About Myself
?
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I, E. V. Ramaswamy, have taken upon myself
the task of reforming Dravidian Society so that it shall
be comparable to other societies of the world, in esteem
and enlightenment, and I am solely devoted to that service.
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I express, plainly and openly, thoughts
which occur to me, and which strike me as right. This
may embarrass a few; to some this may be distasteful;
and a few others may even be irritated; however, all
that I utter are proven truths and not lies.
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It is my considered opinion that kings
are redundant in the present-day world, and that they
are demeaning in the self-respects of the people.
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| I am also one who says that besides kings,
rich men, landed aristocracy, business, and Capitalist
s are groups that should be eliminated, as they are parasites
on men. |
| Not that all the people of the world
should act according to my wish, but that come what may,
surely in polities and in public life, humane justice
alone, and not justice as prescribed by any epoch or religion
should be imposed: such is my desire. |
| I shall never be a party to doing anything
by instigating others from behind. Even if I am thus inclined
by any chance, I have not the capacity to do so. To act
from behind, certain means and machinery are required,
Because I lack these, I have had not only to remain a
servant of society throughout my life, but also to give
expression to my views candidly, and to censure, where
necessary, without fear or favour. |
| As far as I am concerned, I am never
a party man. I have always been a man of principles. |
| In my public life, after I reached my
years of discretion, I always volunteered to support the
government of Non- Brahmins. In this, I did not see any
dignity or indignity. |
| I had my strong conviction even from
1925 that superstition must be eradicated and that people
should be turned into rationalists. |
| Till the end of my life, I shall never
canvass for a vote. I shall not even expect a word of
praise from any quarter. |
| I am one who has been ostracized by politics
and religion. I have suffered pain and privation; sacrificed
my self - esteem; and rejected a place in the ministry. |
| Indeed, it was my family and I who volunteered
for the first time in India to court imprisonment for
the sake of the freedom we cherish so dearly today. |
| I have supported whichever political
party has done well to the society to which I belong,
and opposed those that have done ill. I have not supported
any party merely it is in power. |
| I serve only because I wish that our
people and society should progress of other lands. In
the best interest of society, therefore, I support those
that are capable of doing well to our people, and those
administrators who work for our social betterment. |
| When a peace-conference was convened
for the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement,
Sankaran Nair requested Gandhiji to stop picketing toddy
shops and talk peace afterwards, Gandhiji remarked: '
Stopping the picketing of toddy shops is not in my hands.
It is in the hands of E. V. Ramaswamy 's wife and sister
in Tamil Nadu '. Thus my family and I courted imprisonment
for the Gandhiji's principles. |
| I am under no necessity to permanently
support anyone for gaining selfish ends. I see no wrong
at all in supporting that person who does well to us,
who strives for the removal of our social degradation
even if he is a foreigner. |
| I have no (political) heirs. My principles
and ideas are my heirs. My principles and ideas are my
heirs. Heirs should evolve on their own. |
| Even if I were to live in a place where
I would have to experience much worse sufferings than
those of a hellish life, I would considered it a pleasanter
life than this mean, caste -ridden existence, if only
I were respected as a man there. |
| Gandhiji said: 'If the untouchables are
prevented from drawing water from a well, let separate
well be dug for them; if they are not allowed into the
temple, let separate temples be build for them '. I said
then: 'if no amends are made for the abject humiliation
that they cannot draw water from a well, let them the
die of thirst. That they must be freed from this degradation
is more importance than the provision of water to save
their lives.' |
| For how long are we still to remain 'sudras
' and allow our progeny also to be 'sudras ', in this
world? Should we not do something to attain human dignity,
devoid of our ills, at least in this generation, during
this age of science of scientific freedom? Is there a
nobler deed than this for us? It is for this reason that
I have dedicated the whole of my life for this cause:
and not out of any perversity or spite. |
| Some say that eradication of caste is
communalism, and hatred for the high-castes. Are we communalist?
Have we ever harmed a single Brahmin, or set fire to a
Brahmin locality? An appeal for the abolition of caste
is not to be considered class-hatred. |
| In our country, those that endeavour
class to put an end to the ills of caste are like those
that administer medicine for malaria; they cannot prevent
the incidence of the disease in others. But I am like
a doctor who prevents it by destroying the malaria causing
mosquitoes in the stagnant waters. |
| The oppressed and backward people -toilers,
coolies, poor men- who are treated like animals, are an
eye -sore to me. This sorry sight can be removed only
by their being made equal among men. |
| Though I am more than sixty years of
age, my feelings are not as old, only because of my contact
with the young. To do nothing is something my mind is
never inclined to. Rest and boredom are suicide to me. |
| People all over the world should unite.
They should have an existence that does no harm to other
beings. Means must be found for a peaceful life, free
from envy, care, deceit, hatred and sorrow. This is my
cherished wish. |
| I am aware that my capacity is limited.
