Chapter 14: The Possession of Decorum

 Chapter 14:  The Possession of Decorum

Other Translations:The Possession of Virtuous Conduct; Purity of Conduct; The Well-Regulated Life; Right Conduct; Disciplined Life; morality; discipline

Strict adherence to decorum  is necessary to ensure smooth functioning of individual life and social systems. Decorum of an individual adds to the pride of the family and community the individual belongs to. It is emphasized in this chapter that the lack of decorum is a disgrace to the individual as well as the family and community. Discipline aids cooperation resulting in the common good of the people. This is why this Chapter says 'discipline is citizenship' and stresses 'conformity with the society'. It is this cooperation that drives the progress of the society. Discipline  is more valuable than life to one because it gives especial excellence; That is the mark of good lineage ; That is what determines ups and downs in one’s reputation. That is the basis of all good; Discipline is not just what has been written down - it is what goes with and conforms to the societal standards. These are the teachings of this Chapter.

The first two verses of this chapter say that as decorum grants eminence, decorum should be preserved as superior to life.

131. Propriety confers prominence; hence, propriety is cherished more than existence.

132. Take painstaking effort to preserve propriety; after researching all there is to, one can conclude, it is the best ally.

The verses that follow illustrate the improvement that one can achieve through decorum and the disgrace that would result from the lack of it.

133. Class is determined by propriety of conduct; impropriety will lead to being considered part of an ignoble class.

134. One can relearn if he forgets the scriptures; but, a misconduct will forever sever his stature.

135. A person who has envy has no wealth; a person who has no decorum has no growth.

136. The strong-willed don’t shrivel their propriety, knowing the suffering inflicted by impropriety.

137. One attains eminence through decorum; one attains unprecedented infamy due to indecorum.

138. Good conduct becomes the seed for goodwill and impropriety always yields agony.

The end verses state that those who study propriety of conduct will not speak evil even forgetfully; and that those who do not know how to act agreeably with the world are considered ignorant irrespective of the wide knowledge they might have acquired.

139. Those who practice propriety find it impossible to utter harmful words even forgetfully.

140. Those who don’t learn to abide by the decorous norms of the society, even if well-read, are unwise.

Comments:

M Muthusubramanyam said:

Morality/Decorum/Discipline

It is impossible to define decorum. This chapter in 10 verses also did not say what it was. Even though many interpreters of these verses explained a little bit about morality as good conduct in relation to the conduct of great personalities of the society, none of them said what morals were. Morality is about helping to lead this vast world and humanity without conflicting with each other. It relates to one's habits, mannerisms, lifestyle, and behavior, which simply means behaving humanly according to human nature.

A Tamil Sangam Literature of 5th century C.E. named "Achaarak kOvai" (http://sathyasenthil77.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post.html) has 100 verses devoted to explain the various matters of discipline/decorum and has listed these in the very first verse:

1: Recognize and thank others for the help received .

2: Be patient.

3: Speaking pleasant words/avoiding harsh speech.

4: Do not do anything that will cause any suffering to any life.

5: Learning.

6: Living in harmony with the world.

7: Seeking the help and company of knowledgeable elders.

8: Being friendly with people of good character.