Kapilar agaval, written by poet Kapila, is full of morals, said Malayaman in a discourse. Kapilar said that a man’s life span is 100 years. Of these he spends fifty years in sleep.
He is an innocent child till he is five. He is a student for fifteen years. The remaining thirty years are the only time available for him to acquire knowledge and do useful things. During his productive years, he will have to face both prosperity and adversity. Wealth is like a river. Youth is the like the bank of a river that could collapse when there is a flood. Man’s life is like a tree on the river bank. Just as the tree may be uprooted by the waters of the river, so could his life end at any moment. So Kapila says,” Do good; do it today; do it right now.” He tells us that we must do good as soon as possible, instead of delaying, for life could end before we do it.
You may think that when Yama arrives, you can get away by praising him. But he is not going to be swayed by your praise. He will not leave, even if you beg him to spare your life. He will not take someone’s else’s life as a substitute for yours. He will not be moved by your offers to bribe him. He will not take pity on you because you are a good man, or because you are poor. Nor will he be impressed by your wealth. He strikes impartially, when he must.
Kapila also says that to discriminate among people is wrong. Great sages like Vyasa were not the sons of women of the upper strata of society. Greatness lies in one’s good qualities, not in one’s birth.
When it rains, it rains for everyone. When the Sun shines, it shines for everyone. The Earth does not discriminate between people. It bears everyone. Thus, Kapila uses Nature to drive home the fact that all are equal, and none superior to another.
