One thirukural that everyone should know?

As I live life in this fast paced world, a few moments I rest my body and soul to think about those valuable advises which have helped me make my personality better. I consider this Thirukural a gem, which has helped me sharpen my thoughts and brought a new meaning to my existence.

On knowledge:

செவிக் குணவில்லாத போது சிறிது

வயிற்றுக்கும் ஈயப் படும்

(sevikku unavillatha podhu siridhu

vayirrukkum eeya padum)

Meaning: It literally means, food for the stomach can follow when there is no food for the ears. The implied meaning is that, the fruit/food of knowledge is far more needed/superior to food for the body, and one should hence actively seek it.

In the previous piece we spoke about the importance of decision making. How we must stay true to our beliefs and follow our instincts, so that we make decisions we can stand by and will not regret.

This thirukural was written to emphasize the necessity for knowledge to lead an exceptional life. Sustenance for the body is secondary to sustenance for the mind and soul. With your mind working at full-power, it will look after everything else.

As a leadership expert, being in-the-know is a pre-requisite of the job. Knowledge facilitates decision-making capabilities and stimulates cultural change and innovation. However, it is impossible to know everything you encounter in life. At these times I find it befitting to listen. Experiences teach, people teach, situations teach and scriptures teach, but if we are not willing to learn or think we already know, we could be shutting out a source of knowledge.

Only certain types of knowledge can be taught. The rest of it is learned through life experiences. With an open mind to learn and the appropriate attitude to adapt, one can learn a lot. In this day and age, we need to be careful of what we learn and where we learn from. In this age of information, there is a lot of user driven content available to us, which can be biased or false. Knowing what to believe and what to ignore is half the solution, seeking out real information is part of the struggle.