Confucius' Social Wisdom

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Pavan Choudary
Brief Introduction
Pavan Choudary is the author of path breaking books like Broom & Groom (co-
author Kiran Bedi), A Trilogy of Wisdom, Machiavelli for Moral People and The Rx
Factor. Pavan is also the Managing Director of Vygon, a leading French
Multinational, hosts the TV program Hum Aise Kyun Hain on Doordarshan,
and has written columns for The Times of India and Financial Chronicle. Today,
Pavan is considered one of the most original Indian socio-political thinkers and
management strategists. To know more visit www.pavanchoudary.in
You may reach the author at pavan2000pc@yahoo.com

Other Books by Pavan Choudary
1. How a Good Person can Really Win
2. Chanakya’s Political Wisdom
3. Kabir’s Spiritual Wisdom
4. Machiavelli for Moral People
5. When you are Sinking Become a Submarine
6. The Rx Factor: Strategic Creativity in Pharmaceutical
Marketing
7. Broom & Groom (on Hygiene and Manners) co-authored
with Kiran Bedi
8. Uprising 2011- Indians Against Corruption co-authored
with Kiran Bedi

Praise for the Author and his Books
A Trilogy of Wisdom (on Chanakya, Confucius and Kabir)
Each book in this collection of mini books has great depth…there is great insight on political
sharpness, social gain and spiritual intelligence - to aid the ambitious soul.
- Hindustan Times
This book has been able to capture the spirit of Confucianism. It is most appropriate that it
dwells on the social aspect of Confucianism. It talks of Social Harmony, which is key to
Confucius.
- Mr. Xei Fei (Cultural Head, Chinese Embassy)
How a Good Person can Really Win
This book is for real people in the real world with insights, practical wisdom and a fresh
perspective for everyone…the alternative of course, is to read up hundreds of books over tens
of years!
- Carolyn Marcille (Barnes & Noble, NewYork, USA)
Pavan Choudary's passion for dwelling deep into the questions one feels remain unanswered,
has ensured him a place amongst the foremost thinkers of the world.
- The Times of India
An invaluable, timeless treasure. Pavan is a megamind taking Indian thinking to refreshing
new heights in the global arena. His works should be made compulsory reading for leaders,
teachers and parents.
- Dr. Kiran Bedi
The Rx Factor
Kip Piper, Senior health Advisor to the White House Office, USA, has included The Rx
Factor in his list of Top 10 books on Pharmaceutical Marketing. To view the list you may
visit amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Pharmaceutical-Marketing-Bookshelf-
Recommended-Piper/lm/2RUHJCQM7ERX0
I strongly recommend this book for all pharmacy students and marketing professionals…it
gives a creative landscape for Pharmaceutical marketing filled with innovative and practical
marketing strategies.
- Dr. B. Suresh, President, Pharmacy Council of India

Broom & Groom co-author Kiran Bedi
Broom & Groom by proud Indians Kiran Bedi and Pavan Choudary is a collector’s item. A
must on every book shelf.
- Deccan Chronicle
Indians and civic sense don’t often go together. That may change if our worthy countrymen
take broom & groom to heart.
-The Telegraph
It addresses separate categories- students, government officials, and so on and the
illustrations help make it a useful handbook for people who badly need it.
-The Times of India
Machiavelli for Moral People
Want to read a politician like a book…read Machiavelli for Moral People.
– The Tribune

INTRODUCTION
In China it is said that for the well-being of the body, followTaoism; for the wellbeing of
thesoul followBuddhismandfor thewell-beingofthesocietyfollowConfucianism.
Confucius was a sage and social philosopher of China whose teachings have deeply
influenced EastAsia, including China, Korea, and Japan for two thousand five hundred
years. The relationship between Confucianism and Confucius himself, however, is
tenuous. Confucius' ideas were not accepted during his lifetime as the Chinese society
was a decadent society that was seeped in Taoism, that talked of idleness. Confucius
came and he talked of duty, he talked of action and not just idle action, but wise
action…thatleadstoahappypopulaceandrestoressocialorder.
Confucius' Social Wisdom is a phenomenal amalgamation of Confucian understanding
andawise interpretationofhumannature:
How shouldaperson behave as theunitofafamily, asocietymemberandasaruler?
How socialrelationshipscanbebroughtinharmony?
Whysomesocietiessucceededwhiletheothersfailed?
WhatcanIndialearnfromsuccessfulandprosperous societies?
Thereadingisaimedatopeningyour window toharmoniousrelationships.
Enjoy.
x

