A person is considered wise when he /she lives life according to following guidelines: 1.
A wise person always tries to live life according to the highest moral and ethical principles as prescribed in Vedic Dharma (described in Chapter 8 Important Values).
2.
She has a ‘higher’ purpose in life than just to ‘eat, drink and be merry’.
3.
He works honestly and hard to achieve his goals. Negative emotions like anger, greed, etc.; do not affect his goals, speech, or actions.
4.
She does not employ negative tendencies like selfishness, anger, pride, arrogance, ruthlessness, deceit, etc. to obtain prestige, power or prosperity.
A not so wise person:
1.
Someone who is ignorant about his / her Dharma, does not study scriptures or learn from wise people.
2.
He is proud & arrogant and easily loses his temper.
3.
To achieve her means and selfish goals she will do anything, even use unethical and immoral tactics.
4.
He feels insecure and jealous of others with more wealth or power.
We perform actions to satisfy a DESIRE. This is the main driving force behind all actions.
We drink because we are thirsty. We eat because we are hungry. All our desires need to be fulfilled according to the principles of Dharma - morals & ethics.
Our Conduct should be such that:
1.
We behave during the day so that we can have a restful night.
2.
Conduct yourself in youth so that you are happy and healthy during old age.
3.
Act during your whole life so that we reap benefits of good behavior in the next life.
Our scriptures describe “What our weaknesses and strengths are”. Every day we need to evaluate our own behavior and decide on one or two weaknesses on which we need to work on to improve.
According to the ancient Indian tradition following three are the most important characteristics of an ideal citizen of the world: