Intelligent Men Have No Enemies

Today’s Chanakya Sutra “नास्ति बुद्धिमतां शत्रुः” When translated to Hindi says ” बुद्धिमानो का कोई शत्रु नहीं होता ” and in English it means “Intelligent men have no enemies“.

Acharya Vishnugupta Chanakya emphasised a lot on importance of good behaviour, decent conduct, and appropriate tone. This article is an attempt to explain why such things matter.

The academic knowledge matters a lot, but equally important is the practical wisdom. A man who lacks in either is to be considered as incomplete. In the Chanakya Neeti Kautilya says that “Like Money in hands of others is of no use. In same manner knowledge confined to books is also of no use to a person“. In other words we can say that no matter how knowledgeable a man is, he cannot be considered wise if his behaviour/interaction is inappropriate.

Try Imagining a man with no enemies. Like any other man he has  control over a few things in life and there also exists a lot of things on whom he has no control. For such man to exist it becomes almost mandatory to avoid any unnecessary conflict that might deviate him from his main objectives. By avoiding unnecessary/unprofitable conflicts , he actually puts some serious efforts to maintain/enhance his productivity. In addition, such approach automatically creates a few safeguards as well.

I have seen a lot of men confusing ego with valor, self-esteem, and many beautiful terms. It must be understood that a conflict only adds more problems to the existing problem. One favor a man can do to himself is to look for solutions instead of devising the means to satisfy ego.

What’s really important is your mission, there already exists a hundred threats, better don’t be one of them. 

I have seen people arguing for hours over unnecessary things and with people in habit of relating every second thing with the matter of prestige. Also, I am quite sure that you know a few of them. If you are not such a person, then I would like to congratulate for being such a good man. If not, then all I have to say is that “A stitch in time saves nine“.

Any man who aims at satisfying his ego is either wasting his precious time or is creating an unnecessary friction.

We can remove half of the hurdles in life, just by not creating them with our own hands. Isn’t that awesome?

***

Now, in this section we will be discussing about handling the hostility from the outside world. Please have a look…

In life we interact with a lot of people and they all are not Angels. Some are really good, some are really terrible, and the remaining ones are partially good and partially bad. Let us have a look on different strategies to deal with them.

Good people don’t create problems and for this reason majority of people tend to ignore them. This is a mistake in terms of opportunity cost. These men are an asset and you must manage them with care, politeness, and rewards. The idea here is to turn good things into better.

Now, we are left with people who are “Really Bad” and who are “Partially Bad”. What differentiates the two are their intentions and reasons for confronting you. The really bad people are one with pure intention to hurt you. Such people include, but are not restricted to:

• Someone pursuing old family rivalry.
• Psychotic
• Criminal minded person
• Someone with no concern for morality.
• etc.

The “really bad” people must be dealt with caution and planning. In such cases a man must apply a principle from chanakya neeti that says “There are two ways to deal with thorns and wicked people. One is crush them and the other is to stay away from them.“. Other things to be considered are:

• Never do anything illegal as it will make things worse for you.
• Never engage in a direct fight against a stronger opponent.
• Also, don’t fight someone of equal stature as such conflicts end up in mutually assured destruction.

The partially bad people are not that much of a treat. Such people include:

• Someone egoistic
• Someone greedy (within limits)
• Unsupportive Coworkers
• etc.

On “Partially Bad” people following strategies can be applied:

• This Quote from Chanakya Neeti answers most of the questions. In Chapter six Chankay Says “You can win a greedy by offering money, a proud person by pretending your devotion, you can win a fool by agreeing with him, and you can win a scholar by truth and only truth.“
• Partially bad people can alos be utilized as an asset. They have a need/requirement and by satisfying that need (considering the opportunity cost) you can make them to work as you desire.
• Obviously a decent amount of planning will be required.

Summary:

• Don’t allow yourself or others to sabotage your mission.
• Keep aside your ego. Intelligent Men don’t have enemies, because they don’t create them.
• When there exists a smart way don’t try the hard way.
• Plan, implement, and evaluate. Keep repeating this step.

Everyone has his own reasons for doing something or for not doing something. These reasons can be rational, irrational, deliberate, or subconscious in nature. One who can identify those reasons can use the acquired information for competitive advantage or for negotiating peace.