Chapter 43: Possession of Wisdom
A chapter from South Indian saint Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukural, ‘Holy Couplets.’
Kural 421
Wisdom is a weapon that can ward off destruction.
It is an inner fortress that no enemy can assail.
Kural 422
Wisdom will harness the mind, diverting it
from wrong and directing it toward right.
Kural 423
Whatever is heard from whomever’s lips,
wisdom will rightly discern its true meaning.
Kural 424
Wisdom speaks well, conveying each meaning clearly,
and listens for the subtlest sense in others’ speech.
Kural 425
The wise befriend the wise and keep that friendship constant,
not opening and closing it like the petaled lotus.
Kural 426
It is wisdom to live in the world
in the way that the world lives.
Kural 427
Those who know, know what will happen next.
Such things are unknown to the unknowing.
Kural 428
It is folly not to fear what ought to be feared.
So the wise dread what should be dreaded.
Kural 429
Fearsome sufferings shall never happen
to knowing ones who guard against future happenings.
Kural 430
Those who possess wisdom possess everything.
Whatever others possess, without wisdom they have nothing.
Hat tip to Hemant K. Wadhwani for passing this along