1
Natural instinct enables a man
to understand the way of Heaven through sincerity.
Education enables him to be sincere
through understanding the way of Heaven.
Sincerity ensures understanding
and understanding guarantees sincerity.
Confucius is for the society and for the nation which is why the first thing that he
asks for is sincerity. Sincerity in the Confucian meaning has three fragments -
loyalty(theforemostfragment),integrityandhonesty.
By loyalty, Confucius means faithfulness. By integrity, he means doing the right
thing. And by honesty he means telling the truth. However, Confucius
understands that one can be honest without being high on integrity. For instance,
imagine you have gone on an official tour. You come back and submit an
expense statement which is inflated. You are reimbursed the money, however,
your conscience starts pricking you and one day you go to your boss and confess
the truth. You own up. In such a case, even though you have been honest you
have not been high on integrity. For Confucius, doing the right thing and telling
the truth both are important. So for him sincerity means faithfulness, doing the
rightthingandtellingthetruth.
He says sincerity is the way of heaven. By way of heaven, he means theTao - the
guiding force of the universe, the guiding principle of the universe. In other
Social Wisdom of Confucius

words, it implies that once you are sincere you come in sync with the guiding
principleoftheuniverse.
Then he says to strive to be sincere is the way of man. He means, it is human to
strive to be sincere. It is in the nature of man to move towards sincerity.
Interestingly, even in this century one of the leading proponents of Psychology,
Martin Seligman, who has studied Happiness in great detail, has come to a
similar conclusion. He says that happiness has little to do with pleasure and
much to do with developing personal strengths and character. Development of
character or universal virtues, one of which is sincerity, gives life satisfaction
and happiness. A talent says something about our genes - what we have
inherited. But virtues and developed talents, like sincerity, say something about
us. So sincerity will bring you lasting happiness. When you move in the
direction of sincerity you are going with nature and this getting in tandem with
naturewillhelpyou relaxandbringyou happiness.
2

7
A superior man maintains a sense of shame.
Shame is the shadow of sincerity.
Sincerity means loyalty.
When you are disloyal, you are ashamed.
Sincerity means integrity.
When you are low on integrity you are ashamed.
Sincerity means honesty.
Honesty means courage, when you are a coward;
when you are dishonest, you are ashamed.
While we are talking about Confucius' stress on sincerity it would be
appropriatealsotostudy whathehassaidaboutshame.
WhydoesConfuciussay thatitisimportanttomaintainasense ofshame?
Is shamegoodorisshamebad?
As per Confucius shame is good. Today western Psychology agrees with him -
shame is good, because shame develops you. When we feel shame we feel
distress, embarrassment or anger. It is the place where we learn to stop
struggling with ourselves. However, when we dwell in the space of shame, then
we grow. Shame is a dark place and we grow by shining a light on the mind's
dark places. The dark space of shame is a nursery for human character. It is like
thewomb.Thewomb isdarkso is thespaceofshame.
You feel ashamed if, for example, you have behaved cowardly. Then you

8
resolve that next time onward, you will not be a coward.Where is this resolution
made? This resolution is made in the soil of shame, so shame develops you and
thatiswhy Confuciushighlightstheimportanceofshame.
All in all, Confucius is a great votary of sincerity and he feels that a sincere
person will be successful. This is also because modern society is glued together
with trust.Trust comes from sincere behavior.Whoever can be trusted more will
have more partners. People like to collaborate with him, to deal with him.
Confucius' understanding has proven right, time and again. Even Max Weber,
the great European sociologist, has said that it was the sheer dependability of the
protestant businessmen which made them succeed like anything; because they
were trust worthy, their businesses boomed. Confucian ethics have come true
again and again as the civilization progressed and the first pillar of Confucian
ethicsissincerity.

35
I would not seek praise from posterity
by advocating eccentric theories and behaving treacherously.
A gentleman should follow the way of the mean and
I will not give it up half way even if others do so.
A gentleman should stay in the mean and
should not have regrets even if he remains unknown to others.
Only a sage can adhere to these principles.
Confucius knows that the mean does not startle. Mean is the middle. When you
are in the middle, it is not startling. When you are in the extreme then it is
startling. So he says, I will not seek praise from posterity by advocating such
extreme theories. First of all, I will not advocate extreme theories. Secondly, I
am also almost immune to praise from posterity. By praise from posterity, he
means fame. Confucius understands that fame is like the dust cloud which
follows your car when you are going from point A to point B, which is your
destination. The important thing is to reach the destination; it's not how much
dust you gather and how many people notice you.Agentleman is not smitten by
fame.
The point is to reach destination B. Confucius also knows that when one pursues
fame his happiness now lies in what others are thinking of him i.e. his happiness
liesinotherpeople'sheads!So hetellsyounottobotheraboutfame.
Then he goes on to say that a gentleman should follow the way of the mean and I
will not give it up half way even if others do so. Even if others do not follow the