But my love for humanity is boundless. That is why I am
impelled to action and utterance beyond my position and
capacity. |
| You conduct yourselves according to what
you deem proper, after an inquiry aided by reason, this
is what I call reform. |
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Do not think I am selfless. I am
a very avaricious person. My desire and selfishness
are boundless; I consider the welfare of the Dravidian
society as my own welfare, and I toil solely for that
'Selfishness '
Justice, and nothing else, is my justification.
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Are my ideas admired or rejected?
Are they considered lofty or low? I do not bother. My
life's aim is that my views, however bitter they are to
others, should only express truth. |
| From my tenth year onwards, (as far as
I can remember), I have been an atheist. I have no faith
in caste or rituals. In matters of public conduct, I am
aware that others should not be pained or troubled; apart
from this, I have little regard for proper conduct. Even
though I am covetous of money and materials, I have earned
them only through my resourcefulness and not by pecuniary
dishonesty, or by betrayal of trust. I have never attempted
to cheat anyone, even in the smallest matter. Even though
I may have told lies in business deals, I have not told
lies in public - life, or consciously expressed opposing
views. Why should a person like me carry enmity or ill
will to a particular community? I am one who ardently
wishes to bring our land and society on a par with the
character and culture of England. I consider, rightly
or wrongly, that the Brahmin community is a stumbling
block to this. |
| Should not the Brahimins then demonstrate
that such is not the case? ? In fact, if only I had the
support of the Brahmins, I would have found it possible
to a large extent to bring about the advancement of our
country. |
I am one who lives just to see that
the whole world is suffused with atheistic rationality.
My only goal is the welfare of the
people. |
| I am no passionate seeker after power.
Only, I have a fierce social consciousness. For the sake
of the welfare of society, I am prepared in the days to
come to give up anything. |
| I devote myself to service only for the
reason that our people should gain in knowledge and live
on a par with the peoples of the world. |
| With me, there is never anything like
'my money '. As I had endowed all my money and property
in the name of the Movement when I entered public service,
I do everything, even eating, from out of the funds of
the Movement. It is your money, and not mine at all, that
I donated to a College, and a Hospital. After out what
was appropriate for the public goods, I spent out of the
Movement's General Funds. |
| If I know that any individual is devoted
to Tamil, I shall certainly become a slave to him. If
he is cultured, I shall indeed be his bosom-friend. Otherwise,
I would look upon him as anon-entity. |
| I, E. V. Ramaswamy, have taken upon myself
the task of reforming Dravidian society so that it shall
be comparable to other societies of the world, in esteem
and enlightenment, and I am solely devoted to that service. |
| Whether I am competent to do that service
or not, I have taken the task upon myself because no one
else in the country has come forward to do so. |
| Because I configure plans and principles on the basis
of reason and because I have no other attachments, I consider
myself qualified to do that service. For one who does
social service, this will do, I believe. |
| Even as a pipe must needs be played, and a drum beaten,
I must perforce talk or lecture, as long as I have a throat
and a voice. |
| Our people seem to take pride in cherishing antiquity.
But I am one who detests this craze for tradition. This
is why many hate me. But I am confident that those who
know will soon go over to my side. |
| I consider myself a rationalist. I am not averse to
anything that is in tune with reason and I am not in agreement
that is irrational. This sums up my attitude. |
| I believe that conducting oneself properly
and adhering to honesty in everything without concealing
truth, give one a unique strength. |
| I do not cite any precedent to explain
my principles and utterances. The effort of those that
run after what others have said does not accord with good
sense. I may point out that others support my ideas, but
I should not indicate that such persons have said thus
and thus, and therefore I also say, after them. |
| Rationalist that I am, I have no attachment
whatsoever to God, religion, literature or language. I
shall talk only of that which is acceptable to intelligence;
that which does well to people and that which enlightens
them. |
| Some even asked me: 'You are a Kannadiga;
how can you be a leader of Tamils?' I countered; ' Dear
fellow! No Tamil has qualified himself to lead! This is
because one Tamil does by no means tolerate the rise of
another Tamil to a position of leadership '. |
| I am aware that I am friendly with people
owing only to a Movement, and not because of other worldly
ties. I say so because, in many areas, by expressing opposing
views, I swim against the current of popular opining.
This is the fate of all those that conduct themselves
thus. |
| My life is like a shorn -off tree. If
a fruit bearing tree, it must be protected from others
throwing stones at it. But I do not think of so protecting
myself. As I do not care for anything. I do not fear anyone;
nor do I desire to gain favours from anyone |
| As regards speech, some deliver it with
an eye for elegance; some for ornateness; some others
to make people laugh or to win their approbation; a few
others speak just to exhibit their learning; and some
to express their ideas. I belong to the category. |
| Give a fair hearing and though t to all
that I say. If it is acceptable to your intelligence,
follow it accordingly; otherwise, reject it. I shall not
compel to do what I say, by telling you that I am an incarnation
of God, or that God speaks to you from within me, or that
I am a leader. |
| Even as a mother, bound by natural instincts,
tends all her offspring, to give them an equal experience,
so it is with me as regards my relationship with people.
