Acknowledging Rebel Voices in Tamil Literature

Congratulations to Charu Nivedita on winning the prestigious Vishnupuram award. Charu was one of the pioneers of postmodern Tamil transgressive literature. His novel Zero Degree was longlisted for the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. In 2015, I read Zero Degree. However, his writing is not my cup of tea because he is a hedonist, and transgressive writing violates moral or social boundaries.

Even so, rebel voices must always be heard in society to stay healthy and progressive, or else it will become outdated and stuck in the past. People with a thorough understanding of sociology know how vital dialectical discussions are to societal development. Tamil literature and society are enriched by Charu's voice in this sense. 

My Sri Lankan Dream

 

Tamils have been hearing similar promises dating back to the time of the Banda-Chelva Pact in 1957. However, every promise was broken and in turn, the anti-Tamil massacres rampaged the country in 1956, 1958, and 1977 which led to the civil war in the first place. Those of us who despise the tigers today have conveniently forgotten the causes that led to their formation.

If anyone assumes that peace won on the battlefield is permanent, they have a very naive understanding of world history. For the long-term peace and stability of Sri Lanka, the ethnic issue needs to be solved via proper dissolution of power. I dream of a united secular liberal democratic Sri Lanka where diversity is not merely tolerated but celebrated. 

As I was writing this, a Tamil couplet written two millennia ago kept echoing in my ears "அல்லற்பட்டு ஆற்றாது அழுத கண்ணீரன்றே செல்வத்தைத் தேய்க்கும் படை" which translates to "It is the tears of those groaning under oppression that will be the weapon that wears out the prosperity of a nation". 

I wish the political parties could put aside their differences and short-term political goals to solve the national question once and for all. I wish the people of Sri Lanka are smart enough to see beyond the Sinhala and Tamil nationalistic rhetoric that divides us.

பிரிவெனும் துன்பம்

மத்துறு தயிர் என வந்து சென்று, இடை
தத்துறும் உயிரொடு புலன்கள் தள்ளுறும்
பித்து, நின் பிரிவினில் பிறந்த வேதனை
எத்தனை உள? அவை எண்ணும் ஈட்டவோ?
- கம்பன்

மத்தை வெச்சுத் தயிர் கடையும் போது, தயிர் நுரைச்சு பாத்திரத்தோட ஒரு பக்க விளிம்புக்கு போயிடுமாம். உடனே மத்து இன்னொரு பக்கம் போய் அதை அப்படியே பாத்திரத்துக்குள்ள தள்ளிடுமாம். அதே மாதிரி உன் நினைவுகளாகிய மத்து கடையுறப்போ, உயிர் போகவும் போகாம உள்ளையும் நிக்க முடியாம தத்தளிக்கிறது. ஐந்து புலன்களும்  தடுமாறும்  பித்து நிலையும், உன் பிரிவாலே தோன்றிய வேதனையும் எவ்வளவு? அதை அளவிட்டுச் சொல்ல முடியுமா?

யோவ்! கம்பரே யார்ரா நீ 👏🙏

பொய்மையும் வாய்மையிடத்து

ஆண்கள் எங்கு வித விதமாய்  பொய் சொல்கிறோம். அழகி !! அழகி!! அழகி!! என்ற ஒரு பொய்யை மட்டும் தான் வித விதமாய் சொல்லிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறோம். ஏன் இந்தப் பொய் கேட்டு மட்டும் பெண்களுக்கு சலிப்பதே இல்லை ? 🙊

Mind Voice - அவசரப்பட்டு ஆண்களின் கம்பெனி ரகசியத்த வெளியில் சொல்லி விட்டோமா 🤣

Cute Song

 
In the royal palanquin of the full moon which oozes milk
hey, adorable pearl who waits, aren’t you mine?

To pinch and hurt the blossoming bud of smile

hey new moonbeam whose fingers throb, don’t whine!

The lamp of eyes which lighted on its own, to let it extinguish slowly,

let the darkness cover under the shade of a cloud,

on the step of a dream, when we rise on rainbow wings

On the glass earring which tickles the ear softly

a tremulous magical sound note woken up by a soft chant

Searching for a crore of sunbeam drops, come to fly up in the clear sky

when we get drenched softly in the fragrant rain that winter pours

Poetic Lyrics

மைனாக்கள் கவிதைகள் பாடுகின்றன

தாழைமடல்கள் ஆனந்த நடனமிடுகின்றன

கனவுகளெல்லாம் கதிராக

என்றும் என் துணைவியாக

வரமளிப்பவளே, நீ அனுமதியளிக்க மாட்டாயா?

