the Valluva caste, whose profession it was in the ancient days to announce the commands of kings by beating of drums. He was born in Madura and lived in Mylapore, a suburb of what is known today as Chennai.

He was undoubtedly one of the great geniuses; but his fame belongs chiefly to South India and the readers of Tamil--an ancient, living language. He is truly a genius in the Theosophical sense.

Great genius...if true and innate, and not merely an abnormal expansion of our human intellect--can never copy or condescend to imitate, but will ever be original, sui generis in its creative impulses and realizations....True genius is a synonym of self-existent and infinite mind. (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 13, pp. 5 and 8)

The period in which this universal bard of Mylapore lived, is controversial. There are no data whatsoever, which may enable us to fix with precision the period at which the poet flourished. It is, however, generally accepted as between the first century B.C. and second century A.D., or roughly 2000 years ago. He had an intimate friend, a rich merchant and captain of a small vessel called Elela Singan ("Lion of the Surf")--a descendant of a Chola king. Since it is said that the Kural (Tirukkural) was taken to the great Tamil Sangham at Madura in the reign of the Pandhya King Uggeraperuvazhudhi in 125 A.D., we may take the above date as nearly correct.

Some say that Valluvar was a Jain. It is true that he has used several of the Jain technical terms. However, we are quite warranted in imagining Valluvar as a true cosmopolitan and friend of all religions, the thoughtful poet, the eclectic, to whom the teachings of the Jains were as familiar as those of the Hindus. He seems to be one who was not hindered by any caste prejudices from familiar intercourse with foreigners and whose one thought was to gather knowledge from every source. Shri C. Rajagopalachari writes in his translation of Thiruvalluvar's Kural:

He was one of those great and rare men whose catholic spirit rose above all denominations and whose vision was not clouded by dogma or prejudice of any kind.

There is one couplet, the fourth, in Chapter III, which is destructive of the idea that he was a Jain. There is, in fact, no trace in the Kural of many systems, doctrines, and practices, current in South India at different periods, because perhaps, they had been eliminated from

...