मृदुमप्यवमन्यन्ते तीक्ष्णादुद्विजते जनः।
मा तीक्ष्णो मामृदुर्भूः त्वं तीक्ष्णो भव मृदुर्भव॥
महाभारते शान्तिपर्वे॥१२-१०३-५४
mṛdumapyavamanyante tīkṣṇādudvijate janaḥ|
mā tīkṣṇo māmṛdurbhūḥ tvaṁ tīkṣṇo bhava mṛdurbhava||
mahābhārate śāntiparve||12-103-54
A very relevant advice from the elderly Statesman Bhishma pitaamaha to king Yudhishthira, during discussion of Raja dharma.. as described in the Shantiparva of the epic Mahabharatham
The grandsire's advice to his grandson and the king is:-
Do not act too soft with people. You will get insults
Do not act too tough with people. They will just keep distance from you.
Be neither too tough nor too soft.
Be tough when situation demands and be soft when that approach is expedient.
Striking the balance, striking the golden mean, is the real art of life.
Man is after all a bundle of conflicting emotions and a storehouse of conflicting behavioural patterns.
Moreover, life is so complex that two situations are never alike.
Real severity or at least show of severity alone can enable you to manage and save certain situations.
However, some situations would call for a lot of soft handling.
Toughness or softness are neither good nor bad in all contexts.
However, the choice of situations to display such attitudes is the vital issue.
When we do that in the right places, we become heroes.
When we do that in the wrong places we become clowns.
Regards
k v ananthanarayanan
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