Dribbly Dose of Thirukkural # 3

Today’s Daily Dose of Thirukkural deals with
chapter 39 'The Greatness of a King’,
the section is 02 ‘Wealth’,
and the couplet serial number is 382.

Explanation in English:
Courage (fearlessness), liberal attitude, wisdom and endeavour - these four characterize the kings.

Original couplet:
அஞ்சாமை ஈகை அறிவூக்கம் இந்நான்கும்
எஞ்சாமை வேந்தர்க் கியல்பு.

Explanation in Tamil:
மன உறுதி (அச்சப்படாமல் இருத்தல்), கொடை (கனிவு), அறிவு (ஆழ்ந்த எண்ணம்), ஊக்கம் (முயற்சி) இந்நான்கும் அரசர்களுக்கு இயல்பு

There is no need to expound on these characters.  In fact, these are the qualities which need to be present in every leader - whether it is in religion, business, politics, society or sports.
While in politics and statecraft they are called as such, they are termed differently and have a slightly different connotations when applied to the other fields.  For eg.:
In sports, these qualities are enshrined as

• competitiveness
• sportsmanship
• knowledge of the game and
• intense training.

While in a social or religious context, they are insisted as

• strong belief
• pity and care for others
• insight
• dedication

When it comes to business, they are taught as

• business sense - ruthlessness and expediency
• rewards and gratification
• marketing (production) strategy
• pursuance

Thus we see that an underlying character or quality can be subtly oriented and suitably adopted to pursue a career in practically any field of activity.  The difficulty arises in practice arises in stamping that particular orientation and adoption into individual persons to enable them to live a successful, enriching and satisfying career.

This could perhaps be the reason that we do not see many successful transitions from one field to another.  Whatever said and done, there are very few people who can successfully adopt the ‘mantra’ for a second career.

If you feel like scoffing at this, just take time to read ‘5 lessons Olympic athletes can teach business leaders’ [http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2011/07/03/five-lessons-olympic-athletes-can-teach-business-leaders/].
0:-)



Yup!  That’s former British PM Sir John Major playing Cricket - image courtesy Daily Mail.

---