36
way of the mean, they behave in extreme ways, still I will decide how I need to
respond to them and my response to them will be in accordance with the way of
themean.
Whatdoes Confuciusmeanby thewayofthemean?
It is balance. From Buddha toAristotle many have spoken about the importance
of balance - the balance that a man acquires when he moves on the middle path.
When he avoids extremes and follows the golden mean then, for example, he is
not a coward nor is he rash he is courageous. Similarly, between pride and
diffidence he chooses modesty, between miserliness and extravagance he
chooses liberality, between depression and buffoonery he chooses good humor,
between belligerence and flattery he chooses friendship. This balance is what
Confuciusistalkingabout-notbeingtoomuchherenorbeingtoomuchthere.
One who attains to a balanced walk of this kind finds that when he is so walking,
happiness walks alongside him. It eludes him only when this equilibrium is
upset and that too for only as long as he can’t find his center again. When he is
balanced like this he is in tune with the Tao of the Universe and available to his
possibilities.
Thereis aHindicoupletwhichsays,
“Sambhal jaane do Mira ke thirakti payal,
Aur Gautam ke sadhe paon zara behek jane do”
It speaks of Mira who is frivolous and tells her to sober a little and its speaks of

37
Gautam Buddha who is too serious and it tells him to relax a little. Come in the
middle. In Chinese, there is a word called Zhong Yong - which says, in the
middle and in equilibrium. This is what Confucius means when he says that one
should followthewayofthemean.
Then he goes on to say, a gentlemen should stay in the mean and have no regrets
even if he remains unknown to others. Confucius knows that fame does provide
some satisfaction. At the same time he also knows, what are the side-effects of
fame. One of the important side-effects of fame is that, once your picture forms
in the mind of another man(that is fame); then you are constrained to live just in
accordance with that picture. It restricts your freedom. So he knows about the
side-effect of fame and he knows that even if he does not get fame, he will not
subscribetoextremetheories.
When he says, only a sage can adhere to the principle of the mean, he is speaking
in the long-term. In the long-term, it is difficult to be always in the mean. You
keepfallingoffoneithersides.

39
A man in a superior situation,
having valour without righteousness, will be guilty of insubordination.
One of lower people having valour without righteousness
will commit robbery.
Confucius here highlights balancing traits (He is still talking about the way of
the mean). A man in a superior situation, who is courageous but not righteous,
will be guilty of insubordination. Because he does not know what norms to
follow, he just has his boldness to back him. So he could become guilty of
insubordination.
Similarly, a man among the subordinate staff who has boldness but is not
righteous, does not have character, can commit robbery. Therefore, the
balancing virtue is important - Boldness is balanced with righteousness. Then,
you can take command and you will not misuse the power which boldness gives
you.

42
Book of Songs said, cut the handle of a new axe with an old axe and
it will not be far from the old handle in appearance.
Hence a gentleman asks of others no more than of himself,
so long as they correct their mistakes.
He who can practise tolerance and forbearance
is not far from the way of the mean.
He should do to others as he would have others do to him.
Confucius highlights now the severity of the challenge of the mean. Cut the
handle of a new axe with an old axe and it will not be far from the old handle in
appearance. Even though you decide to change, the new will take time to settle.
In the beginning, the new will still resemble the old because it is the inertia of the
oldwhichwillholdyou.
Hence a gentleman asks of others no more than of himself so long as they correct
their mistakes. Here he is telling of the practical difficulty of following the way
of the mean. Following the way of the mean is as if walking on that single rail
track that we used to as children. You have to balance yourself. You walk a
distance and then your step falls either on the right or on the left of the track and
you are off balance. Then you come back again. So the way of the mean is like
falling again and again on either side and coming back again. Erring again and
againbutless andlessandless.That'sthewayofthemean.
Hence the gentlemen asks of others no more than of himself so long as they
correct their mistakes. He knows he himself cannot keep on the way of the mean
for long. So as long as people come back on the way of the mean after going left

or right,heisokaywithit.Becausehe,himselfdoesthat.
He who can practice tolerance and forbearance is not far from the way of the
mean.
And then Confucius said, (five centuries before Christ) he should do onto
others as he would have others do onto him. He says that just as I forgive myself
fromgoingastray,Iwillforgiveothersalso.
43

