Stories Inspired by Thirukkural - Chapter 1:5 - Honesty

“The two-fold deeds that spring from darkness shall not adhere to those who delight in the true praise of God.”

Appa simplifies the meaning through an example:

A thief who steals for the “greater good” and a philanthropist who gives selflessly—both confronted by their neighbors, yet only one has clean hands.

Later, Lata adds her take, connecting it to One Piece: Sanji steals food for a pirate, but even with good intentions, stealing is wrong.

💡 What do you think? Can good intentions ever justify a wrong deed? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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📌 AI Note: LLMs were used to generate some pictures, refine the script, and create descriptions for the channel.

The script:

இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன் பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு

“The two-fold deeds that spring from darkness shall not adhere to those who delight in the true praise of God.”

“Rajamani, this kural you’ve been studying is quite complex. Let me explain it to you through an example.”

“Aiyo, is it one of your long stories?”

“Hmm.. No.. My stories are never long.”

“Last time you started with the name of your street and ended with how Jahangir become the emperor.”

“Ok, I’ll talk about our neighbours then. One of them is a thief who only steals from the rich and gives to the poor, while the other is a philanthropist who donates everything he has to charity.”

“Did you just call Manish a thief? He’s an honest person.”

“My examples are imaginary. Now, let’s say both of these individuals are confronted by their neighbors about their actions. The thief might try to justify his crimes by saying he’s doing it for the greater good, but the philanthropist would not be able to make a similar claim. Why? Because the philanthropist is using his wealth to help others, whereas the thief is using it to harm others.

“I see what you mean, Appa. The two-fold deeds don’t stick to someone who genuinely does good in the world.”

“Exactly. Let me see how you explain this to your daughter Lata. But do you know why your street is called Annammacharya road?”

“Aiyo…”

(Later)

“Inge vaadi. I am going to ask you a question.

“Is it about Thirukkural or One Piece?”

“One piece. We saw that episode where Sanji steals food and feeds to a pirate Gin. Do you think it was right or wrong on Sanji’s part to do that?”

“That is tough. I would say that Sanji can’t claim he’s doing good just because he steals food for others. He’d have to admit that stealing is wrong too, even if his intentions are pure,” said Lata.

“Appaadi, you are wise for a 8 year old. So the kural is saying that we can’t hide behind our good intention and pretend it is all fine even though the deed is wrong.”

“So, Robin Hood is not right and does deserve to be imprisoned.”

“You could say that, Kutty.”

இருள்சேர் இருவினையும் சேரா இறைவன் பொருள்சேர் புகழ்புரிந்தார் மாட்டு

[ Breaking the fourth wall ]

Can you think of some examples of someone doing the wrong thing even with the right intentions? Please stick to examples from fiction.

Ok, let me know what you think in the comments below.