Understanding The Ordinary Life

As I have already mentioned,  it is Agamic Psychology that has provided the insights for formulating the political theory in ArutkuRaL. And this brings us to Hermeneutics and Political Science as belonging to the field of the Hermeneutic Sciences.  Efficient management requires  that we UNDERSTAND what is managed (more on this later) and since politics is the management of people in relation to their existence, their existence must be understood. The way a person LIVES can be affected by the politics of the country and therefore sound political management requires  a TRUE UNDERSTANDING  of  their ORDINARY LIFE.  And this is where most of the current studies of the academics appear to miss the point. The world of ordinary existence is unfortunately taken for granted and largely neglected as an important filed of study. Though anthropology sociology psychology and so forth contribute somewhat towards this, but their  methodology  seems to  be  inherently limited and real problems of the ordinary people are hardly touched upon.  Like the 20th cent British philosophers who turned to the study of ordinary language after the transcendentalism of the 19th cent idealist philosophers, so too we have to turn to the ordinary life and gain an UNDERSTANDING of what actually transpires there without bringing artificial theoretical concepts into it.  The recent developments in the interpretive social sciences are in the right direction  but it still remains largely unknown. We must allow the ordinary life of people open up itself to us and tell us what is in itself from within itself.  We must get into the stream of life and understand life without tearing people  away from that stream.

                  veetham oothinum viLangkunuuR kaRkinum
                  uuthiyam tharuvathulakiya  laRivee
 
                  §Å¾õ µ¾¢Ûõ Å¢ÇíÌáü ¸ü¸¢Ûõ
                  °¾¢Âõ ¾ÕÅÐĸ¢Â ÄÈ¢§Å

It is  an understanding of ordinary life , ulakiyal aRivu, that is more important for politics than the scriptural , philosophic  and such other academica, philosophic and religious  pursuits.  A professor of Political Science may not make a good politician, he is just lost in the theoretical world that he has built for himself.  A religious person is mainly other worldly and hence will not have the interest in the problems of ordinary life which to them is to abhored.A person who deals with people, moves along with them , shares their joys and sorrows may make a better politician for though he is not extensively  read and deeply religious or philosophic, , he UNDERSTANDS people and through that  IS WITH them.  It is this kind of UNDERSTANDING that gives uuthiyam, appropriate political rewards.

The Depths of Ordinary Life

There is a difference between WISDOM and theoretical knowledge.  What a successful politician requires is Wisdom and not arid theoretical knowledge that the academics are so busy at churning out.  Wisdom pertains to one who understands the ordinary life in its DEPTHS. For ordinary life is a  TEXT that unfolds the HUMAN REALITY and it has to be UNDERSTOOD INTERPRETIVELY  in order to understand human reality itself. The understanding must emerge in situ, within the ordinary existence itself without dissecting it and recapturing  it in terms of some conceptual categories etc. A man who lives with the people , moves along with them and at the same time transforms his direct experiences into a TEXT and INTERPRETES it to gain a deeper vision about the UNCONSCIOUS that shapes the DRAMA of ordinary life gains WISDOM that would enable him to handle the political problems that may arise.

                  utambedut  tulakaavarum meyyula kinaiyuRRu
                  kadainthedukkak kaNNaakum mey

                  ¯¼õ¦ÀÎò Ðĸ¡ÅÕõ ¦ÁöÔÄ ¸¢¨ÉÔüÚ
                  ¸¨¼ó¦¾Îì¸ì ¸ñ½¡Ìõ ¦Áö

                      ulakiyal  uNmaiyin uthikkinRa meyyaRivu
                  nilavinin Rellaanithi  yuntharum

                  ¯Ä¸¢Âø ¯ñ¨Á¢ý ¯¾¢ì¸¢ýÈ ¦ÁöÂÈ¢×
                  ¿¢ÄÅ¢¿¢ý ¦ÈøÄ¡¿¢¾¢ Ôó¾Õõ

The ordinary man remains ordinary only because he understands only the surface structure of Life  as  a TEXT. In  contrast to this , he who understands the DEEP STRUCTURE of  Life as TEXT gains an advantage over the ordinary man and because of which he gets promoted into a leadership position. It is the WISDOM that gains political leadership; such a man understands the Human Reality in its Depths and because of which he is more efficient in managing it. He knows what to say ,when to say what to whom, how to say  and how not to say and so forth. He knows who can be trusted, who cannot be and hence manage to create a group that is faithful and effective.