33. "Hypocrites were Many Even In Sri Valluvar's Time!" #KURAL 278

#KROM 33. "Hypocrites were Many Even In Sri Valluvar's Time!"

There are many who are dirty in their mind but project themselves as exalted beings performing religious customs, such as bathing in holy rivers, pretentiously.

மனத்தது மாசு ஆக மாண்டார் நீராடி
மறைந்து ஒழுகும் மாந்தர் பலர். 278

manatthadhu maasu aaga maaNDaar nIraaDi
maRaindhu ozhugum maandhar palar.

(maaNDaar = maaNbu uDaiyaar pOl = Like exalted beings; Note that "maaNDaar" means "died" in recent usage in Tamil but, in this Kural, it is not used that way.)

It is somewhat of a comforting feeling that even in Sri Valluvar's days, there were numerous hypocrites under the cover of religion and is not new... It is said, "if you are not a saint, behave like one." This is a profound advice for emulating inner attitudes and conduct of a saint that makes a person advance spiritually. But if the person imitates saint's outwardly appearance and actions without the corresponding mental cleanliness, then that will lead to hypocrisy. Here, the mental "dirt" refers to any negative attitudes, emotions, or tendencies. The predominant ones are: lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy and they are collectively called "six enemies" (shaT ripu)!  

(So, given the difficulty in sifting through one's inner and outer conduct, how to find out a good leader to follow vs. bad ones?
...
Sri Valluvar has fortunately given so many Kurals that are very helpful towards this and let us explore them in a series)

#KURAL 278 Recently Occurred in Mind
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#PHD
Jai Gurudev! AUM!
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