(Thiruvalluvar statue at SOAS, university of London)

There was a great saint by the name Thiruvalluvar. Initially, he was a weaver. He used to weave just one sari per day, sell it in the bazaar, and earn money for his family. Good and bad exist together; it would be impossible to separate them. In the same village, there was the son of a rich man who was wasting his time wandering aimlessly.

Where there is money, there is ego. Ego gives rise to bad qualities. Once the money is lost, all bad qualities too disappear. One day, the rich man’s son came to Thiruvalluvar and asked for the price of the sari. Thiruvalluvar said it cost four rupees. The boy was known for his arrogance and mischief. He picked up the sari, tore it into two pieces and asked for the price of one piece. Thiruvalluvar replied, it cost two rupees, sincehe had made the Sari into two halves. The boy tore it again into another piece and asked for the price. Thiruvalluvar replied that the price was one rupee.

This brought about a transformation in the mind of the boy. He wondered how the businessman was calm and composed even after he tore the sari into pieces. The boy fell at Thiruvalluvar’s feet and repented for his behaviour. The boy said that due to his pride and arrogance, he made this mistake. Then he went to his father, got the required money for the sari and kept it at the feet of Thiruvalluvar. (SSS Vol.31, pp. 373-374)

(Thiruvalluvar statue in Kanyakumari - Wiki)

In Tamil, there is a sacred book named Tirukkural, which is equivalent to the Vedas. It was written by Thiruvalluvar. He took to the path of spirituality, worked for the welfare of the humanity and led a disciplined and peaceful life.

He used to ask his wife to keep a cup of water and a needle by his side while he ate his food. As per the command of her husband, his wife did accordingly day after day, but not even once did she find him putting them to use while having food. When his wife asked him for the reason, he replied, ‘I don’t want to waste even a single grain of rice. The purpose of this needle is to pick up the grain of rice if it were to fall outside my place and to wash it clean with water before putting it back in the plate. So far I have not used this needle as I have been very careful not to spill rice grains.

‘Annam Brahma; Raso Vishnuhu; Bhokta devo Maheswarah’ (food is Brahma, the essence is Vishnu and the one who partakes of it is Maheshvara). Food is called Brahma since its essence pervades the whole body and gives it strength. The prayer to Vishnu is to purify the mind, so that the body may be utilised in a proper way. The Ishvara Principle demonstrates how to make use of the strong body and pure mind in a proper way. God resides in the heart of everyone in the form of love. But, no one is making any effort to realise the Principle of Love in the heart. There is not life without love. Love is God. God is love. (SSS Vol.32 Part I, p.114)