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The Holy Kural
Written over two millenia ago by Saint Tiruvalluvar,
translated under the guidance of Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Possession of Modesty |
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Verse 1011
For fair-faced maidens virtue's modesty brings bashfulness,
But the deeper modesty shies away from wrongful deeds.
Verse 1012
Food, clothing and such are not much different among people,
It is modesty that distingiushes good men from others.
Verse 1013
All life clings to a body,
Perfect goodness clings to all that is modest.
Verse 1014
Is not modesty the jewel of the great? Without it,
Is not their strut an affliction for the eye to behold?
Verse 1015
Those men who for others' disgrace and their own feel equally ashamed
Are regarded by the world as the abode of modesty.
Verse 1016
The great would rather defend themselves with modesty's barricade
Than breach it to acquire the vast world itself.
Verse 1017
Those who prize unpretentiousness will forsake life to preserve it.
But they would never forsake modesty for the sake of life.
Verse 1018
If a man does not feel ashamed of that which others feel ashamed,
Virtue itself will be ashamed of him.
Verse 1019
One's family will be consumed in the fire of failure to act well;
But everything good will be incinerated by dwelling in shamelessness.
Verse 1020
The movements of men devoid of innate modesty
May be likened to wooden puppets suspended on a string.
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The Holy Kural
Written over two millenia ago by Saint Tiruvalluvar,
translated under the guidance of Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Possession of Modesty |
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