64.2 Ministry

 64.2 Ministry

Question:

What should one do when one arrives at an artificial way of doing a thing?

 

Answer:

Although one knows artificial ways of doing things, one

should do things in a way that is consistent with nature.            (Couplet – 637)

செயற்கை அறிந்தக் கடைத்தும் உலகத்து

இயற்கை அறிந்து செயல்.                                                     (குறள் – 637)

 

Explanation:

              In Valluvar’s scheme of things, the king makes the policy and decides what should be done. It is the minister who has the responsibility to execute what has been decided by the king. Since the minister is responsible for the execution, this question comes under the chapter on Ministry (Chapter 64 of Thirukkural). In today’s democratic governments, the legislative branch enacts the laws, and the executive branch executes them. Technology provides new ways of doing things and introduces new products. When technology offers new approaches and products, it is the responsibility of the people in charge to ensure that the new approaches and products are consistent with nature.

 

The Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland pioneered the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907. Since then, there has been a ubiquitous presence of plastics everywhere. In the past few decades, scientists and environmentalists have reached the alarming conclusion that since plastics are not biodegradable, they pose a grave danger to the environment and animals. Now, there are active programs to avoid plastics and recycle plastic products. Also, in the last centuries, fossil fuels have been increasingly used in power generation, automobiles, home heating, etc. In the past few decades, scientists have been warning us about the potential danger to the environment due to the use of fossil fuels. In Couplet 637, Valluvar warns us that though there are new ways of doing things, we should be aware of their impact on nature and do things so that they do not adversely affect nature.