Also, as the same mother tries to feed her lean and weak
child with more food than what she offers the rest of
her children, to make him equal to them, so I show greater
sympathy to the weak and the backward; and likewise I
exhibit my feelings towards Brahmins and the other communities.
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I am an ascetic. To an ascetic, an emperor is chaff,
it is said. To me not only the emperor, but, so is God,
scriptures, caste and politics; nay, I consider them
the filtered essence of can't and hypocrisy.
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You Decide for Yourselves
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Decide for yourselves as to what you should think of
those who say there is God, that He is the preserver
of Justice and that He is the Protector of All, even
after seeing that the practice of Unsociability, in
the form of man being banned from human sight and contact,
from walking in the street, from entering the temples
and from drawing water from a tank, is rampant in a
land and yet that land is spared from being razed by
an earthquake, burnt by the fiery lava of a volcano,
engulfed in a deluge from the occan , submerged in the
chasm of the earth , or fragmented by a thunder - storm
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Rationalism
| Why is it that a foreigner is required
to find out the height of the Himalayas, while we claim
to have discovered the Seven Words, above and the seven
more below; why is it that when we claim to have the ability
to expound Lord Nataraja's Cosmic Dance, the construction
of this simple loudspeaker in front of us is an enigma;
we should really contemplate on these aspects. You should
come forward to use reason to enlarge your general Knowledge. |
| Man is considered superior to other beings
in this world, because he has limitless capacity for knowledge.
People in other lands have advanced greatly, utilizing
this knowledge. But our countrymen owing to lack of this
knowledge are abjectly deteriorating. Stating that ours
is a land of enlightenment, we build tanks and temples;
in other lands, men fly in space and amaze the whole world. |
| In other lands, knowledge alone is respected
and trusted and held as the basis of everything, But in
this country, men believe only in rituals and ceremonies,
in God, in religion and such other rubbish, |
| Knowledge, born of rationalisation, is real knowledge.
Can mere bookish lore become knowledge? Can one become
a genius through learning by rote? Why is it that educated
persons endowed with the highest mental gifts - degree
holders in general and science and degree holders in particular
- believe that a more stone is a God and prostrate before
it? Why do great savants and specialists in science anoint
themselves with turbid water in order to expiate their
sins? Are there any connection between the science they
have learnt and the anointing mixture consisting of cow's
- drug and urine? |
| The aeroplane is referred to in Ramayana and Mahabharata,
but the power of magic. The aeroplane is explained in
English literature, but it flies by mechanical power.
What do we need now? Mechanical or magical energy? |
| Let us bring up two children of the same
parents - one in England and the other, in our country.
He who is reared in England will look at everything from
a scientific point of view, and the other will consider
everything from a religious point of view. |
| The reason for the present chaos and deterioration
in our country is that we have been hindered from enquiry
and cogitation and repressed from the use of rationality. |
| In whatever manner you surmise God, and with whatever
good intentions you found a religion, the results are
all the same. A reformist God and a rational religion
cannot achieve anything more than a superstitious God
and a blind religion. |
| Just as machines, invented for the social
good of man, to give him added advantage and to save him
labor and time, are under the control of the capitalists
to keep the worker and the laborer in hunger - so reason
that is to serve for the excellence, satisfaction and
comfort of man has been enslaved by a few, to cause people
pain, poverty and anxiety. |
| Activities that are not consonant with rational understanding,
intellectual enquiry and human needs should not be carried
on in the name of customs, traditions, God, religion,
caste and class, or in any other name. |
| Man possesses reason. It is given to him for enquiry,
not for blind animalism. It is by abusing reason that
man has brought himself into a lot of troubles. He has
created God, as an antidote to his troubles. |
| Uncertainties in life, dissatisfaction owing
to wants and competition among individuals, if these exist
in a country, then it is evident that her people do not
have full powers of reason. In a country where people
live freely and in contentment, it is clear that reason
rules there |
| Man believes that he must gather wealth for his children
who have the gift of reason, even by cheating his own
society. But animals and birds do not save anything for
their offspring who do not have the gift of reason; in
fact they bite, peck and chase them away when the time
comes for them to be on their own. They do not care for
them or even remember them afterwards. |
| Within a span of two thousand years, people
had lost the prerogative of using their own intelligence,
Knowledge did not increase, and society did not improve,
because men did not have the right to question the why
and the literates said of what was written down. They
were suppressed by being told that thinking, arguing and
doubting were sins. |
| Man does not go by what his own intelligence tells him
by God, saint, stage and Avatars. |
Anything that is not in tune with reason and self -
respect must be eschewd.
If superstition is removed and religion is viewed in the
light of reason, no religion will survive.
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| If greed is put an end to, no man will ever
believe what is contrary to his intelligence and experience.
