The Valmiki Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic that holds a lot of wisdom and knowledge for all those who read it. I’m reading the critical version as translated by Bibek Debroy (India, USA). In Chapter 94 of the Ayodhya Kanda, I was delighted to come across an entire section...

Be wary of friends – they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to...

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the...