From http://www.manakkudiyan.com/The Best Commentary book....Evening, A.R.Rahman’s Gurus of peace track, unlimited wind flow through the windows, clean national high way road , trees and mountains both side, only me and my Maruthi Esteem on the road in the whole region - It was a great drive. I was driving back from my village.
Parked the car to have tea in the road side tea shop, got down, locked the car, sat in the bench and enjoying my cup of tea. Mind slipped in between two sips of tea and ran back towards village and to what happened in the morning …..
‘No one can explain what the meaning behind Thirukkural is better than this. Past or present or future - this is ultimate!’ – The comment of my friend’s father was lingering in the mind.
He is into politics, belongs to a party, he is a speaker for his party and likes literature, books and poems. I met him in his house when I was waiting for his son – my friend. I saw the new book on the table “Kuraloviyam – Thirukkural Commentary by Dr.Karunanidhi”. I picked it in my hand, as I was reading the book his father entered the hall by saying… “Thirukural commentary by Kalaignar Karunanidhi! No one can explain what the meaning behind Thirukkural is better than this. Past or present or future - this is ultimate! Nothing will be better than this”.
I asked him, “When was this done? When did he write this?”.
“I think he might have started writing this at least 10 years ago and got published few years ago”.
The sound “Oei!.. what is the use of keeping you in the shop? There is no improvement. There should be more maturity and clarity between last year and this year” - brought me back to the present and it was shop keeper yelling on his employee a small boy.
I got up from the bench, paid him for the tea and asked him, “What did you say last ..?”
Unknowingly the shop keeper triggered me with his answer and which was enough for me to cogitate, “There should be more maturity and clarity between last year and this year. Is not it?” .
I got what I was looking for …“Yes sir. There will be! Thank you.” And I got back to my car and resumed my journey.
Be it ‘Thirukkural’, “Thiruvasagam”, “Bagwad Gita” “Bhagawatam” or “Ramayana” or be it any book. Whenever some one reads it he will understand it and writes commentary with what he understands. Let it be Karunanithi or some ‘swamiji’ or some disciple. It is the case. No questions on that.
We are human “BEINGS”. We expand every day and in every experiences of life by knowingly or unknowingly. There is a constant improvement in us. The incidents, people, experiences and life keep giving clarity and maturity.
The writer might have read this book and gave commentary based on his maturity level on that day. Today he might have have more maturity and definitely will have more clarity and probably he can write even better and more meaningful commentary for the same source of book.
Swami Vivekananda said, “You read a book at your age 20, you will understand. Read the same book at 30, you will understand more and at forty you will get different meaning and clarity”.
Actor mammooty said in an interview, “When ever I see my old movies, I always feel, “I should have acted even better ..! If I get the same scene and movie today, I can do it at least three times better””
Mani Ratnam said in Vikatan interview, “Movie is my project. I plan it properly. Each scene, explanation, situation, dialogues and everything will be put in paper. Only then I will go for shooting spot. But… I will not shoot the scene in the same way it was put in the paper. There should be at least one percent improvement between what is written in the paper and what is registered in the celluloid. There should be improvement. The director may be same. But the person who wrote on the paper and the person who registers the scene with camera is different and more matured.”
Yes. Everyday we expand and life gives maturity by giving different experiences. The way I did my work on my first day of this job and the way I do today – are not same. I am more matured in that aspect.
Every time I go through the magazine “Frozen Thoughts”, I understand the articles and it pushes me and lifts me higher. But if I read the same page after few months or few years later, I understand it more or getting a different meaning.
I struggled with my car in the roads of Chennai few years ago. Today I can drive in the whole national high ways from Bangalore to Chennai in reverse gear. I am more competent today. The way I delivered my speech very first time on a public speaking competition and the way I roar on the dais today are two different things and there is no matching component in that. I am not the same.
The person who was in the starting point, the person who stands at this point today and the one who will reach some point tomorrow are three different people. I am expanding. I am growing. I am not the same.
It is the case of mine, you, him, and her and of anyone. The writer might have read and understood and wrote commentary according to his understandings on that day. If he reads the same source of book after few years, he will get a different meaning or he will understand more with the higher maturity and clarity.
That’s why for same Thirukkural, totally different commentaries available. There is no matching or similarities in any one of the pages or sections. ‘Parimelazhagar’ is different, ‘Kalaignar’ is different and ‘Sujatha’ is totally different. Same Krishna, same Arjuna, same Krushetra and same Bagwad Gita! But Swami PrabhuPatha’s commentary is different and Raja Gopalachariya’s commentary is different.
Always the commentary is based on how the writer understood the source book then and there is no guarantee that the meaning the writer of the source book wants to give and the meaning given in the commentary will be same.
What should I do then? Should I not read these books of commentary? Oh I will miss so many things then?! No. I should read. Otherwise I will miss treasure like ‘Thirukkural’, “Kamba Ramayana”, “Bagwad Gita”, etc. But with the understanding ‘this is his meaning on that day’. It is not the end. Let me read and understand. I may get a different meaning.
Let me read it today, hold the thread and it may lead to some other point tomorrow.
Now I understand why there is no explanation given with Zen stories. Read the story what ever message you got from the story is for you. Next time you read, you may get different message with higher maturity.
I am walking towards my shelf to pick up last year’s ‘Frozen Thoughts’ magazine. How about you?
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: Thoughts Unlimited-By Manakkudiyan http://www.manakkudiyan.com/ under " Thoughts Unlimited" category.
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