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| I do not know for how many centuries our people have
to wait for attaining reason and maturity. I have to believe
that Tamil Nadu will have no salvation unless she is razed
to her foundation by a catastrophic deluge or storm, a
flood or an earthquake, and then renewed. |
| Those who respect reason should not hastily believe
what is heard; what is written down; what appears to be
happening over a long time; what is followed by many;
or what is said by God, or a Great Soul. Anything that
excites our wonder should not be immediately believed
as divine or miraculous. In every circumstance, we must
be prepared to think freely, rationally and impartially. |
| It is through rationality that man's longevity has been
increased and his mortality rate has been significantly
reduced. |
| One who possesses knowledge, and is aware of Nature,
is free from sorrow. There is pain when an injection is
administered for good health; but in spite of pain, one
tolerates it in expectation of the cure. That is the nature
of knowledge. |
| It is the power of thinking that distinguishes man from
animals and birds. It is because of this that these, through
much stronger than man, are enslaved by him. |
| It is the power of reasoning, more than any other power
in man that makes him superior to all other beings. Therefore,
we can say that in proportion to the measure of its use
does he conduct himself with human qualities. He who does
not use his reason is only an animal. |
| Because we have been constantly told and compelled to
believe that it is a sin to think thus, or to inquire
into a matter thus, we are now unable to analyse any matter.
If only we turn round with courage, we can progress fast. |
| Who is barbarian? He that has no brain; he that has
no reason; he that does not think despite possessing thought
and reason; and he that blames without thinking: these
I consider barbarians. |
| Following superstitious beliefs, without rational thinking,
has ushered in the condition of the worker becoming the
vassal, and the sluggard becoming the lord. |
| In the land of the naked, he that covers himself is
deemed mad! Similarly, is it surprising that in the land
of barbarians, he that thinks - the rationalist - appears
as mad? |
| Whatever is done, whatever the event, and the matter,
we should see beforehand whether they are consonant with
the why and wherefore of things, with experience, enquiry
and intelligence? Only then will knowledge grow. Instead,
if custom, tradition and ancestral practice are followed,
only stupidity will grow and not intelligence. |
| Do not follow anything just because some one else has
said it. Do not slavishly sell your conscience to others.
Analyse and inquire into every thing. |
| You are prepared to expend your money and dignity and
give up your liberty and equality to any extent. But you
are using your reason even to a small extent. Why do you
show such economy only in this? If this situation continues,
when are we to become men? |
| Firstly, we should all become men, before we become
Ministers, Chief Ministers, First of all, reason should
grow, and the innate thought process should flourish,
to enable us to be men. |
| Even when we buy a saree we buy it after
a good deal of thought as to whether the saree bought
before the same shop has server well and whether the shop
keeper is honest. We, who use our reason for such trivial
matters, fail to use it in important affairs. So we get
quite deceived. My first duty, therefore, is to stress
the necessity of reason. |
| What we need today is the growth of knowledge, in order
to advance in every field. Knowledge should have its sway. |
| What man needs today is not money, or shelter or transportation,
but the growth of intelligence. We should complete more
for acquiring knowledge than for earning any money. |
| Your own consciousness rules you; not God, or men of
religion. Without straightaway accepting what I say, accept
only what appears to be right to your reason, and reject
the rest. |
| Reason is the life - blood of man. Among all creatures,
only man possesses reason. The lower he is in the exercise
of this faculty, comparably, the more of a barbarian he
is. He attains maturity, consonant with the clarity he
achieves through reason. |
Rationality is the acute capacity of thinking.
Man should contemplate on anything, not by following the
path of belief, but that of reason. He should see whether
the object of his contemplation stands the test of inquiry.
Only then he rises to human stature from a primitive state.
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| Your guide is your own intelligence. Use it well. Avoid
being suspicious of others. Because your own reason has
been circumscribed, the cultivation of knowledge is stultified.
What your forebears have said are neither verities nor
wonders Leave those to them; without relation to these,
endeavour to discover and to do. Give priority to knowledge.
|
| Of all the creatures in the world, man alone possesses
reason and intelligence. If he uses them, he can achieve
great deeds. |
|
Analysing everything with courage and intelligence,
according to the occasion and need, rejecting what should
be rejected, contributing what should be contributed,
to reform, without fearing change: this is the inevitable
duty of rational.
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Self Respect
| We are fit to think of ' Self - respect ' only when
the notion of superior and inferior caste is banished
from our land. |
| Religion, politics, economics and social life in India
are based only on class distinctions. That is why some
live high and many are constrained to live low in society.
