Short Verse on Price Value

எனக்கு தோன்றிய கவிதை

எது இன்று மலிவாக கிடைக்கிறதோ 

அதுவும் ஒரு நாள் அதீத விலையில் கிடைக்கும் 

எது இன்று அதீத விலையில் கிடைக்கிறதோ 
அதுவும் ஒரு நாள் மலிவாக கிடைக்கும் 

எனக்குள் எழுந்த கேள்வி
அப்படின்னா தங்கம் எப்பொதுழுது மலிவாக கிடைக்கும்  ?

எனக்கு தோன்றிய பதில்

கிடைக்கலாம்.  ஏதாவது ஒரு விண்கல் (எரிகற்கள்) மூலமாக அல்லது யார் அறிந்தது, மக்கள் மனம் மாறலாம்

***

Translation of the Quote
Whatever is cheap today may become costlier some day
Whatever is costlier today may become cheaper some day

Question:
So when can we expect Gold to become cheaper ?

Answer:
May be an asteroid can shower some Gold or who knows, people may change their mind (by losing their interest in Gold). 

Philosophical Inquiry of a Colloquial Phrase

பிறந்து வரணும் டா / புறந்து வரணும் டா 

(Rough Translation: One has to be re-born to beat the sayer (or) None is there to beat the sayer; Used to emphasise supremacy of the sayer; )

This is a dialogue that you might hear, when some one wants to tell you that he can't be beaten in a particular field / art, and he is the 'supreme' guy in that subject and to beat him, some one is yet to be born - meaning, nobody is there yet, to beat him.

Of course, this is a very colloquial phrase, and I believe this is not being used these days, that frequently. However I have heard several times, when I was in school, probably due to the influence of a movie.

Now, let us leave that aside and do a quick philosophical inquiry.

Though, it gives a sense of the sayer's arrogance in display, it also means that the sayer acknowledges that he/she is adept/best only in the current time frame, and over a period, there may be some one who will emerge better than him.

Let me throw some few arbitrary examples.

When we all watched Kapil Dev in awe, there came another greater player - Sachin Tendulkar, after many years, and then when we believed that there can be never be another player like Sachin, we discovered Dhoni, and then Virat Kohli - all in overlapping and close time frames. Though the styles are different, almost everything is different, our beliefs on the best player changes over time.

If you like Ramayan, here's another: When everyone thought that Ravan was simply unstoppable and unbeatable, there came a Ram, in a different (but overlapping) time period, who destroyed Ravan and that too in a very unconventional and different style (Ram did not have the powerful armed force of Ayodhya with him, and he was not even a king, when he defeated Ravan).

Moral: There is always going to be a bigger force or person, than the current one, but only away in the time frame.

Magician Vs Actor Vs Politician

After a long time, thought of publishing a post in Tamil. Though this was written by me, over 15+ years ago, and discovered recently, I thought this still sounds fresh and spicy in this election season!

வித்தைகாரரின் திறமை - நடந்ததை நடக்காதது போல் காட்டுவது
நடிகரின் திறமை - நடக்காததை நடந்தது போல் காட்டுவது
அரசியல்வாதியின் திறமை - இவ்விரண்டும் ஒரு சேர பெற்றிருப்பது  

Quick Translation: 

A magician's talent is in acting that nothing has happened, while an actor's talent is in acting as if something had happened. A politician's talent is in mastering both the acts! 

Madurai and Melbourne

Madurai, the temple town or city, was where I was born, and spent few years there.  Melbourne was the first place that I roamed around outside of India (forget the airports). So I was obviously, though unconsciously trying to find similarities between these two places. 

Though it's like comparing apple to oranges, I want to share my perspective primarily with respect to the structure of the cities. So, here goes the list of similarities.

• River: Both (Madurai and Melbourne) have a river flowing through in the City. Madurai has Vaigai (though most part of it is without water, and poorly maintained) and its length is 258 KMs, Melbourne has Yarra river flowing through with a length of 242 KMs. (Yarra is beautiful and well maintained river supporting lot of recreational activities. ) 

• Street Layout: Both Madurai (old Madurai) and Melbourne (Old Melbourne) have streets designed in a rectangular/squarish way, and from an inner rectangle, you move to an outer rectangle and so on. In case of Madurai, the Meenakshi Amman temple is considered as the central point, surrounded by the 4 Tower streets (North, South, East and West), and as you move outer and outer you will reach the 4 Veli streets (North, South, East and West). In case of Melbourne it has Flinders Street, Collins Street all parallel to each other in the rectangular pattern.

• University: Madurai and Melbourne have a University starting with their name. - Madurai Kamaraj University and Melbourne University (Though Kamaraj refers to a person, atleast they are starting with the name of the place). 

• Market: Though it is quite common for every city to have it, the structure of markets were quite similar - noise, smell :), dedicated day of the week for markets, etc... 

