Chapter 43: Possession of Wisdom
\nA chapter from South Indian saint Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukural, ‘Holy Couplets.’<\/p>\n
Kural 421
\nWisdom is a weapon that can ward off destruction.
\nIt is an inner fortress that no enemy can assail.
\nKural 422
\nWisdom will harness the mind, diverting it
\nfrom wrong and directing it toward right.
\nKural 423
\nWhatever is heard from whomever’s lips,
\nwisdom will rightly discern its true meaning.
\nKural 424
\nWisdom speaks well, conveying each meaning clearly,
\nand listens for the subtlest sense in others’ speech.
\nKural 425
\nThe wise befriend the wise and keep that friendship constant,
\nnot opening and closing it like the petaled lotus.
\nKural 426
\nIt is wisdom to live in the world
\nin the way that the world lives.
\nKural 427
\nThose who know, know what will happen next.
\nSuch things are unknown to the unknowing.
\nKural 428
\nIt is folly not to fear what ought to be feared.
\nSo the wise dread what should be dreaded.
\nKural 429
\nFearsome sufferings shall never happen
\nto knowing ones who guard against future happenings.
\nKural 430
\nThose who possess wisdom possess everything.
\nWhatever others possess, without wisdom they have nothing.<\/p>\n