34.1 Impermanence

 34.1 Impermanence 

Question:

What is the best thing to do with our wealth? 

Answer:

Yesterday he was alive, but today he is no more. This impermanence

is the strange way of the world.                                                               (Couplet - 336) 

The wise consider each day as a sword that cuts down a man's life. (Couplet - 334) 

The rise and fall of fortune are like the gathering and dispersing of a

crowd in a theater.                                                                                      (Couplet - 332) 

Let virtuous deeds be done quickly before the tongue fails and

the last hiccup comes.                                                                                (Couplet - 335) 

நெருநல் உளனொருவன் இன்றில்லை என்னும்

பெருமை உடைத்துஇவ் வுலகு.                                                                        (குறள் – 336) 

நாளென ஒன்றுபோற் காட்டி உயிர் ஈரும்

வாளது உணர்வார்ப் பெறின்.                                                                           (குறள் – 334) 

கூத்தாட்டு அவைக் குழாத் தற்றே பெருஞ்செல்வம்

போக்கும் அதுவிளிந் தற்று.                                                                               (குறள் – 332) 

நாச்செற்று விக்குள்மேல் வாராமுன் நல்வினை

மேற்சென்று செய்யப் படும்                                                                                (குறள் – 335)

 

Explanation:

Life is transient. As each new day arrives, we are one day closer to our death. People who were alive yesterday are not alive today. Not only that our lives are impermanent so also is our wealth. Generally, people accumulate their wealth slowly, like assembling the crowd in a theater. Unforeseen business losses, sudden stock market decline, catastrophic flood, fire, and other calamities may wipe out a man's fortune, and it disappears like the crowd walking away all at once from the theater after the show is over. Of course, these days, there are exceptionally clever and astute people who diversify their portfolios of assets to protect their wealth from a disastrous collapse all of a sudden. But such shrewd people are very few, and most people suffer from major losses during the unexpected turn of events. Since life and wealth are transient, Valluvar insists that everyone should consider it their social responsibility to help the poor before encountering their death.