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nappinnai kaaNil sirikkum

From the Bhakti List Archives

M.G.Vasudevan • April 28, 2003 


Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer, 

In modern management science, dealing with human beings such as 
*	staff, 
*	workers 
*	employees
is given much more importance than all other branches of management. This portion is   called the "human resources management - HRM in short, deals with various aspects on the human side. One such important aspect is "motivation" and this is given a special status.  

Dear bhakthaas, I could feel that a thought goes in your mind, now, that having given the subject as "nappinnai kaaNil sirikkum" this person is starting on management etc, that too, in the bhakti-list. 

Experts in HRM say "motivating any human being is a complex process". A set of rules in motivation is not applicable uniformly to all. Same set of rules applied effectively on one occasion, may not apply with same effectiveness at another time. 

But, one thing generally accepted, by many an expert in this management science, is to  "learn management from your WIFE". It is also an easy task to learn from wife, for the wife is an adjusting teacher to the husband. We will see few motivating scenes with girls/ ladies in this write up.  

Irrespective of the age of the wife, once a girl [or a lady if you want to call that way] acquires the status of wife [I am talking fully in the Indian context] any body will agree that from her, you can learn management science. As the age goes up, she exhibits the finesse in those skills and more pronounced is the expertise. 

When you compare the Indian girl with a westerner, you will immediately agree that the Indian girl is a better expert within her literacy levels. Because the westerner is more educated, they can be definitely better managers even in the house leave alone the so and so.incorporated. 

But the touch of the "seasoned artiste" you will be able relish immediately with the Indian in the Indian family situation, because of her rich cultural back ground and religious heritage and ideologies.

Just look at the present day Indian scene: The new girl just after the marriage enters the house. Every body in the family, from the senior most - grand pa / or father in law to the smallest - last kadaik kutty sister or brother in law in the family, tries to put up their "best face" in front of this girl. Is this not a motivation - to change suddenly from their usual routines, 
*	at least slightly different than their usual selves, 
*	at least for few days again. 
Afterwards, perhaps, their routines will take over.

Now an old scene: Arjuna just entering the house, announced to mother kunthi that he had won a "kanni" - a maid. Had she really understood that word kanni - a maid or understood it as a "kani" - a fruit, she ordered to her son, "you share that with all your brothers". 

Whether prithaa's words were carried out or not are all history - his story - arjuna's story called maha bhaaratham. 

Mother motivates the sons to enjoy the reward of one son's action with others - of course within the family - immediately, perhaps later with others outside the family. Is this not a good motivation - to share success with all. Who was the instrument of that motivation- krishNai - dhroupathy - the new entrant girl.

Yet another scene: Raama walked all the distance to reach the forests along with the frail sanyasi visvaamithra as ordered by his reluctant father without really knowing 
*	what kind of situation he is going to face there in the forest, 
*	with whom he has to fight, 
*	whether a male or female, 
*	what will be the reward he will get for this struggle etc. 

The kula guru vasishta has already motivated king dhasaratha to send his son, saying only good things will happen to raamaa. So raamaa just went on to complete his assigned task of killing thaatakai. 

Then this frail sanyasi commands raamaa to accompany him to mithila, for he knows he can not reward the achiever of that daunted task of killing thaatakai. The hand of seetha is the reward given by visvaamithra for the task raama achieved. 

Dear bhakthaas, now you are going to raise one more question - 
How and whom seetha motivated by her entry in raamaa's family
- for I said early - an entry of a new girl in the family motivates all - apart from the husband who is already motivated - for he is the awardee of this girl herself. 

Yes. The very news of arrival of seetha motivates father in law dasaratha to reward his other three sons also along with raamaa, with one girl each from that same janaka's family. So seethaa, in fact, brought the reward of three more girls along with her, to share the joy with near and dear for the act of one raamaa. 

Again, see here, the sharing of reward, for the action of one, by all in the family, is simply put across without much of modern management jargons. 

Yet another scene: An easy way to motivate youngsters to achieve is to compare and contrast with girls of same age. Can it be taken vice versa also. But the achievements are more pronounced in the case of boys, when you compare them with girls of equal age [perhaps less also] . 

In putting up a "better face" in front of the girl, that supreme lord, my krishna, is also not an exception. Yes. Now you want to raise so many questions, who, what, when, who reported this, to whom etc. Ok, let us have these questions answered.

