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aramārthar
Guru Stories
Constantine Joseph Beschi (8
November 1680 – 4 February 1747), also known under his Tamil name
of Vīramāmunivar
(வீரமாமுனிவர்),
was an Italian Jesuit priest,
missionary in South
India,
and Tamil language littérateur (a
literary person, esp. a writer of literary works)..-Wiky
He mastered the Tamil language and published many books with Christian
teachings in Tamil under the name Vīramāmunivar.
His narrative poem "Dembavani" is famous. In the 18th century, he
translated books such as Tirukkural, Devaram, Thiruppugazh and Athichudi
into Latin and other languages. Parmathaguru Kathas, which he wrote in
Tamil culture, adapted from the comic stories popular in Europe at that
time, were famous for their humorous nature and were translated into
many Indian languages.
Vīramāmunivar
wrote the Paramārtha
Guru stories in Tamil, steeped in humor. The naïve Guru and his five
disciples, Matti, Madaiyan, Pēthai, Mūdan, Milēcchan engage in acts,
which
Paramārtha
guru narrates in a story-form with humor. Their names are
everyday pejorative monikers in Tamil Nadu to describe people with
varying degrees of stupidity.
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| 1. Paramarthar was
sleeping in a sitting position under a tree. Paramarthar suddenly awake.
Suddenly he woke up and said, “Disciples! The Buddha attained
enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. Similarly, now I have received
enlightenment under this flower pipal tree!” He was happy. 2. Hearing that, the disciples said, “For the Buddha a Bodhi; Our Paramarthar a flowering Pipal! O tree that gave enlightenment! Long live the tree of wisdom!” They circumambulated that tree and worshiped. 3. “Disciples! We will plant crops in partnership with someone; Let's reap a profit!” said the Guru. 4. One who heard Paramartha's idea, agreed to share crops with them. He believed that the Guru and the disciples would be deceived anyway. 5. “Since it is a joint venture, one should take what grows above the soil and the other should take what lies below the ground. Only then will the profit be equal for both. Do you want what grows underground? Want what grows over the ground?” asked the partner. 6. Guru and disciples went alone and thought. “Master! Don't opt for the yield above ground! Who guards it? Let's take the yield from the underground. Everything will be safe!” said the disciples. 7. Believing in the words of the disciples, Paramarthar said, "All that is under the earth is ours!" 8. The partner who wanted to cheat planted corn, rye, millet that are available above the soil! 9. Seeing the plants flourishing well, Paramartha said, “Bale! If it is so prosperous above the soil, it will grow even more abundantly below! This time we are going to make a good profit for sure!” He was pleased with that. 10. The disciples thought the partner was deceived, believed the partner did not understand their plan! They thought that. 11. Harvest time came. The associate who gathered the Guru and the disciples said, “Look here! Do not violate the spoken word. Take what is in the underground. I will only take what is above.’’ 12. After he had cut everything, the Guru and the disciples began to stir the bare soil. 13. Wherever they dug there were only roots. 14. “Guruji! We've been snookered!” shouted Matti. 15. “Something magical has happened!” Madaiyan cried. 16. “Guruji! It's the denizens of the underworld who have stolen everything from beneath!” said Mūdan. 17. “We worked hard for so many days. Everything is ruined!” Paramartha was upset. 18. “Gurudev! Next time we plant we will take the above-ground yield. Let him be deceived as we are!” Mudan said. 19. The next crop season came. ‘’This time what is above ground is for us!” Guru and disciples have said that. 20. The partner who wanted to cheat again, this time, he planted root vegetables and cassava. 21. Guru and disciples worked hard. “Master! Plants thrive. There's going to be a booty!” said Mandu. Harvest time has come. “Quickly take everything that is above. I must dig the soil,” said the cheater. 22. When the disciples saw that the plant bore no fruit, they beat their mouths and stomachs. 23. “Gurudev! We've gone bad this time!” Matti burst into tears. 24. "Watching day and night was in vain!" Madaiyan lamented. ‘’It must be the work of Satan!” said Muttal. 25. Paramarthar thought in solitude and came to a conclusion! “Disciples! This is not the work of Satan or Saneeswaran! It was all my fault!” said. 26. “What! Did you make a mistake? What is it?” The disciples asked in amazement. 27. “I said that I gained enlightenment, while lying down and sleeping under a tree. That was wrong. It was only yesterday that I found out that the tree was not a flowering pipal tree. I accidentally fell asleep under some other tree! Come, let us go to the base of the real flowering pipal tree!” Guru said. 28. And the disciples said, “Blooming pipal tree! Give me wisdom!” They started doing penance again. |