Philosophy of Proverbs
Very often we run after the
shadow, discarding the substance in the background. In the spiritual sense,
this theory is the very root of bondage. Instead of seeking God and realising
his oneness with Him, man runs after His shadow, the world. This is the cause
of all misery on earth.
Even in the case of the
meaning of the word ‘God’ itself we more often than not understand the ‘shadow’
rather than the real ‘substance’ that is God. We concentrate so much on this
unreal thing that in course of time we lose consciousness of the existence of
the real. In our admiration of the tree, we miss the grand spectacle of the
wood!
This is true of our
understanding of the scriptures, too. How often have not reformers had to
thunder forth to antagonistic millions the true significance of the teachings
of the Prophets and Saints and dispel the darkness of wrong notions that had
covered up the essence! The origin of most of the religions of the world could
be traced out to this sort of renaissance. The source was only one religion. In
course of time, people of deluded understanding began to interpret its tenets
variously and started forming parties. They split themselves into opposing
camps, each owning to be the sole votaries of the real purport of the ancients’
utterances. Then will arise a star who will dive deeper into the ocean of
wisdom and bring out the pearl of Truth. Some will follow him; others will
still strike the discordant note. The new Seer will get together a band of
followers to propagate his teachings; and these will establish a new religion.
And, so the game has gone on for ages!
Besides the scriptural
teachings, all religions have had the ‘sayings’ of their prophets. These are
also classed under proverbs, though these include other ideas. Those of the
proverbs which have such a spiritual background have as much of deep, secret
and mystical meaning as the scriptural utterances themselves. This makes the
real idea which they wish to convey to be misconstrued by posterity; and often
some nonsensical notes are sounded in a futile attempt to give a true rendering
of this sublime music!
Let us take a few examples
from the Tamil literature. There is a beautiful (and amusing as it has become
nowadays) proverb which means: "When you see (the) dog, there is no stone;
when you see (the) stone, there is no dog." This has come to be regarded
as a remark made by someone in a light vein, or at least not in a very serious
mood. The proverb is taken to convey what it literally does. A man is passing
along the road in a village. Several dogs stroll about him. "What a
pity!" he is made to think, "There are so many dogs all about me. How
I wish there was a stone near at hand so that I could enjoy a throw at
them!" During a pilgrimage the same man looks at beautiful, well-polished
stones lining the banks of the Ganga; then he thinks, "What a pity, again!
Here there are any number of the most lovely stones. But, not a dog to hit them
with!" This is the interpretation of the vulgar proverb. Even the serious
amongst humanity nowadays will at best interpret it to man that this proverb
merely restates an old idea regarding earthly fortunes. Where money is most
needed, it is usually absent; where it is already superfluous, it is found in
more and more abundance. Few care to stop to think what the proverb really has
to convey.
Before we proceed to examine
the underlying sense of this proverb let us divert our attention to ‘God’
vis-a-vis the world. What is this world and what is God? "Brahma satyam
jaganmithya jivo brahmaiva na aparah", roared the ancient seers. God
alone is truth; the world does not exist at all, they said. But, we see
it?—posed the uninitiated.
Yes, we see it as we see snake
in the rope; as we see water in the mirage; as we see silver in the
mother-of-pearl. That is what the world is. It is a superimposition on Brahman.
In essence, it is not there; at least, as what it seems to be. So long as you
see it in darkness, it appears as the snake. Light the lamp of wisdom and in
its effulgence, the world as such will disappear, and you will perceive the
Essence (Brahman in all Its grandeur). Several Tamil saints have conveyed this
idea in very beautiful and sublime verses. He who sees God, does not perceive
the world made up of the five elements; and who is engrossed in the play of the
elements is blinded to the vision of God.
To arrive at the real purport
of the proverbs, we should know the context in which that proverb took its
birth. Only then can we understand the sense which the letters wish to convey.
A sculptor moves around an old
temple, with every one of his senses and the mind absorbed in the beauty of the
carvings on the walls of the temple. He feels the tail of a cat; ah, how
beautiful it is! There, the mouth of that lion with that stone-ball inside! So,
he moves from one carving to another. He takes a turn. "Lo! That huge dog!
If only it jumps on me! Look at its sharp teeth; and its bloodthirsty tongue
flowing out of its mouth! It is looking directly at me. O my God, what am I to
do now?" Perplexed, he closes his eyes. One minute passes, two, three,
four. Still the dog is hesitant. "Why, probably it is chained." He
throws a small stone at it. It does not move. He goes nearer. Still it stands
where it was, staring at him all the time. "Why, it does not even wag its
tail. Peculiar dog it must be." He goes yet nearer and touches its tail.
His whole body rocks with laughter at his own idiotic behaviour. It is made of
stone! Yet, such was the workmanship, the colouring and the art that it
actually looks like a living dog. This is what was meant by the poet who said,
"When there is the dog, there is no stone; when there is the stone, there
is no dog." When you see the dog, there was no idea that it was of stone.
When you realise it is made of stone, the idea of dog vanishes! What travesty
of truth it is to superimpose all sorts of ludicrous ideas on this proverb
which conveys the highest truth! When you see the diversity, Unity disappears;
and vice versa. When you realise God, world disappears; when you lose yourself
in the world, you cannot realise God!
This idea is beautifully
expressed in many a couplet in Tamil literature. One says: "The elephant
screened the wood; and in the wood disappeared the elephant." It sounds
mystic! Take an instance. A young child has an elephant made of mango-wood
which he got as a present from his fond parent. A carpenter is working on the
verandah. It runs to him and shows the elephant to him. "See, how big are
his legs. Look at his winnow-like ears. Booh! The tusks will pierce your
chest." The child plays with it as if it were an elephant in reality. The
carpenter takes the doll in his hand and examines it. "Why, child, it is
not a good one." "What, my elephant?" "Yes. It is made of
mango-wood. It will get spoiled soon." To the carpenter, it is not an elephant;
but a piece of wood! Such is the difference in the attitude towards the world
between the worldly man and a saint. The worldly man sees the world as a
diversity, as a mixture of pleasure and pain, as a conglomeration of objects;
the saint perceives the one Hidden Essence which pervades the whole universe—to
him it is an ‘Abhasa’ of that Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, Brahman.
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