1. Who trained krishna thus to put up a better face in front the girls of his age?
He who gave that most modern science of "self management" called bhagavath geethaa is  trained by his mother in motivation in this way [of comparing with girls]. 

2. when my krishna was motivated like this?
When he was a child. 

3. Now you will raise a question - hey, what he will know, since he was a child, even if he is compared with girls? Further how do you expect to react for this kind of comparison?
For krishna, every thing is special - every thing is known to him - nothing left with - like sakataasuran coming to kill him, poothanai coming in mother's disguise with poison coated breasts - these two and more known at still younger age than now. Now he is grown up a bit than that stage of poothana matter etc.

4. Who reported this incident of motivation to us?
Periyaazhvaar in his thirumozhi in 2-4-9

5. To do what krishna was thus compared with girl and motivated?
A very simple thing - bathing.

6. What is the need for such heavy motivation?
Already he was smelling so bad with butter [aaNdaaL called him kuNungu naaRi kutty Eru - butter smelling small male calf of a cow], a lot of dust on his dark coloured body, but refuses to come for bathing.

Now see the reporter's verse -
pooNith thozhuvinil pukkup puzhudhi aLaintha ponmEni 
kaaNap peridhum ugakkum aagilum kaNdaar pazhippar
naaNeththanaiyum ilaadhaai nappinnai kaaNil sirikkum
maaNikkamE en maNiyE manjanam aada nee vaaraai  
-- 2-4-9 periyaazhvaar thirumozhi

mother says - hey krishNa - in whatever way you are, it is ok with me, dusty smelly etc - for you have pon mEni- gold coloured - only thing covered with dust because you played with all these calves and cows knotted with ropes. But, you shameless fellow, this girl nappinnai, if she sees you this way, she will laugh. Also others will blame me. So please come and bathe.

KrishNa - Hey mummy, what if this girl sees me and laughs at me. Anyhow she is going to be my wife. So she has to adjust me and not myself with her.

Mother - Hey, you naughty, not only this girl nappinnai, but all girls of this village [or place] - so please come for bathing. Also I will increase your rewards for this small act of yours.

See the reporter's version - 
appam kalantha siRRuNdi akkaaram paalil kalanthu
soppada naan suttu vaiththEn, thinnal uRudhiyEl nambi
seppiLa men mulaiyaargaL siRu puRam pEsi sirippar
soppada neeraada vENdum sOththambiraan ingE vaaraai 2-4-5 periyaazhvaar thirumozhi

mother: hey krishna, see all these young girls will laugh at the back of you, unlike this nappinnai who will laugh in front of you. You know this is more damaging, so please come for bathing. I will also give you the additional reward of eatables liked by you, like appam, small snacks, akkaaram mixed in milk.

Does this laughing by the girls motivation had the effect. Perhaps yes and also no. For again same method of motivation is used to adorn him with flowers.

aanirai mEikka nee pOi aru marunthu aavadhu aRiyaai
kaanagam ellaam thirinthu un kariya thirumEni vaada
paanaiyil paalaip parugi paRRaadhaar ellaam sirippa
thEnil iniya piraanE senbagappoo chootta vaaraai. 
- 1st paasuram of pooch choottal padhigam

Mother: hey krishNa, not only the girls, but your enemies  also will laugh so please come have these flowers -let me adorn you in your crown

paRRaadhaar - un mEl paRRu illadhavar - paRRu means anbu- love - [who - may be the mothers also - along with the girls - for he creates nuisance to them, so every body in the eyes of mother].

Now adorned the flowers - yes. 

For in the next padhigam, the reporter in the mother's garb suffers the separation of the young boy krishna, for he / she has sent him to grace the calves without even giving chappal and umbrella for protection. 

So this laughing motivation works well even with the lord. 
If that is so, will it not work with mortals like us - for 
1.	A derisive laughter from other person hurts your ego straight away and there by irritates you. But the positive effect of this irritation is that you do try to achieve the task to avoid such a situation of others laughing at you.
2.	Further, if the laughing person is of other gender, the irritation is at its worst. So in front of the other gender, every body, irrespective of age, wants to put up a better image. That is the best motivation factor.

Now, I feel you are motivated in reading this once again to enjoy the paasurams in a better light by the grace of my krishna.

Dhasan

Vasudevan m.g



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