Principle

Be wise as serpents and innocent as Doves. Prudence is a virtue that must be present before all others, for without it other virtues may degenerate into folly and excess. Prudence is conformity to the rules of season, truth and decency at all times and in every circumstance. A prudent person is one who acts only after careful thought or planning.The panchatantra tells the story of four friends living in a certain town. Three of them had excelled in the area of academic scholarship, but lacked prudence. The fourth friend though not very learned, was prudent. One day they all went on a journey. As they travelled, they reached a forest where they found the bones of a dead animal. One of them then said,A good opportunity to test the value of our scholarship and intelligence. Here lies some kind of creature, dead. Let us bring it to life by means of the scholarship we have honestly won. Then the first said,I know how to assemble the skeleton. The second said,I can supply skin, flesh and blood, The third said,I can give it life so the first assembled the skeleton, the second provided skin, flesh and blood. While the third one was intent on giving the breath of life, the fourth advised against it remarking,This is a lion. If you bring him to life, he will kill every one of us. You fool said the three. In that case, wait a moment, till I climb this tree said the fourth person. When he had done so, the lion was brought to life, rose up and killed all the three people. But the prudent fourth friend, after the lion had gone elsewhere, climbed down and went home. Being prudent saves a lot of time and avoids grief. The persons who succeed in life are the prudent ones. It means to act calmly, never in anger, lust or haste. Use your knowledge, skill and intelligence prudently. It will pave way to success. BE PRUDENT