Foreword
Some
years ago, a good friend of mine mentioned to me that he interviewed the author
of this book, Dr. R. Prabhakaran and that he was very impressed with his
passion for Thirukkural and his expertise in Thirukkural. At that time, as
President of the International Thirukkural Foundation of Mauritius, I organized
a monthly series of lectures on Thirukkural. I immediately extended an
invitation to Dr. Prabhakaran to present a lecture. He delivered an excellent presentation
in which he discussed how Thiruvalluvar’s solution for nonviolence is identical
to the preamble of UNESCO (United Nations Education and Scientific
Organization). Also, he eloquently explained the relationship between UNESCO’s
Sustainable Development Goals and Thiruvalluvar’s approach to attaining those
goals. Being one of the former Directors of UNESCO, I was deeply impressed by
Dr. Prabhakaran’s depth of knowledge of Thirukkural and his ability to relate
Thirukkural to current events. Immediately, I requested Dr. Prabhakaran to join
me on the team to seek UNESCO’s recognition for Thirukkural as a “Book of
Universal Literature.” Since then, I have been in close contact with Dr.
Prabhakaran and frequently sought his expertise on Thirukkural.
The more I learned about Dr.
Prabhakaran and his contribution to promoting Thirukkural, the more I admired
his passion and dedication to Thirukkural. In 2005, he organized the first
International Conference on Thirukkural in the Western world. He formed the
Tamil Literary Study Group in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area, and under the auspices of
that group, he taught Thirukkural and Tamil Literature to Tamil enthusiasts. He
has authored several blogs on Tamil literature. Thousands of people in several
countries worldwide routinely access his blogs daily. In particular, he has two
blogs on Thirukkural, one in English and one in Tamil.
Dr. Prabhakaran has published a book
on Thirukkural in English titled, “The Ageless Wisdom (As Embodied in
Thirukkural).” I have read this book
with great interest and have gifted it to many of my friends. He has also
published a book in Tamil called “Putiya pārvaiyil tirukkuṟaḷ,” which contains
detailed essays on different aspects of Thirukkural. In his books, he prefers
to write detailed articles on various aspects of Thirukkural instead of
simply translating the Couplets of Thirukkural. Very few Thirukkural scholars
today can effectively communicate their ideas about Thirukkural in English and
Tamil. Dr. Prabhakaran is a gifted speaker and writer on Thirukkural-related
topics in English and Tamil. He has delivered numerous lectures on Thirukkural
in the USA and India. His book “The Ageless Wisdom (As Embodied in
Thirukkural)” is now being translated into French.
Now, he has come up with his new
book, “Valluvar’s Answers to Vital Questions.” This book is unique in
many respects. This book is in the format of “Questions and Answers.” In this
book, he selects important questions and finds answers from Thirukkural for
those questions. The answers include relevant couplets of Thirukkural in English
and Tamil and a brief explanation. Those explanations are based on personal
experiences, current events, history, and Tamil literature.
In Couplet 596, Thiruvalluvar says
when someone works hard with lofty goals in mind, even if he does not accomplish
what he wants, it is almost like he did. To explain this couplet, the author
cites the example of his brother, who, because of his lofty goal of becoming
the General of the Indian Army, could successfully rise to the rank of the
Brigadier General of the Indian Army, though not a General as he expected. To
explain Couplet 785, where Thiruvalluvar mentions that it is not necessary to
have frequent meetings to be friends, he cites the example of the intimate
friendship between the Chola King Kōpperuñcōḻaṉ and the poet picirāntaiyār without ever
having met each other. He points to the miserable conditions in North Korea and
Venezuela to explain Couplet 740, where Thiruvalluvar says a country will not
prosper without a good ruler. Wherever possible, the author uses examples from
his life experiences, current events, history, and Tamil literature to explain
the couplets of Thirukkural. Examples
like these will help the readers to recognize the relevance of Thirukkural to people’s
lives. The author relates some of the couplets to the incidences that occurred
two thousand years ago. In some explanations, we see the author discussing
current social and political situations. The reader will also recognize that
Thiruvalluvar’s wisdom is immortal and universally applicable. Another feature
of this book that impressed me very much is that I can readily find the answers
to many important questions without having to go through the whole of
Thirukkural. This book's format is unique, and to the best of my knowledge,
there is no other book like this on Thirukkural.
My grandfather migrated from Tamil
Nadu to Mauritius. I was born and brought up in Mauritius. Although I live in
Mauritius, in my heart of hearts, I am still a Tamilian. My father introduced
me to Thirukkural at the early age of eight. Since then, I have tried to read
and follow the teachings of Thiruvalluvar in my personal and political life. I
am convinced that Thiruvalluvar’s teachings regarding nonviolence, love,
compassion, virtue, management, leadership, etc., are eternally valid and
applicable worldwide. I often wish I had learned the Tamil language so that I
could read Thirukkural in Tamil and get a much deeper appreciation for
Thirukkural, the masterpiece by Thiruvalluvar. On a personal note, I am extremely
thankful to Dr. Prabhakaran for publishing a book like this in English so that
people like me who do not know Tamil can still appreciate the message of
Valluvar through his writings.
Despite its grandeur, many people in
the world are still unaware of Thirukkural. I am engaged in a mission to
promote awareness of Thirukkural worldwide. Of all publications on
Thirukkural-to-date, this book will make an exceptional contribution to
promoting Thirukkural throughout the whole world. In my opinion, this book must
be widely publicized for the benefit of all Thirukkural scholars, teachers, and
students. Every family should have a copy of this book at home to help raise
their children. My congratulations to Dr. Prabhakaran for this remarkable book.
Dr. Armoogum
Parsuramen, GOSK
President,
International Thirukkural Foundation (Mauritius)
Former Minister
of Education Mauritius (1983-1995)
Former Director
of UNESCO (1997-2011)
Former Secretary
of Executive Board and General Conference (2004-2009)
Former Director
of UNESCO New Delhi Office (2009-2011).
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