Silence is Golden

अनाहूत प्रविशति अपृष्टो बहु भाषते

विश्व्सत्त्यप्रमत्तेषु मूढचेता नराधमः

महाभारतम् विदुरनीति

anāhūta praviśati apṛṣṭo bahu bhāṣate
viśvsattyapramatteṣu mūḍhacetā narādhamaḥ

mahābhāratam viduranīti

അനാഹൂത പ്രവിശതി അപൃഷ്ടോ ബഹുഭാഷതേ
വിശ്വസത്യപ്രമതതേഷു മൂഢചേതാ നരാധമഃ

He is indeed the most deplorable idiot among men
who enters the presence of a respectable person or an august assembly without being summoned,
who always talks too much even without being asked

and

who blindly believes people who are untruthful when they spread scandals about good people.

The Indian culture was always not to parade unsolicited advice or views and not to enter a group without being asked to do so in the proper manner. In Ramayana it is said of Rama that he would never venture to talk to anyone unless he is first spoken to. Our culture never tolerated people who simply reeled off their opinions without being asked to.

The empty pot makes a lot of noise. Regarding scandals, the learned have always emphasized on getting facts verified impartially before reaching any conclusion. Vidura neethi, in fact precedes most of the literature in Sanskrit, and may be most of the world literature. These values are reiterated by enlightened souls till date. We admire the British reserve but practice the loquacity of some other cultures. But the Indian gentleman is described aptly by Vidura.

Thanx. to Mr. Ananthanarayan