People have also lost their sense of self - respect. |
| He who does not care for dignity, is no better than
to a prostitute, however education he is. His education
will only endanger those that care for dignity. |
| If any one wishes to serve society, on the basis of
humanism, what he should do first is to make people think
and conduct themselves rationally. |
| Because man has been compelled to have faith and trust
in a mysterious God, he is now made to believe all the
lies about Him. |
| Man does not grow by merely accepting whatever others
have said. However, do listen to others, but later think
with the help of your reason. Accept and try to follow
what appears right to you. |
| The aim of a genuine self - respect movement is to change
whatever appears to be adverse to man's feelings of self
- respect. |
| That which enslaves you to customs of the world to orthodoxy,
to the rigours of religion, contrary to your rationality
and awareness of truths of experience, is what I shall
describe as antagonistic to self - respect. |
| This all- important awareness of self - respect. Based
on feelings of dignity and indignity, may be deemed man's
birth - right, as the word 'man' is itself a word based
on dignity. Therefore, he who is called 'man ' embodies
dignity in himself, and only through his right to this
dignity, reveals his human qualities. That is why ' self
- esteem is his birth - right. |
| Man must remove by himself his feelings of inferiority,
the feeling that he is lesser born than other beings,
and attain self -confidence and self - respect. |
| If people imbibe feelings of genuine self-respect it
will automatically set right political, nationalism and
also theology. |
| It is not possible that legislation and the process
of franchise by themselves can bring about reformation
and self - respect. |
| In Western countries, self - esteem is needed only in
the sphere of economics. But we need it in religion, society,
education, Knowledge, research handicraft. Politics, economics
and in several other fields. |
What our people need now is not only education,
but also awareness and self - respect. Feeling of self
- respect, the ability is what we need most today.
Man must hold his personal respect and dignity as preciouses
as his life. |
|
We can confront a thousand self - respecting people.
But it is a difficult task to grapple with one who is
without self - respect.
|
Social Reform
| Books that advocate communal distinctions and complexes
of superiority and inferiority should be prohibited from
being read. If read, they should be confiscated. |
| Social reform cannot stand apart from politics, nor
can politics stand apart from social reform. Politics
exists only for human society. Every political active
is only for social good. Constitutional law and defense
are made only for society and in accordance with social
good. |
| Offering alms and receiving alms. Should be deemed illegal,
if human society should prosper without hindrance. Only
then will man be able to live in self - respect. |
| The evils of religion, communalism, tradition and orthodoxy
can never be eradicated from our land and society, unless
the government creates what may be called a ' Department
for Defeating Superstitious Belief's and through it facilitates
propaganda against these evils in schools and public places
and among students and the people. |
| The world today has no place for the meek, the poor,
the innocent and the honest. Are we to wait for an opportune
time to mend this condition? |
| It is important that communal distinctions, in the name
of temple, are eradicated and that all the properties
held in the name of temples are utilized for the welfare
of the people. |
| In many matters, without being harmed and demeaned by
other s, we have subjected ourselves to a debasement and
a lowly condition. Our society will never change. Without
our reforming ourselves, without a change of heart among
us. |
| History bears out that the threat of power has never
stopped any reform. Social changes will always occur.
People also will undergo social change. |
| Tentative and superficial changes here and there in
the name of social reform will not bear fruit. The present
social set - up should be destroyed at its very base,
and a new social order, free from cast and class be created.
|
| Though we have progressed and changed in the field of
politics, we are still backward in the social field. This
condition should change. |
| Ours is an obstinate society. Even after more than three
- fourths of the people of the world have progressed,
our society is still in a backward and barbaric stage,
adamantly following customs of yore, because they have
been adopted for a long time by its forebears. |
| Our society consists of many castes, religions and sects.
The human and social distinctions that exist in our country
should be put an end to. Without considering that someone
else will bring about this change, each one of us should
do something for our society. |
| Whomsoever I love or hate, my principle is the same.
That is, the educated the rich and the administrators
should not suck the blood of the poor. |
| Those that pretend to serve the cause of social good
for their selfish ends, without caring even a little for
our society, are enemies of the Tamils, even if they are
themselves Tamils. |
| In the village where you reside, some fifty people are
affected by water - borne and you discover that the well
in the village contains the carrier - germs. Pumping out
the water completely should clean the well. If the springs
in the well are they infected, then they should also be
closed and a new well dug. If one insists on drinking
the same infected water, then there is no escape for him
from that disease. I am engaged in the task of stopping
those springs in the well. |
| The proper task of social reform is to remove
poverty from society and to ensure that people do not
sell their conscience to make a living. |
| Reforms should be so brought about as to teach people
good conduct, to enlarge knowledge, to cultivate compassion
and charity to living beings, and to infuse in them a
growing awareness of equality and self - respect. |
| To discard what is unwanted and to retain what is needed
is what reform means. |
| Those who undertake reform should not be subjected to
any control. The real path to reform is to break all the
shackles that impede change |
| Those who are timid and fearful that others would not
respect them, they would be ridiculed, that there would
be growing opposition to them, and that they would lose
the sympathy of the world, can never bring about genuine
reforms. No reforms, undertaken by people of these qualities,
will ever bear fruit. |
| The reformer's real duty is to think of the source of
the deterioration and to seek measures to ensure that
such deterioration never occur again in the generations
to come. |
| No individual who came forward to achieve social reform
on the basis of religion has ever succeeded even to a
small extent. |
| If the education, the rich and the administrators
are opposed to the welfare of the toiling people and to
their enjoying all the fruits of their labor, then they
are only fit to disappear from the face of the earth. |
| Without an upheaval in our attitude to religion,
caste, customs, traditions, orthodoxies, God, and commandments,
which are the bases of social tyranny, no political reform
will be of any use to the ordinary folk. |
|
Is it necessary that there should be divisions of high
(Brahmins) and low (Panchamas) castes in society? If
it is said that God is responsible for this, should
those of the lowly castes (panchamas and Sudras) worship
Him?
