teacher's day thoughts

5 september 2008

thoughts run like rivers, and somewhere along they transform and become clouds in the mind. and when the conditions are ripe, they gather together and enrich the being with their lightening, thunders and showers. the process of learning is continuous as is the process of water from earth transforming into clouds, which also keep transforming and finally descend as rain.

sometimes these clouds can cause confusion and lack of clarity or it may even block listening to our inner voice. but with discipline, training, practice and grace the mind can be tamed or liberated. it is also possible to be fettered and conditioned by the clouds that have gathered within.

it is good to be aware that mind is different from the thoughts it possesses or processes. mind is capable of developing through intellectual stimulation or intuitive absorption and flow of wisdom or knowledge. the body, mind and soul when integrated enable the human to be part of the flow, the exchange. when they are not integrated well, we develop adjustment problems of coexisting with other beings, and if we are seriously conditioned turn into predators and parasites that feeds on lives of others, even to the point of erasing others out of existence about whom we got conditioned to care less about.

the mind can be nourished by many different resources. poetry with brevity is one of the stimulating nourishment that the mind can receive. here are two poetic works on learning from the Tamil culture, each offering insights that have the capacity to transform the serious listeners.

Thiruvalluvar an ancient Tamil sage/poet describes the ethics of learning thus:

karka kasadara karpavai katrapin nirka atharku thaga

Learn perfectly all that you learn, and thereafter keep your conduct worthy of that learning.

another sage/poet Auvaiyar, one of the most popular and highly respected woman elder of Tamil society had this to share on learning:

kattrathu kaiman alavu kallathathu ulagalavu

what you have learnt is a mere handful, what you haven't is like the world in its size.