In Service of the Unseen: A Kural Conversation with Michael Meade

Singing One’s Own Song in the World

With storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology Michael Meade, I was delighted to speak about being known well, dying before you die, and the presence of the divine as reflected in THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural.

Here are a few highlights and where in the video you can find them:

Being well known versus being known well 3:58
Bringing the gift of one’s soul into the world 7:04
The earth as the source of generosity and blessing 8:45
Funeral as a central community ritual 13:00
Glory as a person’s song in the world 19:56

Here are the key verses we talked about, in both English and Tamil:

236
If you appear appear with renown—better not to appear
Than to appear without it

தோன்றிற் புகழொடு தோன்றுக அஃதிலார்
தோன்றலின் தோன்றாமை நன்று

239
Even the blameless abundance of earth dwindles
Beneath bodies without name

வசையிலா வண்பயன் குன்றும் இசையிலா
யாக்கை பொறுத்த நிலம்

235
Gain in loss—life in death—the discerning alone
Attain them

நத்தம்போற் கேடும் உளதாகும் சாக்காடும்
வித்தகர்க் கல்லால் அரிது

231
Give freely and gain glory—nothing else
Gains a life more

ஈதல் இசைபட வாழ்தல் அதுவல்ல
தூதியம் இல்லை உயிர்க்கு

From chapter 24, “Renown.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston