The Sakti in Saivism.
The parallels to these notions are available in abundance in Tamil, Sanskrit and other Indian languages and from ancient days itself. What is interesting to note is also the fact that even though the Semitic faiths had this Sumerian metaphysics , the references to the WOMAN is not available to the degree they are in the Indian which parallels and constitutes a CONTINUATION of the Sumerian and hence Agamism.
The Fourth Tantra of Tirumular's Tirumantiram constitutes a record of all subsequent developments of such ideas and which are part of the fabric of metaphysical thinking of the Tamils to this day. However I shall content here just quoting a verse from Arunandi's Civanjaana Cittiyaar ( 13th cent A.D) just to indicate how vibrant these ideas are to this day.
3 . Parapakkam
iican aruL iccai aRivu iyaRRal inbam
ilayamodu pookam atikaaramaakit
teecu aruvam aruvuruvam uruvamaakit
teeviyumaayt teecodu celvamaakit
peecariya uyiraiyellaam peRRu nookkip
perumpookam avaiyaLittup piRappinaiyum ozittiddu
aacakalum adiyar uLLattu appanudan irukkum
annaiyarut paatamalar cenni vaippaam
Meaning
The Primordial Energy, the POWER of BEING emerges as Grace , the WOMAN who takes the forms of libidinal cognitional and the kinematic energies. Also the various kinds of experiential states of worldly indulgences , standing detached from them and rising ABOVE them. In addition to these there are forms of transformations whereby things that are totally abstract, concrete-abstract and totally concrete are also obtained. This same Power also becomes the feminine archetypes and through which bliss is provided for the creatures through worldly riches as well as metaphysical illuminations. The Power that takes all these forms and thus emerges as the MOTHER of all and who also destroys the given existence only to provide another one , is present as the ever non-absenting half of BEING who makes His presence felt in the hearts of the Pure. We forever remember the Lotus Feet of this WOMAN by keeping them in our head.
iican aruL iccai aRivu iyaRRal inbam : The Sakthi of BEING emerges as the libidinal cognitional and kinetic forms of energy that produce happiness;
ilayamodu pookam atikaaramaakit : provides the experiential states of indulgence abstentions and rising above
teecu aruvam aruvuruvam uruvamakit : becomes the somehow intuitable abstract abtract-concrete and concrete forms;
teeviyumaayt teecodu celvamaakit : it also becomes the Feminine archetypal forms that provide riches along withproviding metaphysical illuminations;
peecariya uyiraiyellaam peRRu nookkip : also provide existence for the countless number of creatures with due concern;
perumpookam avaiyaLittup piRappinaiyum ozittiddu: having provided an immense range of pleasures , she also dissolves existence (just to provide another);
aacakalum adiyar uLLattu appanudan irukkum : SHE is with the MAN who discloses Himself in the heart of the Pure
annai yarut paatamalar cenni vaippaam : we shall keep forever in our head the Lotus Feet of Grace of this Mother
NOTES:
The WOMAN and hence the feminine aspects of Reality are never neglected in Saivism which goes out of the way to emphasize the Androgynous Form of BEING. The WOMAN in itself is the Primordial Energy that cannot be destroyed but only transformed into the various forms as outlined comprehensively as above which includes the depth psychological, cognitive psychological as well as physical.
One of the most peculiar concepts in religion is that of DESTRUCTION and many are appalled at the idea of BEING being destructive for it appears to be inconsistent with the real divine essence. Saivism interestingly enough right from its Sumerian times seems to have been preoccupied with this notion and along with it that of REGENERATION. These two concepts appear to go together -- destruction - regeneration and because of which Meykandar describes BEING itself as antam-aati , HE who puts to an end and at the same time regenerates all.
In the Hymn of In-anna of Enhudu Anna there is also descriptions of In-anna who in addition to being the eldest daughter of Su'en, the Moon God and hence the source of regeneration ( dumu-gal su'en-na) is also the devastatrix of the nation antipating the Saivite metaphysics here in its essence.
I shall consider in this essay the different ways in which BEING-as- WOMAN effects the destruction.
Destruction by Poison
This notion is the earliest to be mentioned in the hymn and comes with its counter notion.
9. usumgal-gim kur-ra us ba-e-si ( Like a dragon you have deposited venom on the land)
*Ta. ucumkaLngim kunRa ucu paayici ( Like a large snake you deposit venom on the land)உசும்கள்-ங்இன் குன்ற உசு பாய்ச்சி
10. iskur-gim ki-sig ezinu la-ba-si-gal ( When you roar at the earth like Thunder, no vegetation can stand up to you)
* Ta. icaikoorangim kiizsiikki ezinu ila ba ciikaal (Your destroy the like thunder, no vegetation can grow on such lands )
இசைகோரங்இன் கீழ்சீக்கி எழினு பா சீகால்
11. a-ma-ru kur-bi-ta e-de ( A flood descending from its mountain)
*Ta. amaru kunRabitta izintee ( but you are also the regenerating) Waters descending from the hills)
அமரு குன்றபித்து இழிந்தே
12. sag-kal an-ki-a (d) inanna-bi-me-en ( Oh foremost, you are the Inanna of heaven and earth)
* Ta. caangkaL vaankiiza (d) iiannaabi man ( Oh the Great One, you are really the creatrix of heaven and earth)
சான்கள் வான்கீழ்-அ (தெய்)ஈன்.அன்னாபி மன்
Here the references are clearly that of the growth of vegetation and the poison she deposits on the land is a quality of the land where vegetation cannot grow. It may just be the absence of waters and hence the dry spells the drought it causes. Striking the land with thunder and lightning is another way of destroying -- destroying whatever ALREADY in the land . Thus Inanna when in the mood to destroy not only she annihilates the existing but also PREVENTS to possibility of regeneration, or the growth of vegetation.
But she is also the Flood , the amaru ( Ta. amuri etc) , the waters that descend form the mountains and hence the Power that allows the regeneration, the refreshing. As the flood she is clearly the Ganga who happily flows from the tuft of Civa, a symbolism of BEING where He is seen as the Antam-aati, the destroyer-regenerator and hence the Supreme, the " cangkaara kaaraNaakiya mutal" as Meykandar would put it.
தொடரும்
In-Anna the Durga who Rides a Lion
Below I give the lines where destruction by the forces of Nature are also seen as the workings of Inanna.
13. izi-ne-ne-ra kalam-e seg-ga ( Raining the fanned fire down upon the nation)
*Ta. ejen-ne nirai kalamma ceengkuva ( pour down upon the nation large (uncontrollable) fires)
எஜினே நிரை களம்மே செங்க(> கெங்க> கங்கை?0
17. kur-gul-gul u-de a ba-e-si ( Devastatrix of the lands, you are lent wings by the storm)
* Ta. kuuRukolkol uuttee aal ba isi ( The devastatrix of the lands, you are given strength by the winds, the Vaayu)
கூறுகொல்கொல் ஊத்தே ஆல் பாயிசி
20. nin-mu ja-pa-ag-ju-se kur i-gurum-gurum-e ( Oh my lady, at the sound of you the lands bow down)
*Ta. ninmoo japam aaku jucee kunRu iikuRuum-kuRuummee ( ")
நின்மோ ஜபம் ஆக்குஜுசே கூறு(குன்று) ஈ குறூம்குறூம்மே
These lines are historically very important. For we have here the phrase 'kur-kul-kul' which with the line of development : 'kur-kul-kul-amma " > kul-amma> kol avvaa> Ta. koRRavai, we end up with the Tamil name for maa-kaaLi whose worship is still widely present as part of Hindu practices all over the world. We have here also the word 'japam' a crucial term in MantrayaNa, that of reciting mantras and pointing out that this practice is Sumero-Dravidian and hence very ancient in its origins.
The word 'eji, ejen" means both 'fire' and 'festival' in Sumerian. Perhaps Tamil "vizaa" is to be derived from the same root : bi-eji-a-a> vi-zi-a-a> vizaa. In Sk this is rendered as 'yajna' but in such terms as 'ejamaan' still retained in their original morphology. This term also has given rise to Ta. yaakam : fire ritual and so forth.
However what is fascinating here is that En Hudu Anna notes something peculiar in connection with the WIND the u-de , derived from the Tamil root 'uu' to blow, in one its basic meanings and from which we have 'uutu' to blow , 'uutai' the wind etc.
The Wind is that which gives 'a ' or Ta. aal, the aaRRal, power even to Inanna. Thus what is being talked about is NOT the physical winds that shape up as destructive storms and so forth but the Metaphyical Wind, the Vaayu , that which MOVES ( vaayu < Ta. paayu, Su. ba-e-si) and hence the metaphysical Power or ENRGIA itself. Inanna is ACTIVE only because she is given the POWER by the Vaayu, the metaphysical winds.
We should note here that it is this notion that is rendered by the word Ta. piraaNan and Sk. praaNa perhaps to be derived from Su. bi-ir-aN-a, the divine Force that causes things to come forth into the world. This may also explain why KundaliNi yoga , the Yoga practices designed to enhance the Coiled Power incorporates piraaNa Yoga or Vasi Yoga as an important component of it. Through regulating and channeling the breathing processes it is believed that the ENERGIA in the body can be augmented and good health with longevity assure
Now the following line is one of the most important as to why InAnna at least in one of her forms is Durga, the Lady who rides the tiger or the lion. In the following line we have In-anna riding a lion.14 an-ne me-si-ma nin ur-ra u-a
Endowed with me's by An lady mounted on a beast
ஆண்ணே மெய் சீயிம்ம நின் ஊர ஓவுஅ
Here 'ur' translated simply a beast is actually 'ur-mah' the lion and where 'ur> oori is the dog or wolf. The name for lion 'ur-mah' literally means 'large dog' quite an apt term for lion. Perhaps this is the root of Ta. arimaa: the lion. However what is clear is that In-Anna is Durga She who rides a Lion ( or a Tiger) and who is actually given the various powers by An(> aaN) the Supreme God
Concluding Remarks
It is quite unmistakable that the Sumerian In-Anna is in fact the Mother Goddess who has become not only the Durga of the present day Hindu people but also many other female deities of Hinduism still actively worshipped
Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
This blog will share the writings and research findings of Ullaganar ( sitting on the right ), former lecturer of University of Science Malaysia, and his associate, Dr R Sivakumar,( on the left ) currently lecturing in University of Science Malaysia, Penang.
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Monday 29 August 2016
Tuesday 23 August 2016
Durga is Sumero-Tamil - Part 2
Ambal as Puvaneswari:
There appears to be fundamental difference from the SumeroDravidian days itself in the way the Tamil philosophers comprehended the world.
While Vaisnavism saw the world as Enlil, Mu-ul-lil, Purusha, PerumaaL or Pemman who hides , as said in the Prusha Suktam, three quarters of Himself and shows only one quarter as the WORLD as whole, Saivism saw the phenomenal world as the WOMAN, the equal half of Siva and which is retained in the notion of Siva as ArdhanaRi, BEING as MAN-WOMEN , the Androgynous reality. Thus Sakti was seen as Puvaaneswari , the World Mother which is also implicit in the notion of In-anna, ie. Ta. iin annai : the Woman who gives birth to everything manifest ( Ta. iin: to give birth to) . Thus implicit in this notion is also the biological activity of giving birth to by a process where the MAN conjugates with the WOMAN and hence BEING as the SOURCE of both the death and rebirth of all.
4. aga-zi-de ki-aga ( Enamoured of the appropriate tiara) nam-en-na tum-ma ( suitable for the high priest-hood)
*Ta. angka cittee kaama eeNNanam takumma ( Wearing the ornaments that are very beautiful , you appear the most suitable Divine Being)
அங்க சித்தே காம ஏண்ணநம் தகும்ம
5. me-imin-be su sa-du-ga (Whose hand has attained all the "seven " me's)
* Ta. mey iminbee cuur cuuduga ( You wear (as bangles) on your hands all the Powers of the world)
மெய் ஐமின்னே சூர் சூடுக
6. nin-mu me-gal-gal-la sag-kesda-bi za-e-me-en ( Oh my lady , you are the guardian of all the great me's)
*Ta. Ninmoo mey kaLkaLLa caan kaddubi caayee man ( On My Mother! You are the one who can synthesise all these great Powers)
நின்மோ மெய் கள்கள்ளசான் கட்டுபி ஜாயே மான்
7. me mu-il ( You have picked up the me's) me su-zu-se mu-e-la ( you have hung the me's on your hand)
*Ta. mey moo iyal ( You move all the Powers) ( You have hung hte Powers in your hands (as bangles?))
8. me mu-ur (You gathered up the me's) me gaba-zu bi-tab ( you have clasped the me's to your breast)
* Ta. mey moo oor ( You collect together all the Powers) mey paakamcu taippi ( You have clasped all the Powers ( as ornaments) on your breast)
மெய் மோ ஓர் மெய் பாகம்ஜு தைப்பி
I shall contend here pointing only some essentials.
First of all we can link "nin-mu" with the mantra 'namoo' as in "Namoo NaaraayNaaya" where originally 'namoo' as Nin-mu just meant " my Great Mother" or simply " my Great One" but which in course of time became simply a word of praise of God. Similarly we can derive
" namaste" from this too as a truncated form of " nin-mu as-ti" meaning "let there be the blessings of Mother". Since these phrases are well entrenched in Sk as well as all the Indian languages we can suspect that the Sumerian way of worship of Mother was well entrenched in the whole of India sometime in the deep past.
However philosophically the most interesting phrases are those which occur in the lines 6 , 7 and 8 . 'The description sag-kesda-bi ( Ta. caan kaddubi) means ' the One who binds together, synthesizes the meys or the tatvas" . This can mean that it is the BEING-as- WOMAN who binds together the tatvas and thereby generates the things of the world as well as the world itself. This meaning is very consistent with her being the iin-annai, the Mother who gives birth to all, the Puvanaambigai.
The phrase " me mo il" when taken in the sense of Ta. mey moo iyal , where Ta. iyal means to move, means that this WOMAN is the ones who MOVES all the Powers and hence the Dynamic Force, the Sakti behind everything phenomenal.
The phrase 'me mo or" taken as Ta. mey moo oor would mean that it is Inanna who collects together, cements together or integrates all. Thus it would appear that it Inanna who collects together all the tatvas , synthesizes them and moves them , attributes that are available to this day as part of the metaphysics of Saktaism.
Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
There appears to be fundamental difference from the SumeroDravidian days itself in the way the Tamil philosophers comprehended the world.
While Vaisnavism saw the world as Enlil, Mu-ul-lil, Purusha, PerumaaL or Pemman who hides , as said in the Prusha Suktam, three quarters of Himself and shows only one quarter as the WORLD as whole, Saivism saw the phenomenal world as the WOMAN, the equal half of Siva and which is retained in the notion of Siva as ArdhanaRi, BEING as MAN-WOMEN , the Androgynous reality. Thus Sakti was seen as Puvaaneswari , the World Mother which is also implicit in the notion of In-anna, ie. Ta. iin annai : the Woman who gives birth to everything manifest ( Ta. iin: to give birth to) . Thus implicit in this notion is also the biological activity of giving birth to by a process where the MAN conjugates with the WOMAN and hence BEING as the SOURCE of both the death and rebirth of all.
4. aga-zi-de ki-aga ( Enamoured of the appropriate tiara) nam-en-na tum-ma ( suitable for the high priest-hood)
*Ta. angka cittee kaama eeNNanam takumma ( Wearing the ornaments that are very beautiful , you appear the most suitable Divine Being)
அங்க சித்தே காம ஏண்ணநம் தகும்ம
5. me-imin-be su sa-du-ga (Whose hand has attained all the "seven " me's)
* Ta. mey iminbee cuur cuuduga ( You wear (as bangles) on your hands all the Powers of the world)
மெய் ஐமின்னே சூர் சூடுக
6. nin-mu me-gal-gal-la sag-kesda-bi za-e-me-en ( Oh my lady , you are the guardian of all the great me's)
*Ta. Ninmoo mey kaLkaLLa caan kaddubi caayee man ( On My Mother! You are the one who can synthesise all these great Powers)
நின்மோ மெய் கள்கள்ளசான் கட்டுபி ஜாயே மான்
7. me mu-il ( You have picked up the me's) me su-zu-se mu-e-la ( you have hung the me's on your hand)
*Ta. mey moo iyal ( You move all the Powers) ( You have hung hte Powers in your hands (as bangles?))
8. me mu-ur (You gathered up the me's) me gaba-zu bi-tab ( you have clasped the me's to your breast)
* Ta. mey moo oor ( You collect together all the Powers) mey paakamcu taippi ( You have clasped all the Powers ( as ornaments) on your breast)
மெய் மோ ஓர் மெய் பாகம்ஜு தைப்பி
I shall contend here pointing only some essentials.
First of all we can link "nin-mu" with the mantra 'namoo' as in "Namoo NaaraayNaaya" where originally 'namoo' as Nin-mu just meant " my Great Mother" or simply " my Great One" but which in course of time became simply a word of praise of God. Similarly we can derive
" namaste" from this too as a truncated form of " nin-mu as-ti" meaning "let there be the blessings of Mother". Since these phrases are well entrenched in Sk as well as all the Indian languages we can suspect that the Sumerian way of worship of Mother was well entrenched in the whole of India sometime in the deep past.
However philosophically the most interesting phrases are those which occur in the lines 6 , 7 and 8 . 'The description sag-kesda-bi ( Ta. caan kaddubi) means ' the One who binds together, synthesizes the meys or the tatvas" . This can mean that it is the BEING-as- WOMAN who binds together the tatvas and thereby generates the things of the world as well as the world itself. This meaning is very consistent with her being the iin-annai, the Mother who gives birth to all, the Puvanaambigai.
The phrase " me mo il" when taken in the sense of Ta. mey moo iyal , where Ta. iyal means to move, means that this WOMAN is the ones who MOVES all the Powers and hence the Dynamic Force, the Sakti behind everything phenomenal.
The phrase 'me mo or" taken as Ta. mey moo oor would mean that it is Inanna who collects together, cements together or integrates all. Thus it would appear that it Inanna who collects together all the tatvas , synthesizes them and moves them , attributes that are available to this day as part of the metaphysics of Saktaism.
Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
Wednesday 10 August 2016
Durga is Sumero-Tamil - Part 1
Durga is Sumero-Tamil
1. The Woman , the Sakthi
Priestess and Women Mystics and Philosophers
One of the Sumerian texts that I have been studying with immense interest is that of EnHudu Anna, the eldest daughter of Sargon the Great ( 2200 B.C.) and also the head of a Temple, transliterated and translated by Hallo and Van Dijk , that they baptized as The Exaltation of Inanna but which I have called "Sirbiyam" a word taken from Sulgi's Hymn B.
Certainly this Sirbiyam is philosophically the most magnificent text to come down in good shape from the Third Millennium showing that it was very widely known and appreciated as so many copies of it were found in many ancient collections and libraries.
The worship of Mother Goddess is very ancient not only among the Tamils but also many people in the world and continues to this day despite many attempts by some of the later religions to wipe it out and along with that the place of leadership of women in religious culture. However in Tamil culture , in the Fourth millennium itself we find in Sumeria women contributing significantly to temple building, showing that they had independent financial means as well as political rights to participate in social activities of the community.
Their names include the suffix 'ama' ( Tamil amma: woman) .
One of the words coming down from this earlier period and as part of the proper name is ' anna" as in the name of Enhudu Anna that literally means the Divine ( eeN> veeN= veeL) star ( Ta. udu: star) of the heavens ( anna ; Tamil. vaanam). However it may be possible that the Su. anna as it occurs in proper names is the archaic form of Ta. aNNaa ( or Ta. annai: mother) a name still retained but more among the Tamil Brahmins of Tamilnadu where to this day the ladies refer to their husband as 'aNNaa" meaning someone lofty and great i.e. Ta. aNNal.
Interestingly enough this suffix 'ana/anna' is also mentioned in BrihadaaaNyaka Upanishad when in the sixth brahmaNa, the line of teachers and pupils are listed. We have names such as Gaupavana, PaaraasaaryaayaNa, AsurayaNa , Baijavaapaayana and so forth. Even the name Sayanna/Sayana, the famous commentator on the Vedas, contains this suffix. I also understand that it is still retained in proper names of people in Karnadaka to this day. We can also find many names like this in the Sumerian documents.
It all just go to prove that there were some connections between authors of the Upanishads and the Sumerians ( perhaps also the brahmans of the South)
What is however relevant to the present study is that in the line of teachers some names that are feminine are also included: Kausikaayani, TraivaNi , Aupajandhani and so forth where the suffix -ani, -aNi still remains indicator of the feminine gender in Tamil ( perhaps also all over India). Thus it appears that this Sumerian tradition of Women Mystics or Philosophers was alive and active in the Indian soil even during the Upanisadic period ( ~ 8th- 6th cent. B.C.) and which may account for the presence of women mystics in TamilNadu such as Kaaraikkaal Peyar Sri Andal and so forth and Mira Bai in Maratta.
The Sakti as Light
The exordium begins with these arresting lines the substance of which is still retained as part of Saiva metaphysical thinking.
1. nin-me-sar-ra ( Lady of al the me's) u-dalle-ea (resplendent light)
*Ta. N*in mey carva uL theLLiya ( " )
நின் மெய் சர்வ உள் தெள்ளிய
2. mi-zi (righteous woman) me-lam gu-ru Clothed in radiance) ki-aga-an-uras-a ( beloved of Heaven and Earth)
*Ta. mai cii meeLam kuuRu kaangkai vaan uurattiya ( " )
மைஜீ மேளம் கூரு காம வான் ஊரஸ்ய
3. nu-gig-an-na ( Hierodule of An) suh-kesda-gal-gal-la ( (you) of all the great ornaments)
* Ta. nangkai ANNa cikai kaddu kaLkaLa ( The beloved of An with magnificent head gear)
நங்கை அண்ணா சிகை கஷ்ட்டு கள்கள்ள
The "nin" here which also means 'sister" is to be derived from Ta. nim, niv(ar) nil etc. and simply means something tall and high and hence lofty. The Su. me corresponds to both Ta. mey ( truth) as well as Ta. mey, moy meaning power or strength as in mey-kirrti and so forth. The sar-ra is better retained in Sk as sarva ( but note the adjectival formant, -a) and perhaps linked with Ta. aayiram.
But what is unmistakable is u dalla-e-a which is certainly Ta. uL teLLiya, radiant Light . Thus we have in the first line itself the Woman who is the Holder of all powers ( mey, moy) also discloses Herself as Pure Light , a notion that is still retained to this day where the WOMAN is described as paraaparai : Transcendent Light.
The description "clothed in radiance" ( me-lam gu-ru: meeLam kuuRu) is also significant for it has been noted by mystics all over the world ( including Prophet Mohamed Nabi (sal) ) that BEING hides Himself in the form of Light, that it is HIGHEST possible witnessing of BEING. However while they may NOT describe it as WOMAN the the Saivites do as they do not any contempt for the Feminine. They see that BEING Himself the Female ( peN taan aana Pemmaan :Samabantar)
This WOMAN is not only described as mai-cii ( mi-zi) , the most beautiful ( zi= cii) woman ( mi, Ta. mai) but also THE woman ( nu-gig , Ta, nangkai) of An, the Ta. aaN from which we have the current word aaNdavan but still retained as aaN in Cangkam classics as PatiRRup Pattu. In the term aNNamalai, the Hill of aNNa we may have another retention of this ancient term.
The ki-aga i.e. kaangkai meaning "hot" exists now as kaamam, sexual desires or simply an alluring quality ( Ta. kaamar: beautiful). The "an-ur" is what is renderednow as maNNum viNNum, the earth and the sky. The grammatical "-as-a" is better retained in SK as 'asya" but only as "attu-a" in Tamil where 'attu' is said to be caariyai.
However the metaphysical meaning is clear: BEING possesses qualities that are desired by all and that this quality, because of its endearing and aesthetically appealing nature, is seen as FEMININE. And also , it appears , the manifest world as the WOMAN ( nangkai) of BEING where the whole world , the heaven and earth , the manifest world is captured in the metaphor of a Woman with brilliant headgear.
Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
1. The Woman , the Sakthi
Priestess and Women Mystics and Philosophers
One of the Sumerian texts that I have been studying with immense interest is that of EnHudu Anna, the eldest daughter of Sargon the Great ( 2200 B.C.) and also the head of a Temple, transliterated and translated by Hallo and Van Dijk , that they baptized as The Exaltation of Inanna but which I have called "Sirbiyam" a word taken from Sulgi's Hymn B.
Certainly this Sirbiyam is philosophically the most magnificent text to come down in good shape from the Third Millennium showing that it was very widely known and appreciated as so many copies of it were found in many ancient collections and libraries.
The worship of Mother Goddess is very ancient not only among the Tamils but also many people in the world and continues to this day despite many attempts by some of the later religions to wipe it out and along with that the place of leadership of women in religious culture. However in Tamil culture , in the Fourth millennium itself we find in Sumeria women contributing significantly to temple building, showing that they had independent financial means as well as political rights to participate in social activities of the community.
Their names include the suffix 'ama' ( Tamil amma: woman) .
One of the words coming down from this earlier period and as part of the proper name is ' anna" as in the name of Enhudu Anna that literally means the Divine ( eeN> veeN= veeL) star ( Ta. udu: star) of the heavens ( anna ; Tamil. vaanam). However it may be possible that the Su. anna as it occurs in proper names is the archaic form of Ta. aNNaa ( or Ta. annai: mother) a name still retained but more among the Tamil Brahmins of Tamilnadu where to this day the ladies refer to their husband as 'aNNaa" meaning someone lofty and great i.e. Ta. aNNal.
Interestingly enough this suffix 'ana/anna' is also mentioned in BrihadaaaNyaka Upanishad when in the sixth brahmaNa, the line of teachers and pupils are listed. We have names such as Gaupavana, PaaraasaaryaayaNa, AsurayaNa , Baijavaapaayana and so forth. Even the name Sayanna/Sayana, the famous commentator on the Vedas, contains this suffix. I also understand that it is still retained in proper names of people in Karnadaka to this day. We can also find many names like this in the Sumerian documents.
It all just go to prove that there were some connections between authors of the Upanishads and the Sumerians ( perhaps also the brahmans of the South)
What is however relevant to the present study is that in the line of teachers some names that are feminine are also included: Kausikaayani, TraivaNi , Aupajandhani and so forth where the suffix -ani, -aNi still remains indicator of the feminine gender in Tamil ( perhaps also all over India). Thus it appears that this Sumerian tradition of Women Mystics or Philosophers was alive and active in the Indian soil even during the Upanisadic period ( ~ 8th- 6th cent. B.C.) and which may account for the presence of women mystics in TamilNadu such as Kaaraikkaal Peyar Sri Andal and so forth and Mira Bai in Maratta.
The Sakti as Light
The exordium begins with these arresting lines the substance of which is still retained as part of Saiva metaphysical thinking.
1. nin-me-sar-ra ( Lady of al the me's) u-dalle-ea (resplendent light)
*Ta. N*in mey carva uL theLLiya ( " )
நின் மெய் சர்வ உள் தெள்ளிய
2. mi-zi (righteous woman) me-lam gu-ru Clothed in radiance) ki-aga-an-uras-a ( beloved of Heaven and Earth)
*Ta. mai cii meeLam kuuRu kaangkai vaan uurattiya ( " )
மைஜீ மேளம் கூரு காம வான் ஊரஸ்ய
3. nu-gig-an-na ( Hierodule of An) suh-kesda-gal-gal-la ( (you) of all the great ornaments)
* Ta. nangkai ANNa cikai kaddu kaLkaLa ( The beloved of An with magnificent head gear)
நங்கை அண்ணா சிகை கஷ்ட்டு கள்கள்ள
The "nin" here which also means 'sister" is to be derived from Ta. nim, niv(ar) nil etc. and simply means something tall and high and hence lofty. The Su. me corresponds to both Ta. mey ( truth) as well as Ta. mey, moy meaning power or strength as in mey-kirrti and so forth. The sar-ra is better retained in Sk as sarva ( but note the adjectival formant, -a) and perhaps linked with Ta. aayiram.
But what is unmistakable is u dalla-e-a which is certainly Ta. uL teLLiya, radiant Light . Thus we have in the first line itself the Woman who is the Holder of all powers ( mey, moy) also discloses Herself as Pure Light , a notion that is still retained to this day where the WOMAN is described as paraaparai : Transcendent Light.
The description "clothed in radiance" ( me-lam gu-ru: meeLam kuuRu) is also significant for it has been noted by mystics all over the world ( including Prophet Mohamed Nabi (sal) ) that BEING hides Himself in the form of Light, that it is HIGHEST possible witnessing of BEING. However while they may NOT describe it as WOMAN the the Saivites do as they do not any contempt for the Feminine. They see that BEING Himself the Female ( peN taan aana Pemmaan :Samabantar)
This WOMAN is not only described as mai-cii ( mi-zi) , the most beautiful ( zi= cii) woman ( mi, Ta. mai) but also THE woman ( nu-gig , Ta, nangkai) of An, the Ta. aaN from which we have the current word aaNdavan but still retained as aaN in Cangkam classics as PatiRRup Pattu. In the term aNNamalai, the Hill of aNNa we may have another retention of this ancient term.
The ki-aga i.e. kaangkai meaning "hot" exists now as kaamam, sexual desires or simply an alluring quality ( Ta. kaamar: beautiful). The "an-ur" is what is renderednow as maNNum viNNum, the earth and the sky. The grammatical "-as-a" is better retained in SK as 'asya" but only as "attu-a" in Tamil where 'attu' is said to be caariyai.
However the metaphysical meaning is clear: BEING possesses qualities that are desired by all and that this quality, because of its endearing and aesthetically appealing nature, is seen as FEMININE. And also , it appears , the manifest world as the WOMAN ( nangkai) of BEING where the whole world , the heaven and earth , the manifest world is captured in the metaphor of a Woman with brilliant headgear.
Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
Saturday 6 August 2016
The Hermeneutics of Droysen and Tolkappiyar
The Hermeneutics of Droysen and Tolkappiyar
One of the Western philosophy whose thoughts are useful to understand Tolkappiyam is Droysen (1808-1884), who subsequent to Humboldt and still belonging to the same orientation towards hermeneutics, stands as the most important figure. He articulated concerns similar to Humboldt and was equally preoccupied with the tasks of historians and those in the humanistic disciplines.
Understanding is conceived as the most perfect knowledge that is attainable for us humans. Historical understanding where the text study is not replicable has to be necessarily interpretive, and hence hermeneutical.
In view of the finitude of human life, the past will always remain inaccessible to us. The historian cannot be objective in the sense of the physical sciences, for he cannot recreate the past as it actually happened. However this does not mean that the historical investigation is devoid of a method. The method of historical research is understanding by means of investigations. When he inquires into the actual procedure, we can identify two types: speculative, and the historical. All these are paths to knowledge and their essence is to find out, explain and understand. It is the past within the present that poses various kinds of problems that is the subject matter of investigations by the historians.
But why are investigations into historical truth necessary?
Droysen offers a particularly good example to illustrate and illuminate the need for investigations and hence for certain kind of practices.
In conversational interactions we can gain comprehensive understanding, by taking into account the words used, tones and accents employed, and the accompanying paralinguistic features. The excitement and mood that accompanies stating something and which we note through the above features allow us to comprehend a person's 'innermost being '. But in the reports or written documents the rich linguistic and paralinguistic features are lost through a process of flattering. A report may not correctly report the conversation. All sorts of impurities and imperfections the original did not have, now accrues to the report.
The historical documents are records of this type and investigations will be necessary to regain the original situation with criticism doing away with the imperfections they have suffered. "That which lies before us as historical material is the expression and imprint of the acts of volition and we must try to understand them in these manifestation" (e.g. Mueller Vollmer, p. 127).
But this is not the whole of historical understanding, the task is more demanding and hence something more than understanding speech in conversations.
A full account of historical understanding is possible only through four different but interrelated types of interpretations, as follows:
(a) The pragmatic interpretation takes up critically the records and documents i.e., the remnants of the historical activities and tries to organize them critically so that a sketch of the factual context is possible. It examines the causal mature of the course of events in order to reconstruct it.
(b) The factual sketch of the remnants provides an understanding of the original event, allows questions pertaining to the conditions - the local, religious, economies, the technical and so forth. The historical documents leave traces of the effects of these conditions and they must also be articulated. These conditions make the situation possible and therefore their effects will be present in the documents.
(c) When through noting the documents, facts and the conditions under which the situations that produced those documents emerged, we are in a position to understand 'the acts of will' or the psychological or motivational dynamics that elicited the event. "This method concerns itself with the person who willed the act, the forcefulness of that person's will, his intellect, and the extent to which all these things had an effect on the event" (Ibid. p.130). In this the social leaders who do not just guide and determine the masses but also represent them, have to be understood in terms of their perceptions, opinions, inclination, behaviours, purpose and so forth. Such an understanding that reaches the psychological make-up of the individuals constitute the psychological interpretation.
(d) The above three types of interpretations do not constitute the complete understanding of an historical event. Though Droysen does not use the term 'unconscious' but rather 'moral forces', it is clear that by introducing the fourth type of interpretation i.e. 'interpretation of ideas' he means something like archetypical production and regulation of historical events. They burst forth suddenly and with tremendous energy and become the individual's interests and preoccupation. Man derives his expression, his unity and strength from these which are alive in the feelings and conscience of every person.
When we compare Porulatikaram of Tolkappiyar, we can see that the linguistic turn to existential investigations that Tolkappiyar gives to Hermeneutics or originated from non approach to historical understanding somewhat similar to Droysen. Here we shall content ourselves, pointing out a particularly intriguing similarity that exists between the two.
A historical epoch gets its unity in the IDEA that takes hold of them, and by being actively in their thinking and feeling determines their volitions. And these are essentially moral forces.
This same view or almost similar view emerges in the concept of Deity dominating a Tinai considered as psychological ecology. A deity takes over a Tinai, determines the interest structure of the person who gets into it, and thereby determines his overall behaviours including the verbal.
When a man is taken hold of e.g. by Murukan, the Deity of Kurinci, Tinai, his volitional activities are dominated by the need for sexual gratifications. What is also interesting to note is that these Deities are understood as moral forces too. For the behaviour devoid of such archetypical regulations such as morbid carvings and abnormal sexuality, are said to be unethical and hence not to be approved. (K.L. Mutharayan, 1990).
The kind of hermeneutics that underlies Porulatikaram, the book on Meaning in the most general sense but particularly similar to what are called utterance meanings as opposed to sentence meanings by the modern speech-act theorists (e.g. Searle, 1983), can be called symbolic Hermeneutics.
For unlike the Western thinkers, Tolkappiyar seized upon the metaphorical or figurative (ullurai uvamam) expressions both verbal and non-verbal and through that gained a depth in the psychological understanding of human behaviour particularly the verbal.
The various categories for classifying behaviour such as akattinai, purattinai and so forth emerged from such interpretive activities which incidentally must have involved semiotics - getting at the meaning of the symbolic is unavoidable.
Dr Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
One of the Western philosophy whose thoughts are useful to understand Tolkappiyam is Droysen (1808-1884), who subsequent to Humboldt and still belonging to the same orientation towards hermeneutics, stands as the most important figure. He articulated concerns similar to Humboldt and was equally preoccupied with the tasks of historians and those in the humanistic disciplines.
Understanding is conceived as the most perfect knowledge that is attainable for us humans. Historical understanding where the text study is not replicable has to be necessarily interpretive, and hence hermeneutical.
In view of the finitude of human life, the past will always remain inaccessible to us. The historian cannot be objective in the sense of the physical sciences, for he cannot recreate the past as it actually happened. However this does not mean that the historical investigation is devoid of a method. The method of historical research is understanding by means of investigations. When he inquires into the actual procedure, we can identify two types: speculative, and the historical. All these are paths to knowledge and their essence is to find out, explain and understand. It is the past within the present that poses various kinds of problems that is the subject matter of investigations by the historians.
But why are investigations into historical truth necessary?
Droysen offers a particularly good example to illustrate and illuminate the need for investigations and hence for certain kind of practices.
In conversational interactions we can gain comprehensive understanding, by taking into account the words used, tones and accents employed, and the accompanying paralinguistic features. The excitement and mood that accompanies stating something and which we note through the above features allow us to comprehend a person's 'innermost being '. But in the reports or written documents the rich linguistic and paralinguistic features are lost through a process of flattering. A report may not correctly report the conversation. All sorts of impurities and imperfections the original did not have, now accrues to the report.
The historical documents are records of this type and investigations will be necessary to regain the original situation with criticism doing away with the imperfections they have suffered. "That which lies before us as historical material is the expression and imprint of the acts of volition and we must try to understand them in these manifestation" (e.g. Mueller Vollmer, p. 127).
But this is not the whole of historical understanding, the task is more demanding and hence something more than understanding speech in conversations.
A full account of historical understanding is possible only through four different but interrelated types of interpretations, as follows:
(a) The pragmatic interpretation takes up critically the records and documents i.e., the remnants of the historical activities and tries to organize them critically so that a sketch of the factual context is possible. It examines the causal mature of the course of events in order to reconstruct it.
(b) The factual sketch of the remnants provides an understanding of the original event, allows questions pertaining to the conditions - the local, religious, economies, the technical and so forth. The historical documents leave traces of the effects of these conditions and they must also be articulated. These conditions make the situation possible and therefore their effects will be present in the documents.
(c) When through noting the documents, facts and the conditions under which the situations that produced those documents emerged, we are in a position to understand 'the acts of will' or the psychological or motivational dynamics that elicited the event. "This method concerns itself with the person who willed the act, the forcefulness of that person's will, his intellect, and the extent to which all these things had an effect on the event" (Ibid. p.130). In this the social leaders who do not just guide and determine the masses but also represent them, have to be understood in terms of their perceptions, opinions, inclination, behaviours, purpose and so forth. Such an understanding that reaches the psychological make-up of the individuals constitute the psychological interpretation.
(d) The above three types of interpretations do not constitute the complete understanding of an historical event. Though Droysen does not use the term 'unconscious' but rather 'moral forces', it is clear that by introducing the fourth type of interpretation i.e. 'interpretation of ideas' he means something like archetypical production and regulation of historical events. They burst forth suddenly and with tremendous energy and become the individual's interests and preoccupation. Man derives his expression, his unity and strength from these which are alive in the feelings and conscience of every person.
When we compare Porulatikaram of Tolkappiyar, we can see that the linguistic turn to existential investigations that Tolkappiyar gives to Hermeneutics or originated from non approach to historical understanding somewhat similar to Droysen. Here we shall content ourselves, pointing out a particularly intriguing similarity that exists between the two.
A historical epoch gets its unity in the IDEA that takes hold of them, and by being actively in their thinking and feeling determines their volitions. And these are essentially moral forces.
This same view or almost similar view emerges in the concept of Deity dominating a Tinai considered as psychological ecology. A deity takes over a Tinai, determines the interest structure of the person who gets into it, and thereby determines his overall behaviours including the verbal.
When a man is taken hold of e.g. by Murukan, the Deity of Kurinci, Tinai, his volitional activities are dominated by the need for sexual gratifications. What is also interesting to note is that these Deities are understood as moral forces too. For the behaviour devoid of such archetypical regulations such as morbid carvings and abnormal sexuality, are said to be unethical and hence not to be approved. (K.L. Mutharayan, 1990).
The kind of hermeneutics that underlies Porulatikaram, the book on Meaning in the most general sense but particularly similar to what are called utterance meanings as opposed to sentence meanings by the modern speech-act theorists (e.g. Searle, 1983), can be called symbolic Hermeneutics.
For unlike the Western thinkers, Tolkappiyar seized upon the metaphorical or figurative (ullurai uvamam) expressions both verbal and non-verbal and through that gained a depth in the psychological understanding of human behaviour particularly the verbal.
The various categories for classifying behaviour such as akattinai, purattinai and so forth emerged from such interpretive activities which incidentally must have involved semiotics - getting at the meaning of the symbolic is unavoidable.
Dr Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
Wednesday 3 August 2016
Loganathan's Theory Of Education - Part 3 ( Final )
ArutkuRal on Child Education
Let us recall what has already been said.
We have shown that the psyche is distinct and that what we call MIND is in fact the the psyche functioning with the cognitive mechanisms of manam , buddhi, ahangkaaram and siththam ( I have not still coined appropriate English terms for these concepts) .
We also saw a similarity between Piaget and what has been discovered through ACCESS TESTING, that cognitive development consists in the progressive use these mental mechanisms in that order. We also saw that there are biological as well as psychological factors that can impede the progressive use of these mental mechanisms. While as educationist we can't do much about the biological factors that underlies mental retardation and so forth, certainly we can do something both as parents and teachers to remedy and if possible avoid the psychological wounding that may discourage the child with engaging itself with these cognitive tools and thus impede learning as such.
Now we shall take up the issue of ACCELERATING the cognitive development and see what can be done about it.
It must be recalled here that Piaget did not condone such studies for he thought that cognitive development is maturational and hence biological. The various stages of development are the SAME throughout the world no matter what the cultural, ethnic and other differences.
However we should note here that while the stages of development may be the same, the AGES of ONSET vary widely with culturally impoverished children recording late ages. The acceleration studies are concerned with lowering the ages of onset so that a child becomes as quickly as possible Formal Operational in thinking or in terms of Agamic Psychology, a user of the mental mechanism of Siththam.
A child can graduate from the stage of sensory operations i.e. the use of manam when only its' functioning is not impoverished and it is exercised maximally so that cognitive conflicts of various kinds surface in the understanding of the child. The Buddhi emerges only when contradictions are seen as contradictions and at this early stage it is concerned with invarience concepts. The manam -child does not see a contradiction when 5 sticks put together is more when spread apart. The child cannot tear itself and ISOLATE mentally the quantity as distinct from the appearances. Thus such sensorial inputs where invarience has to be noted must be dished out for the child to experience and through that FORCED to reflect upon the contradictions.
ஐம்புல நுகர்ச்சிக்கு ஆவனசெய்க பாலர்
பொறிபுல வறிவேப்போற் றுவர்
aimpula nukarccikku aavan ceyka paalar
poRipula vaRiveeppOR Ruvar
The educational activities and the gentle question of the child must be such that, sensorial experiences result in contradictions related to invarience concepts and the child is make to NOTE them and REFLECT on them. Unless the child is made to reflect on his OWN, the Buddhi that lies beneath still unmanifest, will not be forced out to be active an element of the mind of the child.
Another, also central in child-centered education is that, a child must be allowed to face these contradictions within himself and encouraged to struggle to solve them. There must be maximum freedom given to the child to ACT ON HIS OWN and through that face contradictions of this sort in his sensorial commerce.
தான்செய்து தானறிந்து தனையேத் தானறிய
பானறிவு வழியேநற் பயிர்ப்பு
thaanceythu thaanaRiwthu thanaiyeeth thaanaRiya
paanaRivu vaziyeenaR payirppu
This is also important in conjunction with activating ahangkaaram, the self awareness producing mechanism that emerges mainly in social conflicts with siblings and friends. However when the child is allowed to ACT on his OWN, he begins to see himself as agent who through acts of various kinds can bring about CHANGES in the physical and social environment that would satisfy his needs.
Success and failures in the actions of self brings about self awareness.
When Buddhi is maximally activated and the fantasies are enjoyed immensely, only then the need to be REALISTIC in thinking will emerge and along with it the functioning of Siththam, that which underlies the birth of thinking reasoning etc. But how to activate the Buddhi so that the need to go beyond emerges from within?
It is here that Play, Music, Dance, Fables and such other stories play a significant role.
ஆடலொடு பாடல்கள் அதிசயக் கதைகள்
ஆர்வமூக்கி அறிவினைப் பெருக்கும்
aadalodu paadalkaL athidsayak kathaikaL
aarvamuukki aRivinaip perukkum
இசையின் மயங்கி இன்பங்காண் குழந்தைக்கு
இசைவழி எளிதாம் பாடம்
isayin mayangki inbangkaaN kuzanthaikku
isaivazi eLithaam paadam
Play, music and dance along with fabulous stories fires the imagination and allows the active exercise of Buddhi and hence the immense interest the children around the age of 4 and thereabouts show towards them. This must be maximally allowed so that there is a vast repertoire of such imaginative stuff in the mind of the child and which will be gradually be realized as UNREALISTIC and hence cannot serve the PRACTICAL ends.
It is at this point that practical tasks that demand REASONING for attaining SUCCESS must be introduced in concrete forms. For example a task such as building a house with wooden blocks requires REASONING, what to put first and what not , a sequential order in building up etc . There must be a lot of such PRACTICAL activities in which a child is allowed to fail and at the same time encouraged to try again and again till success is attained.
எடுத்தது முடிக்கும் இயல்பினை குழந்தைகட்கு
இளமையிற் புகுத்தல் ஏற்றம்
eduththathu mudikkum iyalbinai kuzanthaikadku
iLamaiyiR pukuththal eeRRam
The focus at this stage of development must be the strengthening of the WILL to succeed, a desire to taste SUCCESS in whatever one undertakes to accomplish. The educational environment at home and school must be achievement oriented in tasks that demand thinking and reasoning to succeed.
Once a child reasons out concretely in such tasks the transition to become ABSTRACT in thinking will be quick and natural.
We have shown that the psyche is distinct and that what we call MIND is in fact the the psyche functioning with the cognitive mechanisms of manam , buddhi, ahangkaaram and siththam ( I have not still coined appropriate English terms for these concepts) .
We also saw a similarity between Piaget and what has been discovered through ACCESS TESTING, that cognitive development consists in the progressive use these mental mechanisms in that order. We also saw that there are biological as well as psychological factors that can impede the progressive use of these mental mechanisms. While as educationist we can't do much about the biological factors that underlies mental retardation and so forth, certainly we can do something both as parents and teachers to remedy and if possible avoid the psychological wounding that may discourage the child with engaging itself with these cognitive tools and thus impede learning as such.
Now we shall take up the issue of ACCELERATING the cognitive development and see what can be done about it.
It must be recalled here that Piaget did not condone such studies for he thought that cognitive development is maturational and hence biological. The various stages of development are the SAME throughout the world no matter what the cultural, ethnic and other differences.
However we should note here that while the stages of development may be the same, the AGES of ONSET vary widely with culturally impoverished children recording late ages. The acceleration studies are concerned with lowering the ages of onset so that a child becomes as quickly as possible Formal Operational in thinking or in terms of Agamic Psychology, a user of the mental mechanism of Siththam.
A child can graduate from the stage of sensory operations i.e. the use of manam when only its' functioning is not impoverished and it is exercised maximally so that cognitive conflicts of various kinds surface in the understanding of the child. The Buddhi emerges only when contradictions are seen as contradictions and at this early stage it is concerned with invarience concepts. The manam -child does not see a contradiction when 5 sticks put together is more when spread apart. The child cannot tear itself and ISOLATE mentally the quantity as distinct from the appearances. Thus such sensorial inputs where invarience has to be noted must be dished out for the child to experience and through that FORCED to reflect upon the contradictions.
ஐம்புல நுகர்ச்சிக்கு ஆவனசெய்க பாலர்
பொறிபுல வறிவேப்போற் றுவர்
aimpula nukarccikku aavan ceyka paalar
poRipula vaRiveeppOR Ruvar
The educational activities and the gentle question of the child must be such that, sensorial experiences result in contradictions related to invarience concepts and the child is make to NOTE them and REFLECT on them. Unless the child is made to reflect on his OWN, the Buddhi that lies beneath still unmanifest, will not be forced out to be active an element of the mind of the child.
Another, also central in child-centered education is that, a child must be allowed to face these contradictions within himself and encouraged to struggle to solve them. There must be maximum freedom given to the child to ACT ON HIS OWN and through that face contradictions of this sort in his sensorial commerce.
தான்செய்து தானறிந்து தனையேத் தானறிய
பானறிவு வழியேநற் பயிர்ப்பு
thaanceythu thaanaRiwthu thanaiyeeth thaanaRiya
paanaRivu vaziyeenaR payirppu
This is also important in conjunction with activating ahangkaaram, the self awareness producing mechanism that emerges mainly in social conflicts with siblings and friends. However when the child is allowed to ACT on his OWN, he begins to see himself as agent who through acts of various kinds can bring about CHANGES in the physical and social environment that would satisfy his needs.
Success and failures in the actions of self brings about self awareness.
When Buddhi is maximally activated and the fantasies are enjoyed immensely, only then the need to be REALISTIC in thinking will emerge and along with it the functioning of Siththam, that which underlies the birth of thinking reasoning etc. But how to activate the Buddhi so that the need to go beyond emerges from within?
It is here that Play, Music, Dance, Fables and such other stories play a significant role.
ஆடலொடு பாடல்கள் அதிசயக் கதைகள்
ஆர்வமூக்கி அறிவினைப் பெருக்கும்
aadalodu paadalkaL athidsayak kathaikaL
aarvamuukki aRivinaip perukkum
இசையின் மயங்கி இன்பங்காண் குழந்தைக்கு
இசைவழி எளிதாம் பாடம்
isayin mayangki inbangkaaN kuzanthaikku
isaivazi eLithaam paadam
Play, music and dance along with fabulous stories fires the imagination and allows the active exercise of Buddhi and hence the immense interest the children around the age of 4 and thereabouts show towards them. This must be maximally allowed so that there is a vast repertoire of such imaginative stuff in the mind of the child and which will be gradually be realized as UNREALISTIC and hence cannot serve the PRACTICAL ends.
It is at this point that practical tasks that demand REASONING for attaining SUCCESS must be introduced in concrete forms. For example a task such as building a house with wooden blocks requires REASONING, what to put first and what not , a sequential order in building up etc . There must be a lot of such PRACTICAL activities in which a child is allowed to fail and at the same time encouraged to try again and again till success is attained.
எடுத்தது முடிக்கும் இயல்பினை குழந்தைகட்கு
இளமையிற் புகுத்தல் ஏற்றம்
eduththathu mudikkum iyalbinai kuzanthaikadku
iLamaiyiR pukuththal eeRRam
The focus at this stage of development must be the strengthening of the WILL to succeed, a desire to taste SUCCESS in whatever one undertakes to accomplish. The educational environment at home and school must be achievement oriented in tasks that demand thinking and reasoning to succeed.
Once a child reasons out concretely in such tasks the transition to become ABSTRACT in thinking will be quick and natural.
Dr Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
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