Key philosophers and philosophical texts Valluvar Thiruvalluvar, a South Indian poet-philosopher and the author of the Kural, a non-denominational Classical Tamil work on secular ethics and morality, is believed to have lived about the 1st century BCE to 5th century CE. While others of his time chiefly focused on the praise of God, culture and the ruler of the land, Valluvar focused on the moral behaviors of the common individual. Valluvar limits his theistic teachings to the introductory chapter of the Kural text, the "Praise of God." Throughout the text thereafter, he focuses on the everyday moral behaviors of an individual, thus making the text a secular one. Even in the introductory chapter, he refrains from mentioning the name of any particular god but only addresses God in generic terms as "the Creator," "the truly Wise One," "the One of eight-fold excellence," and so forth. Translated into about 40 world languages, the Kural text remains one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. Praised as "the Universal Veda," it emphasizes on the ethical edifices of non-violence, moral vegetarianism, casteless human brotherhood, absence of desires, path of righteousness and truth, and so forth, besides covering a wide range of subjects such as moral codes of rulers, friendship, agriculture, knowledge and wisdom, sobriety, love, and domestic life.
Key philosophers and philosophical texts Valluvar Thiruvalluvar, a South Indian poet-philosopher and the author of the Kural, a non-denominational Classical Tamil work on secular ethics and morality, is believed to have lived between the 1st century BCE and the 5th century CE. While others of his time chiefly focused on the praise of God, culture and the ruler of the land, Valluvar focused on the moral behaviors of the common individual. Valluvar limits his theistic teachings to the introductory chapter of the Kural text, the "Praise of God." Throughout the text thereafter, he focuses on the everyday moral behaviors of an individual, thus making the text a secular one. Even in the introductory chapter, he refrains from mentioning the name of any particular god but only addresses God in generic terms as "the Creator," "the truly Wise One," "the One of eight-fold excellence," and so forth. Translated into about 40 world languages, the Kural text remains one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. Praised as "the Universal Veda," it emphasizes on the ethical edifices of non-violence, moral vegetarianism, casteless human brotherhood, absence of desires, path of righteousness and truth, and so forth, besides covering a wide range of subjects such as moral codes of rulers, friendship, agriculture, knowledge and wisdom, sobriety, love, and domestic life.
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