WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A WISE MAN AND A FOOLISH MAN?Vidura told the king Dhrithrashtra “Even if asked one should speak only truth, be it good or bad, hateful or pleasing. That is why I do not wish to tell you what is good for Kuru. I will say only what is both beneficial and consistent only with morality. My dear king you are foolish. You are not wise”.
When Dhrithrashtra heard these words from Vidura, he put a question to Vidura asking, WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A WISE MAN AND A FOOLISH MAN? (slokas 4 to 13)
We will see the qualities of a wise man in this week and in the forth coming week.
QUALITIES OF THE WISE MAN
- A wise man is well-versed in Shastras. He does actions that are prescribed by the Shaastras and what are prohibited by Shaastras, he never takes up. ( Lord Krishna says in Bhagawat Gita “let scriptures be your norm in determining what should be done and what not. Understand the injunction of the scriptures first and then set yourself to work”).
- ‘Oblation in all holy places and kindness to all creatures are the same. Perhaps kindness to all surpasses the former. Never speak a lie for a land. This will destroy everything you have’. (Dhrithrashtra could not extend the love to his own brother Pandu’s sons because of the desire that his son should rule the kingdom. Desire motivated action always takes one out of dharma. To fulfill our desires, how many times we have crossed our dharma?). A wise man always chooses to be in the path of dharma on any day, under any circumstances. (Harischandra and Gandhiji never told lies. Our Abdul Kalam, in difficult politics has tested himself a Dharmavaan).
- Of all the strengths, the strength of the intellect is the best. That INTELLECT is the strength of the wise. Devatas do not protect men. They always wish to protect the intelligence of men. Vedas never rescue a person living sinfully. They forsake him when he is on the death bed. (Lord says in Bhagawat Gita that this is buddhi yoga- being single pointed. If it scatters like the mustard seeds in all directions (due to our desires), it is difficult to unite. The wise have the strength of this single pointed buddhi – the self, much like the rays of the Sun when focused on a point on a piece of paper scorches it in no time).
- He is unattached to Vishaya Sukhaas. (‘Vishaya’ has come from the word ‘Visha’, which means poison. Any pleasure derived from sense objects is temporary. Today’s joy is tomorrow’s pain. Having understood this, a wise man does not desire for anything. Like a tortoise withdrawing its limbs, the wise man knowing the danger, withdraws himself from their sway.)
- Desire does not tinge his actions. (The wise are selfless. The wise always work for the good of the world – ‘Loka Samgrahah’. A man desires because he feels incomplete and by adding something or leaving something he thinks he will be happy. When the whole village is flooded with water (bliss of the self), the use of pond (worldly pleasures) is nothing. The wise is happy and complete with his own self. He has nothing to gain or lose by performing actions. His actions motivate the people who are following him. He makes everyone to participate in the action which takes one in the path of knowledge.)
- He is above all pairs of opposites, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor, heat and cold, agreeable and disagreeable. A wise is neither elated nor dejected under these phases of life. (like a lake in the course of river Ganga, a wise is calm, cool and unagitated. Desires toss a man up and down in life. A wise man leaving all desires lives a happy life accepting everything in life as it is.)
- He insults nobody for any reason. (If we are reacting to a circumstance, it is only because of our ego and we want to show that we are not smaller in stature. The wise man is never a victim to ego or to body based ideas.)
- A wise man is sweet in his expressions. (Satyam vadah. Priyam vadah. Because he sees himself in everyone or he sees the lord’s presence in everyone, he is always sweet in his expressions as if he is talking to Krishna. Guruji often used to say “how do you expect yourself to be treated by others, in the same way treat others”. It is difficult to practice this sadhana on one whom we dislike. All mahatmas have ‘prasanna vadanam’ and always smile at us. That is why we like to be in their presence. They are always givers of happiness.)
- A virtuous man should avoid speaking harsh words and angry words. Silence is said to be better than speech. If we must speak, speak the truth what is agreeable and in line with morality. (Gita says “One who has won the lust and anger in this very life is a happy man. Lust, greed and anger are three gate ways to hell”. Once there was an engineer who used to always shout and scold his wife every day. In that town there came a sannyasi. Having heard the greatness of Sannyasi, the engineer went and asked him how to get rid of his anger. The sannyasi said, “Whenever you scold your wife, go and hit a nail in the tree at your back yard. Come and meet me after a month”. The engineer was happy and he started hitting nails every day, whenever he scolded his wife. As days passed on, the engineer saw that the count of the nails per day was coming down and some days there was no necessity to hit the nail. One month passed. Now he went back to sannyasi and asked him what to do now. The sannyasi said “My dear child, now go and pluck out the nails”. The engineer went and did the task. The sannyasi who was with him, told him, “You have now changed and hence, you removed all the nails. But what are you going to do with the holes in the tree?”. The engineer understood the point. Words are very powerful than the weapons. Once it enters deep into the heart of man, it is difficult to take it out, unlike arrows from a bow which can be removed. Having known this, and we ourselves have experienced this, we should not shoot this arrow of harsh words on others).
- Unless and otherwise asked by people, a wise does not say anything to them. (Don’t throw advice. The wise have the knowledge that people come to him only when they are in the listening end. It is only the river which gets benefitted by joining the ocean and not the other way. We always have the habit of advising others before they ask for it. It is waste of energy and waste of time to tell good things to people when their ears are deaf to it.)
Conclusion:
All these slokas remind us of a Sthithapragnya, a Yogi, a gunaatheetha, a Jnani as explained in Bhagawad Gita. An introspection is required to see where we are which in itself a Saadhana. All spiritual Saadhanas are not used to weigh others but to weigh ourselves.
Let us continue the meditation when we meet next week on the same topic, “Qualities of a Wise Man” in the same platform.
HARI OM MAHAATMAS!!!
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