Neetham (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

:நீதம்) are the primary virtues to be followed according to the

Akilathirattu Akilathirattu Ammanai ( ta, அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the T ...

the holy text of

Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi ( ta, அய்யாவழி, ml, അയ്യാവഴി ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a henotheistic belief that originated in South India.Tha. Krishna Nathan, ''Ayyaa vaikuNdarin vaazvum sinthanaiyum'', p. 62: "" (The day at which Vaik ...

. They are found in

Akilam one Akilathirattu Ammanai ( ta, அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the T ...

, which is the first section of the

Akilathirattu Ammanai Akilathirattu Ammanai ( ta, அகிலத்திரட்டு அம்மானை; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the T ...

, and in the middle of the meta-narrative events of the

eight yugas 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

. This shows that the society, its people, and the ruling king once lived in absolute harmony with nature, placing the power of God in all their works, deeds, and activities during early ages. The

points this out as an example, and describes how the people should live in the world. It also forms a part of

ethics. The Neethams are split into three. They are, # Manu Neetham: How an individual should personify him/herself with good morality. # Raja Neetham: How an individual should be to the society or Nation, and in turn how the Nation should be to a common man. # Deiva Neetham: How an individual should be before God.

Manu Neetham — Justice of Common Man

The Manu Neetham describes how a person should act in a society. It also describes the correct

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

character of the people, and their way of life in harmony with nature (particularly women) in the early ages. Followers believe that all the events and actions that happen in their lives are activated by God. Therefore, they prefer not to seek any individual supremacy for any of their activities or achievements. All faithful followers believe that everyone is equal, in spite of the presence of different castes. In addition, they do not find anyone inferior or superior to others with respect to the jobs they do. They neither do any menial jobs nor make others do so. In turn, they live with a mutual understanding of others not unlike the innocence of children.

Morality

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

is treated with highest respect, especially in women. **This not only means physical virginity, but a kind of mental "virginity" as well. ***This is described as keeping one's mind clear, and not allowing the mind to become "instable" or "impure". In other words, virginity also means preserving moral and virginal thinking. **Because of this,

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

do not speak often. *Followers are to respect their father and

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

, and keep them at equal status with God. *Honesty is considered an important virtue. *Women are taught to respect their

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

s. **

Wives A wife ( : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as ...

sleep only after making their husbands sleep. ***For example, women will wake up and bathe before dawn, pray, then clean the house as part of her daily routine. Thus the people of the

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

would live: always striving to be role models for others. This ethical code is considered by followers to have been given by

scriptures to mankind.

Raja Neetham — Justice of Governance

This Raja Neetham or Arasa Neetham says, how an individual should be to the

nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

, and in turn how the nation should be to a common man. This was derived from the meta-narrative events, one practiced in the society. The king ruled the country with great care, by giving more importance to individual needs. He respect each and every individual with equal status. The king consider the comfort of the subjects of the nation as the comfort of himself. In all the 1008 Pathis (The place where God is) the poojas were conducted rightly and in timely manner. The

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, the watermeans such as

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

s, wells were supervised and were repaired frequently.

Anna Dharmam {{Ayyavazhi Anna Dharmam is a term used for an Ayyavazhi ritual that involves sharing food without inter-dining. Inter-dining refers to the act of dining within one's own caste, and excluding others. The practice of Anna Dharmam may have emerged ...

, the charity on food is conducted frequently at choultries. The people of the nation always respect religious persons and pilgrims, and help them by all possible means, and consider that serving them (religious persons) is like serving God. The king collects one-sixth of the means of people as tax. If any one says that they will not be able to give one-sixth of their means, the king don't use to compel them. If any one pays tax without any pending for about twelve years the King use to discount their tax for two years. The judgement from the king for the judicial cases of people will be accurate. He gives more importance for his people than for himself.

Right Judgement

This story tells about a king who follows the Raja Neetham rightly and so his accuracy in judgement. Once a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

choose a bird as his target and points his arrow towards it. The bird notes this and flies away and the hunter follows the bird. The bird flew and fell in front of the Chozha king and asked him to rescue from the hunter. Following this the hunter came in front of the king and demanded the bird. He also says, "whole of my today's time is wasted behind this bird. I and my family has to fulfill our hunger by this bird." On the other hand, the bird demanded the king to save it from the hunter. The king feels that both of them are right from their own view point and sensed both the fulfillment of the hunger of hunter and saving the life of the bird is his duty as a king. So taking care the two subjects, the king cut an equal quantity of flesh to the bird from his limb and gave it to the hunter. So he saved the life of the bird and on the other hand saved the hunter's family from being hungry. As king, he treated both of his subjects equally and also fulfilled both of their needs. ''Note: This story is not fully narrated as above in Akilam and only quoted.''

Deiva Neetham — Justice of Divinity

This Deiva Neetham tells about the thought of people about the Almighty and about their religious harmony during that (old) age, and tells the way by which one should be get divinized. The most important point is, this part says that when the other two Neethams are correctly followed the Deiva Neetham will be automatically fall in the right path. This concept was reveals from the mythical narration. The reign of the king (above in Raja Neetham) was identified as a good rule by the

Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

, Lekhsmi and all devas appreciated this rule. They went to kayilai to meet

Siva Siva may refer to: Film and television * Siva (director), Indian cinematographer and director * ''Siva'' (1989 Tamil film), a film starring Rajinikanth as the title character * ''Siva'' (1989 Telugu film), an action film Music and dance * "Siv ...

to tell about this. They met Siva in Kayilai and told that the King chozha is ruling his country genuinely. They also told Siva about the judgement of the king in the matter of the Hunter and the Bird. Also they brought to his attention, other merits of the reign of the king. They also demanded that, since the king is so genuine, talented and accurate in following the principles, he should order the devas to do the duties to his nation correctly. Hearing this Siva ordered the Mayon to order the devas to do all duties timidly. As per this Mayon ordered, * Bhoomaadevi, goddess of

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

to protect his nation. *

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

, the God of Rain to shed rain thrice a month in the country of that king. * The

clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...

to act as an umbrella and protect his nation. *

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

, the God of Wind to fan his nation with gentle breeze. * Sivayus to be alert on the places where the poojas are held in his nation. * Nithira Devi, the Goddess of sleepiness not to disturb unnecessarily the subjects of his nation. As per the order of

all activities were done by devas. Also they made all

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s to live in harmony with each other and with the people. They also made the crops of his nation to give good yield for the people.

References