|
Science
| If man objects to the use of machines, then it are evident,
he is against the expansion of knowledge. |
| Look at the enormous change in our life today. Our comforts
in daily life have vastly improved. Formerly, we had only
the bullock cart. Now we have such modern comforts as
the locomotive, the motor car, and aero plane. We struck
flints to make a fire, but now, the pressing of a button
makes a thousand electric lights burn. Our people's understanding,
despite so much change in life, remains just as it was
a thousand years ago! |
| Science exhibitions feature many modern flowerings of
the imagination. Several new inventions, conductive to
life's comforts, would be displayed there. Sensitive instruments,
obtained from many countries, would find a place at the
exhibition. He, who enters at one end of the exhibition
and comes out at the other, would have increased his knowledge
in all fields. He sees and enjoys the world's scientific
advancement and attains clarity of understanding. He gets
an opportunity to be aware of the many intricacies of
research. He has the pleasure of seeing a number of wonderful
equipments. In fine, within a few hours, he derives from
that exhibition a maturity of knowledge that he would
have to spend years at a University to acquire. |
| Even those , who some time ago believed
all the stories about God , that is , who believed that
a divine power exists, have now come to be so ashamed
of their own belief that hiding their ignorance , they
are now struggling heard to prove those stories as scientifically
true . |
| He who first created fire with the help of flints was
the ' Edison ' of those days. Thereafter, we advanced
step by step and we now have fire through electricity.
Thus, change is natural and inevitable, and no one can
stop it. |
| A big change should come about in our
country on the food front. We must certainly discover
a chemical product as a substitute for rice. We first
used steam power, with the help of fire, to drive an engine.
Then, according to the changing needs of our time, we
utilized kerosene, crude oil, petrol and electricity for
power. In a like manner, the human engine, without being
driven by a huge intake of food, can be activated by and
made to subsist on some fine source of energy, similar
to electricity. |
|
Hereafter, even human birth will be rare. Similarly
death rate also will decrease. Man can easily live for
a hundred years. On an average, no one will have more
than two children. There will be no correlation between
sexual relationship and child - birth.
|
Education
| The education that man needs is only to make him fit
to life in freedom. |
| To spread education to the masses is as difficult an
effort as spreading communism in our country. |
| The people of a land should first of all be educated
if they are to seek progress, to lead a good and cultured
life and to gain a proper understanding in the spheres
of politics, economics and industry. |
| Only education, self - respect and rational qualities
will uplift the down - trodden. |
| Teachers should first teach the students what self respect
is; and what courage, dignity and equality are Students
should be taught to love people. |
| It is as dangerous for people to support scriptural
pundits as using a burning stick to scratch an itching
scalp; they have no alternative means of livelihood; and
therefore we should be ever watchful in our contact with
these pundits. |
| If teachers are to be useful, they should be capable
of free thinking to some extent at least, and also have
some degree of respect for reason. |
| Teachers, parents, officers -all should try to foster
good conduct, discipline, fairness and honesty in students.
|
| Great teachers, instead of converting young men into
men of religion, should try hard to make them men of knowledge.
|
| Why should any one, in the name of caste, be considered
lowly or be made to do a mean job? If all in the country
are given education, can there exist a caste for doing
mean work? Is it not because of lack of education that
those people are constrained to do contemptible work and
are considered lowly? |
| Just as it is fair to provide the necessities of food
, clothes and shelter to those who are without these ,
so is it fair to provide education to those who do not
have it . |
| It is not temples that we need today, but schools. Knowledge
can bring about many miracles. Therefore, we do need today
schools that will be the basis for imparting knowledge.