நீ அனுமதியளிக்க மாட்டாயா? 

காதல்கொண்டவளே இதோ

என் இதயத்தில் விரிந்த மலர்கள்

ஒரு ராக மாலையாக இதை

உன் உயிரில் அணிவாயாக

அணிவாயாக விழைவின் முழுநிலவே!

ஏரியின் காலைக் கீதங்களை

கேட்கும் இந்த பனிமுகில்கள்

நிறம் பூசிய மேடையில்

குளிர் அலையும் சுபவேளையில்

பிரியமானவளே! என் மோகத்தை நீ அறிந்தாய்

என் மோகத்தை நீ அறிந்தாய்

2K Kids

I understand the animosity 90's kids have toward 2k kids. Yes! Growing up, we did not have access to the same opportunities they do now. The fact is, every new generation will have better opportunities than the one before it. Our opportunities were better than those of 80's kids. So let's be gentle. என் பின்னவன் பெற்ற செல்வம் அடியனேன் பெற்றது அன்றோ?

In the same way, every generation will have its own challenges that the older generation didn't face. In their early teens, 90's kids didn't have social media accounts. The trend became popular during our late teens. But, 2K kids grew up with social media, so they have more insecurities and peer pressure. Several pieces of research suggest depression rates are soaring among kids as young as 12 and young adults. Let's be more compassionate towards them as well.

Natchathiram Nagargiradhu - A film I can't stop watching

I recently watched Natchathiram Nagargiradhu. It is a wonderfully woven film by director Pa. Ranjith. The kind of film that turns a new leaf in 21st-century Tamil filmmaking. I could say without any doubt it is simply the best Tamil movie of the year. Pa. Ranjith's films always portray strong female characters. This film's "Rene” character is yet another wonderful addition to the list. It is a film with so many layers and subtle nuances providing deeper perspectives on the topics of love, art, politics, gender, sexuality and tradition. Let's look at a few scenes from the film to give you a taste of what's in store in the film.

Typical male psychology is perfectly captured by the two male protagonist's performances in the film. For example, let's take the following scene. In this scene, Iniyan starts to proudly brag about his first kiss with his ex, and then his face changes when Rene says she had previous relationships too. He doesn't want to believe it; keeps asking her whether it is true. Then he asks her about her past sexual history and he is completely upset when he gets to know she had slept with someone even though he had slept with other girls before.

This is something I have been continuously telling my friends, "If you are concerned about the past relationships or sexual experience of your partner, it just shows that you have deep insecurities about yourself or you have a very fragile ego. Don't blame and shame them for your issues.

Throughout the film, there were strong Buddhist references. For example, in the shot where Rene gives Arjun another chance for redemption, she is seated very similar to Green Tara (the female Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism).

Again in the following scene where Rene leads Arjun out. The picturization hints that she is opening a new door and walking him out from darkness into light. There is a Buddha painting on the entrance door too, hinting he is walking out as an enlighted man.

Rene leading the men in her life towards the light from darkness is a recurrent theme in the film. This is beautifully portrayed in the following scene as well, where she leads Iniyan upstairs from darkness into light.

I would love to have a daughter like Rene 😍💖

She is just perfect 😍

Why would someone use verses of love poems from Tamil Sangam literature written two millenniums ago in a movie that discusses the issues of contemporary love? That question is the key to understanding this scene which tries to convey a deep underlying fact. The director hints that despite all the complexities of modern love, the emotions involved in love remain the same regardless of time. What a filmmaker Pa. Ranjith is. Take a bow man. Such a poetic scene.

யாரினும் இனியன் பேரன்பினனே (குறுந்தொகை 85)

சாதல் அஞ்சேன்; அஞ்சுவல், சாவின்

பிறப்புப் பிறிது ஆகுவது ஆயின், 

மறக்குவேன் கொல், என் காதலன் எனவே. (நற்றிணை 397)

பொருள் -

தலைவன் மிகவும் இனிமையானவன். அவன் உன்மீது மிகுந்த அன்புடையவன். இறப்புக்கு அஞ்சேன்; இறந்து போனால் நேரும் மறுபிறப்பில் என் காதலனை மறந்துவிட நேருமோ என்றே அஞ்சுகிறேன்.

