Why this Kolvari Di (The truth behind passion)

A song in recent times that became popular is ‘Why this Kolveri Di?’. This is a phrase in Tamil language which roughly translates to ‘Why this murderous rage against me, dear lady. ?’ Kola means murder and veri means rage and Di as in addressing a lady. If you try to analyze why this song went viral, well you can reach various conclusions. My feeling is that it simply is a meaningless song with lots of meaning embedded in it. Allow me to explain.

Some people have this passion for a belief. This belief may be simply something like “All fit men are attractive”, hence I should also be fit. Well, this seems like a rational belief, but some people take up fitness with a vengeance. They workout very hard at the Gym and put in extra hours to achieve a fit body. And you know what? The results may be good (provided he / she doesn’t injure him/herself in the process) but the matter doesn’t end there.

Of course, staying fit and being attractive makes us feel good inside, but we don’t have to be desperate. Even obesity or slimness has its own beauty. Some people have preferences for say plump men or women. Others may think that being thin is dashing. As they say, different strokes for different folks. Nevertheless, the fact remains that a majority of people think that fit men and women are more attractive. It’s not a universal law. But it helps.

Now coming back to our Kolaveri, the matter of the fact is that some people are driven by a passion which surmounts to being murderous. This is typically arising from the pent-up anger inside (a rajasic tendency, if you know what I mean) which can border on the lines of insanity. A lot of great men and women had this inside them. What they have achieved is clearly in front of us in the form of history. The pendulum of the good and bad have swung both ways and we are experiencing their mania in these times also.

My take: Passion is good but not so much so that it becomes insanity. Also passion should be for the universal good. A deep passion for something like ‘This is wrong or this is right’ can prove counter-productive. We do not have to be opinionated, even though, that is what some people call as character. A cause in the right direction (although there is no such thing in the absolute sense) can prove to be beneficial for everyone. A bad motive (again this is relative) doubled with a deep passion can prove detrimental.

How do we choose which is the path to be trodden? Remember what Lord Krishna says ‘Everything in moderation’ No excesses. Passion – yes. Murderous passion – no. Passion drives us forward. At the same time, we may become color blind because we tend to believe so deeply in this fictitious concept that everything else seems to fade away in the kick. It’s very essential to see the real as it is. And with a passionate mind we won’t be able to. Passion also can bind us in the form of attachments. Hence dear friends, I leave it to you, to decide.

With all my love …

Guru30