The Wisdom of Restraint

The Wisdom of Restraint In the statement mentioned above, this second and less visible aspect is referred to as the relative value of the matter. The first aspect—namely, the wrongdoing committed by the aggressor—is obvious to everyone. But the second aspect, or the relative value of the situation, can be perceived only by a person of deep insight, someone who makes decisions through thoughtful reasoning rather than momentary emotions. The system of the current world is such that these two aspects often appear in many situations. An unwise person only sees the immediate situation and acts accordingly, making their own situation worse. A wise person is one who can see the other dimensions of a situation—who can rise above the immediate circumstances and perceive the deeper realities which, although not present at the moment of the event, eventually emerge and become decisive. The modern world tests this kind of wisdom. Those who prove wise in this area will succeed. Conversely, those who do not demonstrate this wisdom are likely to face failure. THE WISDOM OF RESTRAINT In a letter dated September 28, 1999, a person writes: “I read the September 28, 1999, issue of the Hindi newspaper ‘Hindustan.’ The editorial mentioned that recently in Surat (Gujarat), a procession for ‘Ganesh Visarjan’ took place. During this event, there was a clash between the police and