Rene !! Rene !! Rene !!

Stories of the True

Super HAAAAAAPPY 😍😍

Finally, the book which influenced my life deeply got translated into English.

Stories of the True is a collection of real stories about 12 men at the intersection of truth and righteousness. In each of these stories, the central character struggles to live up to a person­al code of ethics in the face of adversity - poverty, oppression, betrayal, humiliation, crippling pain, messianic zeal, dejection, death and misogyny. A gripping, raw and deeply moving book.

I have read the original Tamil version "அறம் (Aram)" many times and every time I read them, my eyes start to tear up. It is this book that made me believe in Idealism. It is this book I seek refuge in, every time I want to renew my faith in humanity.

Jeyamohan should have come to English much earlier. Happy that it is happening now.

சீரடி தொழுதல்

கந்தர் அநுபூதியில் இருந்து ஒரு பாடல் தற்செயலாக என் கண்ணில் பட்டது. "பணியா? என, வள்ளி பதம் பணியும் தணியா அதிமோக தயாபரனே" என்ற ஒரு வரிய படிச்சவுடன் என் திருமணமான நண்பர்கள் எல்லாம் ஞாபகம் வந்தார்கள்.  முருகன் வள்ளியின் பாதத்தை பிடித்துக் கொள்கிறான். பிடித்துக் கொள்வது மட்டும் அல்ல, அவள் பாதங்களை பணிந்து, "சொல்லு, நான் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும்" என்று  கெஞ்சுகிறான். ஆனானப்பட்ட முருகனுக்கே அந்த நிலைமை என்றால் நீங்கள் எல்லாம் எம்மாத்திரம் என்று நினைத்துக்கொண்டேன் ஒரே சிரிப்பு சிரிப்பா வந்திருச்சு  😂🙊 அப்புறம் எனக்கும் நாளைக்கு இந்த நிலைமை தான் என்று ஒரு எண்ணம் வந்தது உடனே இன்னும் சிரிப்பு வந்துவிட்டது😁

Visual Poetry

 வியனுலகு வதியும் பெருமலர்

வண்ணச் சீறடி மண்மகள் அறிந்திலள்

எண்ணார் புரம் மூன்றும் எரியுண்ண நகை செய்தாய்!

என் மனது உன்னடி விட்டு நீங்காது நிலைநிற்க ஏது புகல வருவாய்

வாழினும் சாவினும் வருந்தினும் போய் வீழினும் உனகழல் விடுவேன் அல்லேன்

Malayalam Is The Most Beautiful Daughter Of Tamil

தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு

இரவுமழை!

இரவுமழையிடம் நான் சொல்லிக்கொள்கிறேன்

உன் துயரத்தின் இசையை நான் அறிகிறேன்

உன் கருணையும்

அடக்கிக் கொண்ட சீற்றமும்

இருளில் உன் வருகையும்

தனிமையின் விம்மல்களும்

விடியும்போது முகம்துடைத்து

திரும்பிச் செல்லும் உன் அவசரமும்

ரகசியப் புன்னகையும் பாவனைகளும்

எனக்குத் தெரியும்

எப்படி அறிகிறேன் என்கிறாயா

தோழி!

நானும் உன்னைப் போலத்தான்.

இரவுமழை போலத்தான்.

- மலையாளக் கவிஞர் சுகதகுமாரி

குருப் பெருங்கடல்

 

இன்று குரு பௌர்ணமி. குருவை வணங்கும் நாள். காலையில் அறிந்தோ அறியாமலோ "குரு சாகரம்" என்ற நுண் சொல்லோடு தான்  விழித்தெழுந்தேன். பெருங்கடல் எனப் பொருள்படும் சாகரம் என்பது ஒன்றுதான். நாம் அறியும் குரு வடிவங்கள், அப்பெருங்கடலில் இருந்து வெளியாகி வந்து நம்மை தீண்டி, பின் மீண்டும் அதில் சென்றமையும் வெறும் அலைகள் மட்டுமே. அலை அலையாக வந்து கொண்டே இருக்கக்கூடிய பல்வேறு  மனிதர்கள் வழியாக, மீண்டும் மீண்டும் தன்னை வெளிப்படுத்திக்கொண்டே இருக்கும், அந்த குருப் பெருங்கடலாகிய இரண்டற்ற ஒன்றுக்கு என்றும் என் வணக்கம் 🙏.

Why Art is the Greatest Expression of Human Mind ?

