Three Eminent Postings in Facebook In recent weeks there appeared three posts contributed by lovers of the Tamil language. I found them to be highly informative and worthy enough to attract further thought on the merits of this ancient language and on the scope of its extended use in dealing with universal matters. One of the posts was in the form of a tabulated presentation of Tamizh’s position among 22 scheduled languages of India, detailing the number of people using them and the regions, and the years/period of their origin or evaluation. The other two were about a reputed Japanese scholar of Tamil, and about its popular use among some Chinese. Astounding but delightful was the appraisal indicating that Tamil dates back to 3800 years ago, perhaps as old as Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, with 66 million people currently using it. On the other hand, Sanskrit, which is highly revered for its seniority among world’s principal religions and for its having filled sacred texts is now a dead language with a tiny 14 to 15 thousand people using it. Tamil has the added merit of having given birth, in major regional and ethnic impacts, to the prestigious languages of Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannadam. From the angle of cultural fusions in the once vast territory of the Indus Valley Civilization, languages like Bengalese and Gujarati also join in the glory of highly developed and progressive tongues. Tamizh eminently stands out as an ever vibrant language especially by virtue of having contributed the lofty thoughts of man, which are contained in the distinctive and uniquely versified text of Thirukural. Tamil language was equally well known to other people like the Persians and the Chinese since ancient times but its growing ascendancy in the West started with G.U. Pope who explored the Kural in 1886. The French who rank equally with the British in the exposition and extolment of cultural and spiritual material grandly dignify the Thirukural. So now, we have commentators and interpreters of the Kural, of Indian and other Asiatic origins and the Western. Like some others, I have reason to believe that the Arab traders of medieval times, who had close contacts with the Indian sub-continent, picked up some suasive elements of cultural instruction from it for incorporating them in the development of their future religion. Their endeavor was highly rewarded, and their Arabic became the divine language! However, it is worth remembering that in Valluvar’s time, the general understanding of religion and culture, despite the prevalence of the two heterodox religions, Jainism and Buddhism, and the atheistic Carvaka philosophy, heavily hung on a deified creator of the world and humanity, and that the successive scholars who were attracted by the Kural were also largely influenced by that understanding. Yet, so much water has passed under the world’s bridges till this time; I simply assert that the interpretative commentary and presentation of this valuable document has now to be done afresh in consonance with the people’s philosophy of this writer; Carvaka, and secular humanism. It is possible; only proneness to change, new convictions and dedication, and diligent work are needed. Jagatguru
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:35:53 +0000