P.S: Do not get misled by the above, if you had never visited these places. Both of them are great and unique places in this world, that I would recommend you to see for yourself. Madurai has a very long history (several thousands of years), and one of the oldest continually inhabited city in the World (along with Varanasi, India). Melbourne, founded in 1835 (though occupied by local hunter-gatherers for thousands of years) is rated as one of the best places to live.

BodhiDharma and Bogar

Lately, I have been conducting my Internet surfing research, about a great saint. Well, I got initiated into this due to the interest generated by the movie 7 aum arivu. 

I watched the Chinese movie "Master of Zen" (Made in 1994) which depicts the complete history of Bodhi Dharma. Bodhi Dharma (before becoming) was a prince in the Pallava Dynasty, that was ruling Tamil Nadu, with Kanchipuram as their capital, during 5th-6th CE. Most of the literature available on the Web, concur that he was born in Kanchipuram, and after adopting Buddhism, and then becoming a Buddhist monk, he moves to China, as per the wishes of his Guru Prajnatara (Buddhist monk). 

Bodhi Dharma first goes to Southern China (Obvious, if you are from India), and then after spending some time there moves to Northern China, and was known to use unorthodox methods of teaching. Primarily he wanted to convey that one needs to perform a self-realization to understand himself, nature and God. He also have taught about physical exercises or self defence (probably a form of varma) to Shaolin monks, to protect themselves. Some more information about Bodhi Dharma, especially the cave where he lived for 9 years, and his burial place could be found here and here.

It is said that Bodhi Dharma during his last days, wanted to travel back to India, but died in China, and buried in the Shaolin temple. But later after his death, some one cites him, and when asked where he was going, he supposed to have told, he was moving towards West (towards India). 

Bhogar / Bogar: Bhogar was a Siddha, meaning a holy saint, who practiced meditation, and other techniques (Mantra, Tantra, Yantra) to attain liberation.They were primarily Saivaites who worshiped Shiva.  Bhogar was known to be a great alchemist. He installed the idol of Lord Muruga in Palani temple (known as Karthikeya, and brother of Lord Ganesha, and son of Lord Shiva) which is made of nine special herbs, and known to have medicinal effects, and stronger than Granite.  He also helped or advised in the construction of the Brihadeeswara temple in Tanjore, around 1000 CE. 

Now comes the interesting part. Some accounts say that Bhogar travelled to China, as per the instructions of his Guru, and then to Srilanka, and lived for several centuries. He also have said to taught tantric techniques in China, and  was known as Lao-Tzu (known to be founder or influence of Taoism) (The theory Yang-Yin is correlated with the Shiva-Shakti). Then in the same accounts it is mentioned that he returns back to India. Incidentally his Guru was Kalanginathar, who was originally from China. The period of Bhogar also seems to be from 8th CE.  Bhogar did have a Chinese disciple Pulippani (renamed in Tamil), who was also a Siddha. Bhogar completes his life's journey in the Palani Murugan temple.  

Another interesting thing is about the dates. Bodhi Dharma, said to be from Pallava Dynasty, belongs to 5th -6th CE, and  said to have lived for 300+ years. The Pallava dynasty come to an end during 8th Century CE, and Cholas emerge as the stronger dynasty, starting from this period. Bhogar's time period starts from 8th, and said to have lived several centuries. Both of them had some connections with China, and both were saints with extraordinary capabilities. Hope this is a enough material for a researcher to carry on further.

Update - October 2013:  As can be read from the comments section, though there have been references to texts that states Bhogar's time period as starting from 3000 BC, there is a significant convergence in many of those accounts from 6th CE onwards and during that period Bhogar is said to have travelled to China (for the second time) with few of his Tamil disciples and supposed to have returned back few centuries later. So, that raises another question - If BodhiDharma and Bhogar were different people, then "Was BodhiDharma one of the disciples of Bhogar, who went to China along with the latter's visit?"

Some Short Philosophies in Tamil

It's really been a long time, that I wrote something in Tamil. So, here I am going do that. But what to write ? - For me, it's simple - philosophies as usual ( தத்துவம் in Tamil). English translations are also provided.

உயிர்- உடலையும் உள்ளத்தையும் இணைக்கிறது; இல்லாவிடில் உடலும் உள்ளமும் வேறு வேறு!

English Translation: It's the life force that binds both our body and mind (soul). If there is no life force, then body and mind are separate entities!.

(உண்மையான) சுவாமி - ஆசை அறவே அற்றவர்; மற்றவர் - ஆசாமி!

English Translation: A REAL saintly or godly person is one who renounces ALL the desires, while others are all ordinary persons.

Passing Thought - Poem

Whenever I say that I created something, God laughs at me.

Well, My original thought was in Tamil. Here it is ...

இது என்னுடையது - இதை நான் உருவாக்கினேன் - எனும்போதேல்லாம்
இறைவன் எனை பார்த்து நகைக்கிறார்.