|
| Our educational system should change. A trade should
be learnt along with academic study. Even if one discontinues
his studies in any class, he should be able to eke out
a living by a trade. People should be familiar with some
trade. |
| Schools promote literacy and knowledge in a particular
field. But the library fosters awareness of general Knowledge
in all spheres. |
| Schools and institutions of higher learning will enlarge
knowledge only to a certain extent. Whoever administers
them, they are subjected to rules and regulations. |
| The benefit of learning cannot be fully derived from
these kinds of institutions. Only libraries can compensate
for this drawback. |
| In fine, libraries are indeed a University. |
| It is essential that education in our country should
have two cardinal aims. Firstly, education should foster
rationality and feelings of self respect. Secondly, it
should be conductive to a better life through a job or
trade |
| What is education for? For knowledge. And what is knowledge
for? To enable man to live humanely, so that he lives
to serve his fellowmen, in honor and without causing hardship
to others. |
| Care should be taken first of all in inculcating discipline
among pupils at school. That alone is important. Now only
is education. How to conduct one properly is what should
be taught first. Good conduct alone makes one a culture
man in later life. |
| If I were the country's administrator, I would exact
heavy taxes in order to develop it on right lines. The
poor spend whatever is given to them. So, instead of giving
them money, their children can be educated out of tax
revenue. |
| Care should be taken to see that books alluding to bad
conduct, superstition and social ills do not enter schools
or politics. |
| Edit the poems of Bharatidasan, and prescribe them as
texts, as suited to each class at school. Knowledge that
can normally be gained in five years can be had in a year,
by reading them. |
| Many think that only seeing God and seeking salvation
is enlightenment or knowledge. As this thought is fed
from childhood, the student remains ever confused. |
| The great traits students should follow
are: proper conduct, honesty, fairness, doing well to
others and not being a hindrance to others. These are
for us higher than God. |
| Discipline alone is very important to children. Fostering
it is our paramount duty. |
| Boys and girls at school should not think it a privilege
to were fashionable attire or costly jewellery but should
were only simple clothes. At seats of learning where all
pupil mix, there should be no distinctions. |
| Students should not waste their school - life, as it
is very, very precious. Their mind should not be distracted
by any event outside. Particularly, students should not
participate in agitations. |
| Boys and girls ruin their lives by buying and reading
obscene books. They should buy and read books of profound
thought and knowledge and imbibe the spirit of inquiry. |
|
First of all, students should be obedient to teachers.
Next they should learn discipline. Next only come the
lessons at school.
|
The Tamil Language
| The love of one's tongue is the foremost of all loves
that are required of the people born in our land. He that
has no love for his tongue certainly has no love for his
land. A nation functions on the basis of the love for
one's language. So it is my prayer that Tamils' love for
their mother - tongue should grow. |
| I affirm again and again that the love of the mother
- tongue is a must for those born in Tamil Nadu. The Bengali
love Bengali. The Maharashtrians love the Marathi language.
The Andhras love the Telugu language. The Andhras love
the Telugu language. But the Tamils have no love for the
Tamil - tongue. The Tamils will never progress unless
they bestow love on their mother -tongue. |
| If I love Tamil, it is not merely because it is the
mother - tongue or the language of the State. Nor am I
attached to Tamil by reason of its uniqueness or its antiquity
or its being the language that Lord Shiva spoke or its
being the creation of Sage Agasthya. I can love a thing
only for its innate goodness and the benefits that may
flow from it. I do not cherish a thing merely because
it happens to be mine , whether it be my language , my
land , or my religion , or because I claim what is mine
to be hallowed by antiquity . |
| If I love Tamil. It is because it is because I am aware
of the advantages I expect through it and the measure
of loss that will occur by the absence of it. |
| If I consider that my country will not serve my ideals,
will not help to forthwith quit it. Similarly, if the
language is not conducive to my ideals, or to the advancement
of my people, or to their living with self - respect,
I will promptly discard it and follow what is useful. |
| As I am aware of the disadvantages of another language
being imposed on our country, I am intolerant of it and
oppose it, I do not resist it merely because it is new
or it belongs to another land. |
| It is my opinion that the Tamil Language is capable
of contributing to the progress and freedom of the people
in all fields, and will be conducive to a life of dignity
and reason. However, some may ask whether all such resources
are available in Tamil. Even if all these qualities are
not found, I am aware that Tamil has arts, customs, traditions,
and an appropriate vocabulary, which can contribute to
a greater advancement than most other Indian languages.
Therefore, any other language that is likely to cause
disadvantage to Tamil is unwelcome. |
| Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada are of Tamil origin
only. The Tamil that is spoken in Malabar is called Malayalam;
the Tamil that is spoken in Karnataka becomes Kannada;
and the Tamil that is spoken in the regions of Andhra
becomes Telugu. All the four speak only Tamil. |
| Some scholars consider that Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
and Kannada came from the same tongue that is they are
the offspring of the same mother. This is only a deception
according to me. There is only one a deception according
to me. There is only one Dravidian tongue, and she is
Tamil. And we call her four different names. Because she
is spoken in four different regions, she has four different
names. It is only Tamil that is spoken in these four regions. |
|
Writing in Tamil about the Arts which are useful to
the people in their life and which foster knowledge,
talent and courage, and propagating them among the masses,
there by enlightening the people and enriching the language:
this alone can be regarded as zeal for Tamil.
|
Alphabet Reform
In writings and publications of 70 or 80 years ago,
the vowel 'eel' (I :) indicated today as '___'
Was a cursive and looped represented of the short forms,
' __' (I)? |
In stone inscriptions of 400 or 500 years ago, many
Tamil letters are found in other shapes.
As a matter of necessity and advantage, it is sensible
now to change a few letters, reduce the number, of letters,
reduce the number of letters and alter a few signs. |
| The older and the more divine a language and its letters
are to be, they, in truth, need reform. |
| Because of changes brought about by means of modern
transport and international contact, and because of happenings
that have attracted words and products from many lands,
a number of foreign words and their pronunciation and
writing of these words. Therefore it becomes necessary
that a few letters are taken from other languages. If
we fight shy of doing that, we should at least create
some new letters. |
| Just as some compound characters have separate signs
to indicate their length as in ' ___ ' , '____' (ka :
;Ke : ) , why should not other compound characters like
' __' , '__' , '__' , ' __ ' ( ki , ki : , ku, ku : )
( indicated integrally as of now ) , also have separate
signs ? This indeed requires consideration. |
| It has been my opinion for a long times that the vowel
- sounds '__', ' __', (ai, au) are not required in Tamil.
Compound characters in Tamil which require the addition
of this sound in the shape of '__ ' can be obtained by
the use of '__' (y), at the end. |
| Changing the shape of letters, creating new symbols
and adding new letters and similarly, dropping those that
are redundant, are quite essential. |
| The glory and excellence of a language
and its script depend on how easily they can be understood
or learnt and on nothing else. |
| If one is an admirer of the Tamils, he
is considered a traitor, communalist and a hater of Brahmins.
Can there be a greater instance than this for the sorry
state of the Tamils? No lover of Tamil attempts to bring
about even a small change in Tamil Orthography. Even if
someone tries, he has no support. Whoever did try to make
Tamil Orthography adequate and easy, to suit present day
conditions? |
|
The Tamil Alphabet looks primitive! How many loops!
How many dashes! How many upward turns? How many downward
turns! Such cumbersome orthography in the present day!
Do we need so many letters today? Why do we need 216
letters? The Englishman does wonders and has only 26
letters. And he turns the whole world round with just
26 letters.
|
Literature
| A literature that concerns itself with knowledge of
Nature , which is common to all , and is far removed from
religion and God , and a literature that is to do with
irrefutable science - only by these can a language and
its Letters be enriched and only by these can people become
enlightened . |
| The importance of a book depends only on its measure
of usefulness and not on its creator or on its divine
quality and wonderful nature or on its literary or grammatical
dimensions. |
| Literature should nurture culture and inculcate noble
qualities in the people. |
| What is literature for? How should literature be? What
can be called literature? Why should it exist? My view
is that it should not only help man to live, but also
be conducive to the progress society. |
|
Our thoughts of a literary renaissance should always
centre themselves on the removal of superstition, meanness,
indignity and ignorance.
|
The Tirukural
People praise the Tirukural but in practice they cherish
the Gita which is directly opposed to it!
Valluvar's Kural is impelled by ideas that are in accordance
with practical knowledge, and in tune with Nature and
Science. |
| Those who study the Kural deeply will certainly attain
a consciousness of self - respect. Knowledge of politics,
knowledge of society and knowledge of economics are all
embedded in it. |
| The Tirukural is a work that is so written as to teach
society noble traits and proper conduct by pointing to
a moral path and fostering ethical principles. That is
why peoples of all religion, all over, adore the Kural
as their work or as one that agrees with the principles
of their religion. |
| It is my firm conviction that the kural was especially
created to demonstrate that the arts, culture, ethics
and conduct of the Tamils were vastly different from and
antithetical to those of the Aryans. |
| Only because we regard Valluvar as a man, a great man,
who strove of the removal of the ills of the people so
that human qualities could be nurtured, we accept his
kural. We do not accept it as divine utterance or inspired
Apocalypse. |
| It is better to read ten kural for knowledge, than a
hundred songs of kambaRamayana or two hundred songs of
periapurana, or kandapurana. |
| If any one asks you what yours religion is say that
you belong to the ' Valluvar Religion ' and if you are
asked what your moral code is , say that it is the kural
. The kural is so irrefutable that no conservative or
crafty person will dare to oppose you. |
| The Tirukural will pave a lofty way for the eradication
of superstition and the enlargement of knowledge. The
thoughts of the kural should be spread throughout the
country. It should be brought about that education means
the learning of the kural and knowledge means, the awareness
of the kural. |
| The author of the kural did not accept
God, Heaven and Hell, You could find only Virtue, wealth
and Love in the Kural; ' Salvation ' and ' Final Bliss
' are not alluded to by the author. |
In the Kural, there is a chapter on invocation to God,
but there is no place in it for principles of idol worship.
Valluvar has invoked God though eight or nine concepts
only to show how man should conduct himself and to make
him understand life's ethical conduct and status. |
| The kural is not devotional book. It is not also a book
of theology to reveal God; nor is it a book of religious
doctrines for evangelism. It only teaches true and egalitarian
conduct which is agreeable to all. |
He who has intelligence and beholds to knowledge as supreme
and he who has the capacity to think and investigate will
certainly respect and admire the kural, follow it to some
| |