Art, not philosophy, is considered the greatest expression of the human mind for an important reason. If you take a beautiful girl, philosophy will tell you the purpose behind all that beauty is to stimulate the desire for sex. As a blunt matter of fact, that was the purpose evolution intended. Philosophy strives to provide the most accurate description of reality. It describes reality as it is.

The idea of art is a transformation of reality. Any art form, whether it is painting or poetry, converts feminine beauty into something else. It removes the lust that is inherent by comparing it to nature and making it a pure aesthetic. Just as you appreciate a rainbow or a flower, art makes you appreciate feminine beauty. This process is called sublimation. In order for a highly civilized society to emerge and flourish, sublimation is crucial.

Lust and aggression are our fundamental emotions.  Art sublimates aggression as bravery, and lust as love or devotion. The constant sublimation of such basic emotions has allowed humanity to control them and create civilization, culture, and social order. That's why every culture continues to create art over and over again. If this process is even slightly relaxed, the basic desires of humanity will rise and make society destabilized and destructive. That is why art is the greatest expression of the human mind.

Favourite Classical Dance Performances

There is no branch of knowledge, no discipline of art

or craft, no action, nothing in this Universe that

cannot be emotionally well articulated by NATYAM.

- Natya Shastra 1.116

கனிந்து பொலிக!

நண்பர்கள் பலர் என்னிடம் அடிக்கடி சொல்லி கோபப்படும் விடயம் சமூகம் தங்களை கூர்ந்து நோக்கிக் கொண்டே இருக்கிறது. எப்போதும் யாரோ ஒருவர் தங்களை நோக்கி கேள்வி கேட்டபடியே இருக்கிறார்கள் என்பது. நான் அவர்களுக்கு வெவ்வேறு வகையில் சொல்லி விளங்க வைக்க முயல்வது எளிய மனிதர்களின் உளவியலை புரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள் என்பதே. 

இந்தச் சமூகம் என்பது எளிய மக்களின் திரள் தான். எளிய மக்கள் எந்த சுயஅடையாளமும் இல்லாதவர்கள். தாங்கள் எண்ணி பெருமை கொள்ளும் எதையும் செய்தறியாதவர்கள். அதன் பொருட்டு அகத்துள் ரகசியமாக கூசிக்கொண்டே இருப்பவர்கள். மற்றவர்களுடன் ஒப்பிட்டு  தான் மேம்பட்டவன் என்று எண்ணி மகிழ்வதோன்றே அவர்களால் செய்ய இயல்வது. உங்கள் வேலையை தங்களுடன் ஒப்பிட்டு ஒரு படி குறைவானது என்றால் மகிழ்வார்கள். திருமண வயதில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு திருமணம் ஆகவில்லை என்று சொன்னால் ஆழ்ந்த அனுதாபத்துடன் ஆலோசனைகள் சொல்வதுபோல மகிழ்ச்சியில் திளைப்பார்கள். கல்வி, வேலை, திருமணம், குழந்தைகள் என உங்கள் சொந்த வாழ்க்கை பற்றி அவர்கள் அறிய விளைவது அதற்காகவே.

இந்தப் புரிதல் உங்களுக்கு இருந்தால் உங்களுக்கு கோவம் வராது. உண்மையில் அவர்களை நோக்கி உங்களுக்கு அனுதாபம் தான் வரவேண்டும். அவர்கள் செயல்களை பொருட்படுத்தக்கூடாது. ஒரு மென்புன்னகையுடன் அவர்களை கடந்து செல்வதே நீங்கள் செய்யக்கூடியது. நீங்கள் உங்கள் அகம் நிறைவுறும் செயல்களைச் செய்பவர் என்றால் இவர்கள் எல்லாம் உங்களுக்கு ஒரு பொருட்டே இல்லை. இவர்கள் மீது உங்களுக்கு கோவம் வரும் என்றால் நீங்களும் உங்கள் அகத்துள் ரகசியமாக எங்கோ உங்களை நினைத்து கூசிக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறீங்கள் என்றே பொருள். அதன் வேரை கண்டறிந்து களையுங்கள் நீங்களும் இவர்களை பிரியத்துடன் புன்னகைத்து கடந்து செல்வீர்கள்.    

நானும் ஒருகாலத்தில் இதையெல்லாம் பார்த்து உளம் கொதித்தவன் தான். ஆனால் இன்றோ இச்சிறுமைகள் தொடமுடியா உயரத்தில் எங்கோ உளம் கனிந்து சென்றமைந்திருக்கிறேன்.

