அன்பிற்கும் உண்டோ அடைக்குந்தாழ் ஆர்வலர்
புன்கணீர் பூசல் தரும்.
Anpirkum Unto Ataikkundhaazh Aarvalar
Punkaneer Poosal Tharum (71)
Can love be hidden? It will reveal itself in the tiny teardrop that forms when a loved one is in distress.
अर्गलं नास्ति हि प्रीते: प्रीतानामश्रुबिन्दव: ।
प्रकाशयन्ति सर्वेषां प्रीतिमन्त:स्थितामपि ॥ (७१)
अर्गल है क्या जो रखे, प्रेमी उर में प्यार ।
घोषण करती साफ़ ही, तुच्छ नयन-जल-धार ॥ (७१)
ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಅಡಗಿಸಿಡುವ ಕೀಲಿ ಉಂಟೇ? ಪ್ರೀತಿಯುಳ್ಳವರ ಕಿರು ಕಣ್ಣೀರು (ಅವರೆದೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ) ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಾಗಿ ಹಲವರರಿಯುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡವುದು. (೭೧)
ദയയുള്ളോർ പരൻദുഃഖം കണ്ടാൽ കണ്ണീരൊഴുക്കിടും ദയയെന്ന ഗുണം താഴിട്ടടക്കാനാവതാകുമോ? (൭൰൧)
Könnte man Liebe verriegeln – der Liebenden Tränen brächte sie hervor.
அன்பிலார் எல்லாம் தமக்குரியர் அன்புடையார்
என்பும் உரியர் பிறர்க்கு.
Anpilaar Ellaam Thamakkuriyar Anputaiyaar
Enpum Uriyar Pirarkku (72)
The unloving belong only to themselves, but the loving belong to others to their very bones.
नर: प्रेम्णा विरहित्: सर्वमात्मार्थमिच्छति ।
प्रेमवान् स्वशरीरं च परार्थमिति मन्यते ॥ (७२)
प्रेम-शून्य जन स्वार्थरत, साधें सब निज काम ।
प्रेमी अन्यों के लिये, त्यागें हड्डी-चाम ॥ (७२)
ಪ್ತೀತಿ ಇಲ್ಲದವರು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತಮ್ಮದು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯುವರು; ಪ್ರೀತಿಯುಳ್ಳವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಶರೀರವೂ (ಎಲುಬು) ಪರರಿಗಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಯುವರು. (೭೨)
ദയയില്ലാത്തവർ സർവം തങ്ങൾക്കെന്നു ധരിക്കയാം ദയയുള്ളോരെല്ലും കൂടെ പൊതുസ്വത്തായ് ഗണിച്ചിടും (൭൰൨)
Lieblose besitzen alles für sich – Liebende überlassen selbst ihre Gebeine anderen.
புறத்துறுப் பெல்லாம் எவன்செய்யும் யாக்கை
அகத்துறுப்பு அன்பி லவர்க்கு.
Puraththurup Pellaam Evanseyyum Yaakkai
Akaththuruppu Anpi Lavarkku (79)
What good is a body perfect in outer ways, if inwardly it is impaired by lack of love?
देहान्तरङ्गभूतेन प्रेम्णा र्हितदेहिनाम् ।
बाहयाङ्गसामवायेन फलं नैव भवेद् ध्रुवम् ॥ (७९)
प्रेम देह में यदि नहीं, बन भातर का अंग ।
क्या फल हो यदि पास हों, सब बाहर के अंग ॥ (७९)
ಶರೀರದ ಒಳ ಅಂಗವಾದ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ, ಶರೀರದ ಹೊರ ಅಂಗಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಇದ್ದೂ ಏನು ಮಾಡಬಲ್ಲುವು? (ಅವುಗಳಿದ್ದೂ ವ್ಯರ್ಥ) (೭೯)
ദയയാകുന്നൊരുള്ളംഗമുടമപ്പെട്ടിടാത്തവൻ ബാഹ്യമംഗളങ്ങളുണ്ടായിട്ടെന്തവന്ന് പ്രയോജനം? (൭൰൯)
Was nützen die äußeren Organe denen, die keine Liebe im Inneren haben?
Having spoken about the virtues of a householder, a spouse and a child, Tiruvalluvar now devotes ten couplets to what binds a family together – the feeling of love.
The Tamil word ‘anbu’ doesn’t translate well into English. Love is a small word for a feeling that describes the melting of a heart in the presence of the one you love – can be your spouse, your lover, your parents, your children, even nature, or as in Bhakti Yoga – in the presence of God.
Love transcends time – you love people who are living, you love people who have died, and you also love people who are yet to come. Love is what drives us as human beings – the love for our close ones, the love for our work, the love for life – love is eternal. People tend to bracket it into possessiveness and jealousy, which are also extreme forms of love.
But love is freedom, is passion, is emotion beyond the ordinary – for love is not just from the heart, but from the mind, the whole body, the soul.
Such an intense feeling cannot be hidden, and it should not be hidden. Love cries for expression, for the longing of a loved one, for the loving touch, for the feeling of oneness that only true love can bring. It is because of this that Sri Krishna proclaimed that even he can be attained by one who loves him with a pure heart.
People of a newer generation have come to know love as a method to possess, and something that changes with time. Very few of us are able to love unconditionally, with divinity and purity. The first and only divine love that is spoken about even today is of Radha Krishna, the epitome of love and devotion. How many of us can claim to even think of such love, much less feel it? How many of us are willing to give ourselves in the name of love, to melt away like a candle that gives us light, but dies in the process?
Money, fame, prosperity, lands, jewellery, everything materialistic falls away. In time, people also forget your name – how many of us for instance, know the names of our great-grand grandfathers? Even if you do know their names, how much do you know about them? When in a hundred years, even your own family can forget you, what chance does that fickle feeling that we tend to call love really have? How confident are we that our love will transcend time?
There are four levels of closeness – salokya, samipya, sarupya, and sayujya.
You may be in the same city as your beloved – yes, you are close, some people do not even have that opportunity. Maybe you can also meet once in a while – this is salokya. Some may be in the same locality, in the same house even – now you can see each other daily, meet, talk, embrace…this is samipya. Most of us stop here…
But then, there are more levels of closeness. When you and the other are just the same – a third person cannot differentiate between you both…you are him and he is you. You shine like him and he shines like you…you are made for each other in a way that was not even thought possible…you are cast in his mould – sarupya – this level of oneness.
And then there is the stage when there is no differentiation between you and the one you love…no distinct identities…you merge into each other, like the waters of the river merge into the sea, there is no you, no her – just one being which is called love, an embodiment of love. Radha-Krishna…sayujya.
Valluvar speaks of love not just in the context of family, but of love in general. A feeling of love, the concept of being a being filled with love. The emotion that makes us human, fills our life with bliss and helps us attain salvation – just by being loving and caring towards everyone and everything. If there be only one virtue that you have – only one thing that you earn, only one emotion that you feel – let it be love.