Kagga 198
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
satyavantananarasalenuta pETegaLoLagehuTTahagaloLe dIvigeya hiDidu neDedukeTTudI jagavendu toTTiyoLe vasisidanutAttvika DayOgenis – MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
The best of thinkers & philosophers in this Universe have tried hard to decipher the true meaning of life and have found it hard to do so
One of the most accomplished philosophers, Diogenes from Greece did an experiment where he went in search of a completely honest person with a completely mind…like holding a lamp even in broad daylight…at the end of the day, he realised that there is nothing called complete honesty and started to live in isolation in a well in the back of his house
Mankutimma, what you need to realise, which Diogenes did not, is that every emotion, charateristic displayed by all humans & other living being is dualistic & co-exist with their diametrically opposite characteristic. You need to understand & accept this reality first; then you need to master your senses such that you are able to understand clearly on when to exhibit the appropriate emotions & when to keep the inappropriate ones in check
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?