Advaita : The Game Changer

Shankara's Advaita Vedanta beautifully harmonizes all the great philosophical traditions that came before it. Due to this, Advaita shares many similarities with Mahayana Buddhist doctrines like the "Two truths doctrine" of Nagarjuna (the greatest Buddhist philosopher of all time) and the Buddhist philosopher Dignaga's "Vijnanavada". Because of these similarities, Shankara was even criticized as Prachanna Buddha (Buddha in disguise) by the traditional Hindu philosophers. Similarly, Advaita also shares many similarities with great traditional Hindu philosophical schools of thought like "Yoga", "Sankhya", "Nyaya", and "Purva-Mimamsa". 

In reality, the Advaita doesn't refute other philosophies but just brilliantly supersedes them. Advaita has fundamental metaphysical and ontological superiority compared to all the previous philosophical explanations of reality given before. If you consider Einstein's general theory of relativity and Newton's Law of gravitation, Einstein's model explains gravity better than Newton's. But Einstein's model doesn't refute Newton's law of gravitation it just supersedes/refines it. You can still derive the Newtonian gravitational model from general relativity by making two simple assumptions. Newton's model still holds in the majority of cases and is widely used. Just like that Advaita explains reality better compared to other philosophies. 

Now let's see where Buddha comes in on all this. Buddha was against complex philosophizing. Buddha keeps on insisting not to waste time discussing the ultimate nature of reality, he asked his disciples to just follow his teachings and get enlightened and realize it themselves.

For many questions related to the nature of reality, Buddha refused to answer (Buddha's noble silences). It is not because Buddha doesn't know the answer, but the answer cannot be logically presented in language. It can only be realized. Language and logic belong to the transactional/relative realm of reality, just like the water in the dream is useless to quench thirst in the waking world, language and logic are useless in accurately describing the absolute reality. If we want a 100% logically correct explanation for absolute reality, none of the philosophies can provide that. This is why even after his enlightenment, Buddha deliberated for some time thinking about whether he should teach what he realized at all.

So the natural question one would ask is if Buddha's initial teachings are enough for enlightenment and none of the philosophies can describe the real nature of reality, what is the need for any later development of Buddhist philosophies after Buddha (Collection of these later philosophies branched out as Mahayana Buddhism) and most importantly even after the development of very sophisticated Mahayana Buddhist philosophies why you needed a philosophy like Advaita. 

Let's tackle these questions one by one. The reason why Buddha's initial teachings were later expanded is that Buddha's initial teachings have dangerous consequences if you grasp them wrongly. Greatest Mahayana philosopher Nagarjuna compared it to picking up a snake by the wrong end. Buddha's teachings presented two dangerous problems, first problem is Buddha's Nobel silence is interpreted by sceptics of Buddha as he doesn't know the answer or he isn't truly enlightened. So Buddhism ran into the risk of being easily dismissed after Buddha's lifetime. 

500 years after Buddha, Nagarjuna tried to clear this scepticism by interpreting Buddha's silence philosophically and trying to show why Buddha's silence was the correct answer to those questions. He argued reality, including ourselves and everything we know, is essentially empty; there is nothing. This system of Mahayana Philosophy is called "Madhyamaka (Shunyavada)". 400 years after Nagarjuna, the next prominent Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu came forward with another main philosophical system of Mahayana Buddhism, the "Yogacara (Vijnanavada)" which suggested, as Nagarjuna said external objects are unreal but the mind is real and that objects which appear to be external and material are in fact ideas or states of consciousness. Yogacara is considered the highest peak of Buddhist philosophy to this day. This is where the story gets interesting. 

Even though Mahayana's attempts to interpret Buddha's Nobel silence clarified the first dangerous consequence of misunderstanding Buddha's teaching it unfortunately just intensified the second dangerous consequence of misunderstanding Buddha's teachings. Buddha's teachings of Anatta (no-self) sounded dangerously close to Nihilism (nihilists claim human life is essentially meaningless). Mahayana school's emphasis on the broader emptiness/Nothingness of the world in addition to Anatta(no-self) made the claims Buddhism is nihilistic even more credible. Buddha and Buddhist philosophers after him established what we perceive as reality is an illusion with formidable logic. So when they refuse to positively assert what happens when we wake up from this illusion, Buddhism ended up presenting a very grim and depressive conclusion to the masses. 

