53.5 Cherishing the close Ones

 53.5 Cherishing the close Ones

Question:

How to handle people who parted ways and returned to renew their association again?

Answer:

When the one who has parted ways from a king

comes back, the king should accommodate him

but accept him only after due deliberation.                  (Couplet – 530)

          உழைப்பிரிந்து காரணத்தின் வந்தானை வேந்தன்

இழைத்திருந்து எண்ணிக் கொளல்.                              (குறள் – 530)

Explanation:

              Although Valluvar advises a king in couplet 530, that advice is equally applicable to a leader or layperson. When someone close to us stays away from us or joins a rival group and then returns to renew his association with us, we may not know the motive behind his change of heart. But that does not mean that we should refuse to be associated with him. Instead, we should be friendly to him and analyze his motive, and if his change of heart appears genuine, we should continue to cherish his friendship.