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Wise man enjoys peace of mind

CHENNAI JUNE 13 . Wisdom is the capacity to know how to lead a proper life in the world. One can see some people remaining unruffled during times of distress whereas others are unable to face even the slightest problem. This composure of mind has nothing to do with intellectual attainments or material security. It is the basic intuitive acumen to understand oneself, which sets a wise man apart from the majority. The Mahabharata contrasts the behaviour of the wise and the foolish in the Viduraniti, which is in the form of a dialogue between Dhritarashtra and Vidura.

Vidura enumerates the qualities of a foolish person, "Scripture is a closed book as far as he is concerned. He is vain; he is proud and, when he wants to have something, he will never hesitate to employ unfair means. He has a knack of desiring what he has no right to desire. Those who are powerful make him envious." It is not a crime if one is not well versed but a foolish person will pretend to know everything. Likewise, he may be penniless but will spend recklessly without considering the consequences. As for acquiring wealth he will be unscrupulous and try to earn it by hook or by crook.

Whenever a person commits a misdeed his conscience will point out his mistake but when he does the same offence again and again it will become second nature to him. There was a rare occasion when Duryodana confessed that he knew that he was behaving wrongly but he could not help doing so. As long as an individual engaged in misdeeds he behaved contrary to his intrinsic nature, said Swami Asutoshananda in his discourse. It is similar to an actor acting according to the role he has assumed. In real life also many people behave according to the notions that they have and project themselves according to that image instead of behaving naturally. Such individuals cannot have peace of mind.

It was when Dhritarashtra lost his sleep over the outcome of Sanjaya's mission to Yudhishthira to avert a war between the Pandavas and his sons, that Vidura outlined the characteristics of both a wise and a foolish man to enable him to understand why his mind was restless. He had antagonised all the good people because of his attachment to his son, Duryodana, and thereby lost his peace of mind.

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