Wise Man ??? - Ethics of Vidura

Everyone knows that eating food soothes the pangs of hunger, but no one knows that studying dharma corrects the delusions of the mind

Morality is concerned with “the well-being of conscious creatures.” If something contributes to that well-being, it’s moral. If it detracts from it, it’s immoral - Sam Harris (Neuroscientist )

ॐ He that understands quickly, listens patiently, pursues his objects with judgment and not from desire, and spends not his breath on the affairs of others unsolicited is said as wise.

ॐ  He who’s intended acts and proposed counsels remain concealed from foes, and whose acts become known only after they have been done is considered wise. He whose proposed actions are never obstructed by heat or cold, fear of attachment, prosperity or adversity is wise. 

ॐ He that is not served from the high ends of life by the aid of self-knowledge, exertion, forbearance and steadiness in virtue.

ॐ Adheres to acts, worthy of praise and rejection of what is blamable

ॐ Have faith and reverence 

ॐ Neither anger, nor joy, nor pride, nor false modesty, nor stupefaction, nor vanity can draw him away from the high ends of life

ॐ He, whose judgment, dissociated from desire, follows both virtue and profit, and who, disregarding pleasure, chooses such ends as are serviceable in both worlds is considered wise.He disregard nothing as insignificant.

ॐ They that do not strive for objects that are unattainable, that do not grieve for what is lost and gone, that do not suffer their minds to be clouded amid calamities are wise

ॐ He who strives, having commenced anything, till it is completed, who never wastes his time, and who has his soul under control is  wise. 

ॐ They delight in honest deeds, do what tends to their happiness and prosperity

ॐ He, who speaks boldly, can converse on various subjects, knows the science of argumentation, possesses genius, and can interpret the meaning of what is written in books

 ॐ When a bowman shoots an arrow, he may or may not succeed in slaying even a single person. But when an intelligent individual applies his intelligence (viciously), it may destroy an entire kingdom along with the king. 

ॐ A man may attain renown in this world by doing two things, by refraining from harsh speech and by disregarding those that are wicked.

ॐ Those women who covet men simply because the latter are coveted by others of their sex, and that person who worships another simply because the latter is worshipped by others have no will of their own. 


ॐ A man of power endued with forgiveness, and a poor man that is charitable live (as it were) in a region higher than heaven itself. 

ॐ  Health, un-indebtedness, living at home, companionship with good men, certainty as regards the means of livelihood, and living without fear - conduce to the happiness of men. 

ॐ Wisdom, high-birth, self-restraint, learning, prowess, moderation in speech, gift according to one’s capacity and gratitude glorify a man. 

ॐ He is a wise person who does not disregard even a weak foe, who proceeds, with intelligence, in respect of a foe, anxiously watching for an opportunity, who does not desire hostilities with persons stronger than himself, and who displays his prowess in season. 

ॐ He who never boastfully strives to attain the three objects of human pursuit (artha, kama and dharma), who, when asked, tells the truth, who quarrels not even for the sake of friends, and who never becomes angry though slighted is reckoned as wise. 

ॐ The acts of a learned man who forms matrimonial alliances with persons of equal positions and not with those that are inferior, who places before him those that are more qualified, and who talks, behaves and makes friends with persons of equal position are well-conceived, and well-applied. 

ॐ  He, who eats frugally after dividing the food amongst his dependants, who sleeps little after working much, and who, when solicited, gives away even unto his foes, has his soul under control. Calamities always keep themselves aloof from him. 

ॐ The horses that are incapable of being controlled always lead an unskilled driver (rider) to destruction in the course of the journey; so one’s senses, un-subdued, lead only to destruction. The inexperienced wight who, led by his un-subdued senses, hopes to extract evil from good and good from evil, necessarily confounds misery with happiness. 

ॐ  He, who is the master of riches but not of his senses, certainly loses his riches in consequence of his want of mastery over his senses. 

ॐ man, who has conquered self by means of self, has his self for a friend, for one’s self is ever one’s friend or foe. 

ॐ As fuel that is wet burns with that which is dry, so a sinless man is punished equally with the sinful, in consequence of constant association with the latter. Therefore, friendship with the sinful should be avoided. 

ॐ Gold is tested by fire; a well-born person, by his deportment; and an honest man, by his conduct. A brave man is tested during a season of panic; he that is self-controlled, in times of poverty; and friends and foes, in times of calamity and danger. 

ॐ Decrepitude destroys beauty; ambitious hopes, patience; death, life; envy, righteousness; anger, prosperity; companionship with the low, good behaviour; lust, modesty; and pride, everything. 

ॐ  That which is separated from truth is not morality, and that is not truth which is fraught with deceit. 

ॐ  He that is not envious and is possessed of wisdom, by always doing what is good, never meets with great misery; on the other hand, he shines everywhere. He that draws wisdom from them that are wise is really learned and wise. And he that is wise, by attending to both virtue and profit, succeeds in attaining to happiness. 

ॐ Of acts, those accomplished by intelligence are the first; those accomplished by the arms, the second; those by the thighs, and those by bearing weights upon the head are the worst.