19.SING WITH SHAKESPEARE-13

19.SING WITH SHAKESPEARE-13

Shakespeare's birthplace as it appeared in 1847. Engraving by W.J.Linton

Business of advice

THE world is full of advice-givers. Advice comes both free and at a cost. Politicians and economists give advice, and the society pays for it in indirect ways. Gurus and preachers give advice, and they send  the hat round. In the olden days teachers used to advise us on many matters outside the studies, but these days that would be considered unwarranted: the teacher has to stick to the book, much as a preacher has to expound what is in "the Book", too! Management gurus, professional pundits, legal experts and other  consultants tender advice for a hefty fee. Even retired judges give advice in the guise of 'opinion' for money. Counselling and consultancy are big business now. Newspapers tender advice through their editorials, though the kind of editors whose views used to matter is now rare. 

Classical literature, East and West .consists  mainly of advice on the art of living, interpreted in the broadest of terms.There is not a story in mythology without its moral impact.They were not meant for idle brains. But their study has declined in academic circles under the influence of modern, mainly leftist,and nihilist, ideologies. Those who take the time and make the effort to study them would discover what a treasure lies there. Every life would surely be enriched in manifold, unexpected ways. However, modern education has chosen to ignore the edifying effects of our ancient masters, in favour of instant entertainers and structured instruction. 

Thousands of books have been written in modern times giving advice on how to be happy, how to make money, how to make friends and influence people, how to live long, how to achieve success, how to make speeches, etc.

For those who cannot get  the money to buy and the time to read  the  many books, Tom Butler- Bowdon has given the essence of  the important books in his excellent series '50 Self-Help Classics', '50 Success Classics', '50 Prosperity Classics'. And in each book, he has given a list of 50 more such books! Having read some of the books in the original, and  Bowdon's works, I think he has done an admirable job, and we catch the essence of each author in these 50 Classics series, and gather many ideas..




Rajaji and Swarajya 

In Indian public life, we had the unique case of Rajaji who gave his advice on national affairs through his columns in the weekly    Swarajya for over 15 years. Roughly half of it covered the Nehru era and the other half, his daughter's rule. This was through his late 70s and well into the 80s and beyond! This was like a second battle of Independence for him- seeking to free us  from totalitarian trends and dynastic despotism, from  vain doctrines and false hopes. But his views went unheeded. Even the Emergency did not sufficiently awaken us. Nineteen years after Rajaji died, disaster struck the economy, even as he had been warning. Then Narasimha Rao, coming from outside the Nehru dynasty, quietly changed the policies but Rajaji was neither thanked nor acknowledged. Nor were his ideas fully followed.


Vyasa's regret

This is nothing strange in our land which abounds in books of advice which no one heeds or follows, though many may quote! This was the experience of wise Vyasa himself. At the end of the epic Mahabharata, he says: "I urge people, raising both hands, to follow Dharma but no one listens!" This is also the fate of the Ten Commandments, the most fundamental advice in the  Judeo-Christian tradition. But sages do not bother. They keep saying what is good for society. So do genuine poets.

Preachers and psychoanalysts

One category of people who are meant for giving advice is religious preachers. Many among them lack credibility for they do not practise what they preach! Catholic priests do not marry, and what advice  can they give on marital discord in these complex times, except repeating what is in "the Book" which people do not follow much, anyway!There was a time in the last century when the priests were trained in psychological techniques, to compete with trained psychoanalysts! That was the time when psychoanalysis had become  a new  religious cult, with its own dogma and rituals!


Prabhupada and ISKCON

In India we have the tradition of Gurus, teachers. They are not all religious teachers. But we have a separate category called 'Acharyas' who practise what they  teach. In recent years, this was the secret of the power of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON. He landed in the US with 7 dollars in his pocket at age 69, but started a world-wide movement because he attracted people due to his sincere practice of his philosophy, even in the heart of the material West. His advice was not empty rhetoric, but carried the authority of his experience.

We have many pieces of advice in Shakespeare's works.

Exchange between siblings

We have  this sequence of advice from Laertes for his sister Ophelia and her reply in Hamlet:

Laertes

Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain

If with too credent ear you list his songs,

Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open

To his unmastered importunity.

Fear it, Ophelia. Fear it, my dear sister,

And keep you in the rear of your affection,

Out of the shot and danger of desire.

The chariest maid is prodigal enough

If she unmask her beauty to the moon.

Virtue itself ’scapes not calumnious strokes.

The canker galls the infants of the spring

Too oft before their buttons be disclosed.

And in the morn and liquid dew of youth,

Contagious blastments are most imminent.

Be wary, then. Best safety lies in fear.

Youth to itself rebels, though none else near

Hamlet has declared his love for Ophelia and this is her brother's advice. He asks her not to trust his words implicitly but weigh the consequences. [ He had said earlier that Hamlet is from the Royal family, he has family responsibilities, he is not free to act on his own and he may not be in a position to fulfill his intentions.] She should keep her love under control and not yield to desire and expose herself. Even exposing her beauty to the moon itself is bad- she doesn't have to expose herself to any man. Even good girls get bad reputation. Worms ruin flowers before they blossom in the spring, and young blossoms are particularly vulnerable.Fear will keep her safe. Young people often lose their self-control even without help from others!

OPHELIA

I shall the effect of this good lesson keep

As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,

Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven

Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine,

Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads

And recks not his own rede.

What a sharp reply Ophelia gives!
She says, " I will keep your words in mind to guard me. But do not be a hypocrite like the graceless (bad ) priest who shows me the  steep and thorny path to heaven, while he himself leads a life of sin."

One does not know whether in these  modern days such confidences are shared between brothers and sisters!

There are two other beautiful passages of advice.

Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use, and keep thy friend
Under thy own life’s key: be check’d for silence,
But never tax’d for speech.

[All Is Well That Ends Well.]

This is the advice given by the countess to her son Bertram who is going to the court to take his father's place.
She asks her son to match his enemy in strength, but not use that power ! People may say that he does not speak much, but should not complain that he talks too much!

Hamlet, again

We have a much longer sequence of advice in Hamlet where
Polonius advises his son Laertes.

And these few precepts in thy memory

Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade.

 Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear ’t that th' opposèd may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear but few thy voice

Take each man’s censure but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not expressed in fancy—rich, not gaudy,

For the apparel oft proclaims the man,

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be,

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Several beautiful things are said here.

1. Do not express your thoughts openly, and do not be too quick to act on them. Be friendly with people, but do not become cheap. Once you have tested your friends and found them true, hold fast to them. And do not go about entertaining every new fellow you meet.
2. Do not pick a fight,  but when in one, make your strength  felt. 
3.Listen to many people, but speak to a few. Hear people's opinions but reserve your judgment. Buy fine clothes as your purse will permit, for clothes make a man, especially in France; but they should not be gaudy. They must reflect good taste. 
4.Neither borrow, nor lend. Lending to a friend makes you lose both. Borrowing makes you a spendthrift.
5. Above all, be true to yourself. Then you won't be false to any man.


All this is time honoured advice, but deserve to be repeated for the benefit of every generation.

Many sects, one discipline

India abounds in scriptures, religious sects, traditions. It may appear that this must engender lot of conflict. Actually, it is the contrary. Indian sages made a distinction between belief, called 'matam' ( wrongly translated as religion ) and 'acharam', traditional practice. Whatever may be the philosophical or theological belief or even no belief, traditional conduct was much the same across all the cults. We have a stunning example of this in the Tamil epic "Silappadhikaram" = The Story of the Anklets. Supposedly written by a Jain monk, whose brother was a Tamil Hindu king, it advises one on how to conduct oneself in the world.

Silappadhikaram







பரிவும் இடுக்கணும் பாங்குற நீங்குமின்
Desist from causing worry and trouble to others.

தெய்வந் தெளிமின் தெளிந்தோர்ப் பேணுமின்
Be certain about the existence of God, 
and honour those who have that certainty.

பொய்யுரை அஞ்சுமின் புறஞ்சொற் போற்றுமின்
Do not utter falsehood, and do not carry tales.

ஊனூண் துறமின் உயிர்க்கொலை நீங்குமின்
Give up non-vegetarian food. Do not take any life.
தானஞ் செய்ம்மின் தவம்பல தாங்குமின்
Give in charity, and take up austerities.

செய்ந்நன்றி கொல்லன்மின் தீநட் பிகழ்மின்
Do not fail in gratitude.
 Avoid keeping company of the unworthy, bad elements.

பொய்க்கரி போகன்மின் பொருண்மொழி நீங்கன்மின்
Do not bear false witness. 
Do not swerve from the path of truth.

அறவோ ரவைக்களம் அகலா தணுகுமின்
Strive to remain in the assembly of the Righteous.

பிறவோ ரவைக்களம் பிழைத்துப் பெயர்மின்
Get away from the assembly of the bad ones by all means.

பிறர்மனை அஞ்சுமின் பிழையுயிர் ஓம்புமின்
Do not covet other women. 
Help all forms of life in trouble.

அறமனை காமின் அல்லவை கடிமின்
Be a devoted householder. Avoid unrighteous conduct.

கள்ளுங் களவுங் காமமும் பொய்யும்
Drinks, theft, illicit sex, falsehood,

வெள்ளைக் கோட்டியும் விரகினில் ஒழிமின்
Company of those indulging in useless talk-
 avoid these by proper means.

இளமையும் செல்வமும் யாக்கையும் நிலையா
Youth, wealth, this body- these do not last for ever.

உளநாள் வரையாது ஒல்லுவ தொழியாது
Our living days are numbered.
 What is to happen will happen.

செல்லுந் தேஎத்துக் குறுதுணை தேடுமின்
Therefore, seek what is good for the world to come.

மல்லன்மா ஞாலத்து வாழ்வீ ரீங்கென். This is the way to live in this  wide world.

Can advise become more universal than this?
Jains are supposed to be agnostic, but see how the author upholds the existence of God!
It is advice such as these that help sustain society, more than the myriads of laws that modern States are fond of enacting.