Confucius also feels that the love of learning helps you balance the pursuit of
virtues because he knows that virtue when taken to an extreme can start
becoming counter productive. In Chinese, there is a phrase Wu Ji Bi Fan which
means, that once something reaches its extreme, it will start turning to the other
direction.This direction could be a negative direction also.The opposite of what
itis willstartbeingborn init.Heknows thatforexample:
Benevolence,iftakentoanextremewithouttheloveoflearningwould leadto
foolishsimplicity.
Straight-forwardness without the love of learning will lead to rudeness.
Love of boldness without the love of learning will lead to insubordination.
Love of firmness without the love of learning will result in extreme conduct.
Love of being sincere without the love of learning will develop an injurious
disregardofconsequences.
Learning is the governor. It will control the virtue so that it doesn't go berserk.
So Confucius is for learning because he knows that such learning will enable the
virtuous man to stay on-track. Otherwise, blind pursuit of virtue can lead to
disaster.
49

50
The superior ruler is
one who maintains a dignified ease without being proud,
one who is majestic without being fierce and
one who is beneficent without great expenditure.
Confucius again counsels balance; balance in ruling. When a ruler is dignified
without being proud, the other people around him are comfortable and at the
same time they do not encroach on the perimeter of dignified space which the
ruler needs, to govern. He maintains a dignified ease. Not only is he dignified,
heis alsorelaxed.
One who is majestic without being fierce - there is majesty in him. At the same
time there is not the harshness of a dictator, there is not the stridency of a tyrant;
thereisamajesty,whichis nottooloud,whichisnotacerbic.
Also a ruler is one who is beneficent without great expenditure - what does this
mean? Beneficent (kind and generous) without great expenditure? But how is
this possible? Imagine, you are the boss and an agitated employee comes to you
and vents steam. He is angry about something, he hollers about it and then he
goes. You just listen to him. You have neither cajoled him nor have you
reprimanded him, you have just listened to him. He has vented steam. He might
go back home and tell his wife that today he said his piece and that he is happy
about it. He is feeling brave. Your silent demeanor allowed him to be a hero for
sometime. Your silent demeanor allowed him to once again know that he is free
to speak, free to say his piece. This itself brings satisfaction in the job. If his

69
Preparedness ensures success.
Unpreparedness spells failure.
For preparedness means two things -
one is preparation in thought and
the other is preparation through action (practise).
Confucius feels, to think before one speaks will ensure fluency. To think before
one acts will ensure all difficulties get cleared away. To think before one
performs his duties will ensure a strong conscience. And to think before one
practicesprincipleswillensuresmoothness inpractice.
So, one part of Confucian preparation is thinking - mental preparation. And the
otherpartofhis preparationisthephysicalpart.
Bill Gates has said (sic), “I picked up a very bad habit in school and college - I
started liking the Bill-Gates-studies-only-at-the-last-moment image - which
people had of me. I liked this image and I nurtured it by really studying at the last
moment and passing my exams and I started thinking that this approach would
work in the real world also. When I joined the real world of business, I realized
that this is a very expensive approach. I started failing. Then I consciously got
rid of my liking for this image, changed my habit of last minute work and started
focusing on long hours and long days of preparation for all major events and
meetingswhichIhadtotake.”
Confucius says you should be mentally prepared and you should have put in the
requisiteeffortinpracticealso.

70
To give oneself earnestly to the duties due to man and
while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them,
this may be called wisdom.
Confucius suggests that we keep aloof from spiritual beings as for him the
welfare of the society is more important than the sacred aspects. Confucius knew
that a nation which goes too much in pursuit of the sacred, that is, religion and
spirituality, often ends up in slavery. His understating has proven right, time and
again. Be it the great Indian empire or the mighty empire of China or Portugal or
Egypt, they all ran up to the monasteries on the hill and then downhill. In the
Confucian framework, too much preoccupation with the sacred, makes the
societydecadent,impoverishedandchaotic.
Thenwhatisitthatis ofuse tosociety?
It is doing one's duty. Confucius encourages man to positively contribute to the
society and be actively involved in all the roles he plays.At home, he should be a
good father to his son, a good son to his father, a good husband.And outside, he
should be a good citizen, a good worker, a good boss and if he is a ruler, he should
be a good ruler. Just by doing so, a person effortlessly becomes a sage, a Rushi,
whichinChinesemeansinvolved,andworldly.
Moreover if one is successful in this world, he stands a good chance of
succeedingintheotherworld also.Why?
Development in this world requires organization, so does spiritual development.