So there was on the one end, traditional Hindu philosophies which have optimistic conceptions of what happens after enlightenment but they couldn't logically refute Buddhist philosophies. On the other end, Buddhist philosophies seem to possess irrefutable proof on their side but seem to have a pessimistic conception of what's after enlightenment. So when the hero of our story Shakhara comes into the picture this was the condition of Indian philosophy. Shankara's Advaita philosophy with mind-blowing logic explains the true nature of reality, what is the root cause of suffering, how can you be free from suffering, what happens at the moment of enlightenment, and positively assert what is after enlightenment. That is the beauty of Advaita, it is a complete philosophy. 

Solace of My Life

The philosopher-saint Shankara was just a 16-year-old child prodigy when he challenged the most sophisticated Buddhist and orthodox Hindu systems of thought with his radical philosophy "Advaita Vedanta" 1200 years ago. In his works, he logically proves that the true nature of reality is Advaita (non-dual) and how realising this will free you from suffering. His works explore the relationship between matter and consciousness and provide a very eloquent solution by investigating the relationship between the Knower, Known and Knowledge. Trying to understand and realise his teachings has been the solace of my life, and it will be the solace of my death.

My Commentaries for Non Dualistic Quotes

 

Very interesting quote from Rupert. But it makes perfect sense. To have any experience, you need two things; one is consciousness and the other is the activity of the mind. So when you push the mind out of the equation, there can't be any experience. During deep sleep when the mind is not active, there is no experience. Similarly, you can never experience the ultimate reality because to realise the ultimate reality, the mind which projects the false version of reality you see now needs to cease. So when ceasing of the mind is a prerequisite, you can't experience truth; you can only be the truth. At the ultimate level, there is no subject-object duality; the subject alone remains. That is what all the non-dualistic traditions like Advaita Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism point to.

Where I stand between Theravada and Mahayana?

When it comes to Buddhism, I align myself more with the Mahayana school of Buddhism instead of the Theravada school. Does the Theravada work? Yes, it does. But, it leaves many questions unanswered. For example, Theravadans limit themselves with No-self(Anatta); they don't extend that to the world. But, Mahayanist considers No-self as part of the broader emptiness of the world to explain reality better. Theravadans have no answer for what is after Nirvana. Theravadans would argue the whole point of Buddhism is to be free from suffering. Once that goal is realised (Nirvana), there is no point in talking about what's after. Many schools of Mahayana reject the dualistic concepts that separate Samsara and Nirvana and promote a form of liberation beyond this duality. The beauty of Mahayana is that it is more philosophically comprehensive, even though both schools solve the problem of suffering.

Figure 1: Buddha

I differ from Theravadans, who believe only in the initial teachings of Buddha (The first turning of the wheel of Dhamma). I believe in the importance of all the three turnings of the wheel of Dhamma. Not just the first turning, the second turning which begins with the teachings of Nagarjuna about Sunyata (Emptiness) and the third turning which begins with the teachings of Vasubandhu about Yogachara (consciousness only) are also equally important. 

Great teachers always produce great students. Denying the knowledge of enlightened Mahayana masters who followed Buddha is, in a sense denying the teaching of Buddha. Buddha himself laid out the criteria for Dhamma: "Check whether it leads to dispassion, virtue, wisdom, concentration, Nirvana? If so, then take it and run with it". So even if you don't believe that Mahayana texts are the actual teaching of Buddha, you can't say that they don't contain Dhamma since they pass Buddha's criteria for Dhamma. Conversely, everything which is Dhamma is Buddha's words. It's not about a historical person and his close disciples, but about a more general principle.

How to be really happy ?

What we all constantly experience is a restless mind which is full of cravings and desires. When we get what it craves, we feel happy for a while. So, we naturally assume objects in the external world bring happiness and keep chasing them. But in reality, happiness is your inherent nature. The restless mind stands in between as a curtain that obscures you from your real self that is forever happy. When your mind gets what it wants, all that happens is your mind calms down for some time. Once the curtain has lifted, your inner bliss just shines forth. That is why you feel happy. So, the most logical path to being happy is not chasing things externally but learning how to calm your mind.

You are the consciousness that is sitting on the banks of the river of mind watching. As long as you remain that way, you are in eternal bliss; there is no suffering. All your suffering starts when you jump into the river and start clutching things that are floating away. So just be the witness. That is the only way to permanent happiness.