71
One who is successful in this world has developed the organizational
wherewithal necessary to succeed in the spiritual realm as the skills of
organizingarenecessarytosucceedinthespiritualworld also.
Confuciusalsosays,
Agood man itis notminetosee.
CouldIseeaman possessed ofconstancythatwouldsatisfyme.
Havingnotandyetaffectingtohave.
Emptyandyetaffectingtobefull.
Straightenedandyeteffectingtobeatease.
Itisdifficultwithsuch characteristicstohaveconstancy.
Confucius likes consistency and truth. He is against hypocrisy. He feels that the
spiritual man shows that he has, even though he does not have any thing. He
shows that he is full but he is empty. He shows that he is at ease but he is stiff. He
feels - and this has also come true time and again - at all times and everywhere,
thatthepriestsareknown topromisethemoonanddeliverlittle.
Once there was a man who had a wish-fulfilling crystal. If he were to say to it,
“Give me a lakh of rupees”, the crystal would make a lakh of rupees materialize
immediately. The man had all the money he needed and was happy with life till
one day a monk came to his house. The monk wished to stay the night and the
man decided to play host. Just before retiring to bed the monk surreptitiously
closed the door of his room. Intrigued the host peeped from the key hole to see
what the monk was up to. The monk whose back was towards him, opened his
bag and took out a crystal much bigger than what the host had. He then put it on

72
the floor in front of him and said, “Give me a coconut”. The crystal answered, “I
will give you two”. The monk said, “Give me a gold plate”. The crystal said, “I
willgiveyoutwo”.
The host was jealous as he had a crystal which gave only what he wanted but the
monkhadacrystalwhichgavedoubleofwhatwas asked.
Next morning as the monk was leaving he pleaded with him to exchange his
crystal with his. The monk agreed. They exchanged their crystals and the host
dropped him to the railway station. In his excitement of trying the new crystal he
almost sprinted back to his home. He sat down with the new crystal in front of
him and said, “Give me 10 lakhs(1 million Rupees)”. The crystal replied, “I will
give you twenty lakhs”. The man was thrilled and waited for the twenty lakhs
but when the amount didn't appear. He said, “OK give me twenty lakhs”. The
crystal replied, “I will give you forty lakhs”.The man said, “Give me forty lakhs
then”.
The crystal said, “I will give you eighty lakhs”.And so on it went.To his anguish
themannow knew thatthemonk’s crystalonlysays. Itdoesn't give.
Most monks are like that. They only say but don't give- can't give. They might
also end up taking away what you already have. In fact some priests and pundits
are worse than thieves.As a thief only robs you of your wealth, but a priest robs
you of yoursoul.Thenhemakesyourun -chasingamirage-runs scared.
Confucius is not for spirituality. He feels, by being involved and by being
worldly,youwillachievespiritualbliss.

Buddha also feels the same. In Buddha's life there is an incident when a man
asked him, “Is there God?” Buddha was quiet. The man then asked him, “Is
there soul?” Buddha still did not reply. Lastly the man asked, “Is there pain and
sorrow?”This time Buddha answered, “Yes there is pain and sorrow and there is
awaytogetridofpainandsorrow.Ifyou wish toknow,Icantellyoutheway.”
Why did Buddha not reply the first two questions? Because he knew that by the
time he would finish telling the questioner about God and Soul both he and the
questioner would be dead. But if the man were taken out of pain and sorrow, he
would come to a state of spiritual bliss (ananda) and then no longer would he
bother to seek answers to questions like, is there God and is there Soul.
Spirituality often makes a person fearful. Also by tying up the person in
cockeyedgobbledygook,spiritualitymakeshimmiss life.
Men of action, like Confucius, felt an over-emphasis on spirituality dilutes
action. Their compassion for the needy makes them cry out for action. They
know, through these actions, one often finds his higher self, faster. One also
escapes the airy-fairy and hocus - pocus net and lands on firm spiritual ground.
They know that spirituality is an important aspect of life, but one should not
makeitthewholeof life.Elsehewillrealizethataftersometime,theheavensare
alsoboring.Confuciusbelievesinhands thatserve,ratherthanlipsthatchant.
73

Confucius' Social Wisdom

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