The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode we had witnessed a beautiful illustration on how we should be ready to help others when they are in dire need or in danger. We witnessed how Jatayu was an epitome of this characteristic wherein he rushed forward to protect Mother Sita from the wrath of Ravana. Although Jatayu was old and his strength was minimal, he still undertook the mission of saving Mother Sita. This showed his commitment towards helping others when they’re in dire need. Moreover, Jatayu was holding his breath without giving up, for the sake of Bhagawan Rama. He wanted to convey the important news that Mother Sita is being kidnapped by Ravana to the southern direction. This shows the sheer commitment to the value system of helping people even at the cost of life!

Now moving on further, Vidura explains the next point that if we’re trying to take care of our near and dear ones today, they would be of some help to us at a critical time tomorrow. Vidura says thus:

“Yognyaati anugrunhaati daridram dheenamaathuram!

Sa puthra pashubhirtheim shreyaschaanantyamashnute!!”

Here Vidura explains that we should not see enmity with our near and dear ones in our lives. We should render our help in whatever way possible to them, so that we earn their wishes and happiness. In the second line of the above sloka Vidura explains clearly that if a person needs to lead a happy and a peaceful life along with his wife, children and relatives around, he should ensure that his near and dear ones (“Gnyaati”) are happy! If however we feel that we can ditch all of them and we alone can live happily with our own family, their jealousy itself would bring us down to a miserable position. More than even jealousy, Bhagawan’s instruction to all of us is that, if we have some money or wealth of some kind, we should split it into small parts and share it with our near and dear ones so that they are also happy! Bhagawan never likes only one person to enjoy all the property in a selfish manner.

This is exactly where Duryodhana and King Dhirdiraashtra are going wrong too – Both of them are of the opinion that this Hastinapura kingdom is entirely theirs and it is only at their whims and fancies, everything and everybody would be dictated! Little do they realize that the Paandava brothers also have a share in the kingdom and they too have equal rights to rule! However, the jealousy and vengeance of Duryodhana is pulling him back from understanding this basic thing. This is where Vidura is advising King Dhirdiraashtra that he should take the initiative to split the kingdom and give it to both the Kauravas and Paandavas. As a king, he should not act with partiality and bias, just because his sons are at stake. He should know the “Raaja Dharma” and act accordingly. There’s no point in getting carried away by his wicked son and at the end getting destroyed for all the “Adharma” that is happening! Moreover and most importantly, Bhagawan Krishna is at the pivotal role of a judge in this case. He’s practically witnessing all what is happening here. He clearly knows who is at fault and who is innocent. He clearly knows who is following the path of “Dharma” and who is deviating from it!

Thus the message from this sloka is that, we should ensure the happiness of our near and dear ones in such a way that they would be of help for us at a later stage. Just like an ideal case wherein Duryodhana and Yudishtra would be amicable people, both the Paandavas and Kauravas can complement each other in ruling the kingdom efficiently. It is not that Vidura is trying to snatch away the kingdom from Duryodhana’s hands and give it to the Paandavas. All what he’s trying to say is that both the Paandavas and Kauravas should become united and share the responsibility equally amongst each other to make it a successful kingdom. This is what is being misunderstood by Duryodhana and Co. in the entire Mahabharata and this is what led to his destruction! So it is evident that we should fall into Duryodhana’s ways and we should take this as an opportunity to mend our ways towards the path of “Dharma”. We shall ponder over this point for today and shall wait till the next episode to witness the next one! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed Vidura’s one of the most important point from the Vidura Neeti that a real citizen of this “Bhaarata Desha” is the one who runs forward to give a helping hand for those who are suffering and the needy. In due course we witnessed the real significance of the famous song “Vaishnava janato..” wherein this is the exact point that is elaborated here too. Hence we as proud citizens of Mother India should be an epitome of helping others in dire need.

Where can we witness instances to prove this point about us? We’ve seen one such emotional instance during our Ramayana project wherein, when Jataayu was an epitome of this. All of us know by now that Jataayu was an eagle and it was from the bird community. Upon seeing Ravana manhandling Mother Sita on his way to Lanka, Jatayu’s blood started boiling! He immediately set out to fight Ravana and save Mother Sit from him. It should be remembered that Jatayu was very advanced in his age and his powers at that time were bare minimal. Not withstanding his physical weakness too, Jatayu set out and called Ravana for a fight. A ghasty war followed and at one stage, since Jatayu was too weak to control Ravana’s growing aggression, Ravana used this opportunity to cut off Jatayu’s wings mercilessly with his sword named “Chandrahaasa”. As soon as his wings were slaughtered off, poor Jatayu fell to the ground with nobody to help his cause. He was about to die. However he had the will power to convey the news to Rama that Mother Sita is being abducted and taken away to Lanka by the wicked Ravana. Hence Jatayu was managing to somehow hold his breath till Rama arrives.

After many days when Rama passes through that way, he suddenly hears Jatayu crying! Puzzled by hearing Jatayu’s voice, Rama immediately sensed that it was a distress call. He immediately rushes to that place from where the sound was coming, and to his dismay, saw Jatayu in a pool of blood and his cut-off wings! Upon seeing Jatayu in such a pitiable condition, Rama was completely in tears and rushes near him, takes Jatayu on his lap and tries to comfort him.

Now here comes the crux of the episode – Even when Jatayu was about to die, he only starts to pray and worship Bhagawan Rama and started to offer his “Sthothram” (Prayers) to Bhagawan! What a devotion! One one hand, Jatayu is losing his breath whereas on the other hand, he doesn’t mind that because of Bhagwan’s arrival! His only priority was to make sure that Bhagawan Rama was happy and comfortable first. The second priority was that he informs Bhagawan Rama on the whereabouts of Mother Sita.

When Rama enquires this pitiable situation of Jatayu, he narrates the whole episode to Bhagawan thus, “Oh Rama! I saw Ravana abducting your beloved wife and our most beloved Mother Sita and taking her towards the southern direction. Upon seeing this ghasty sight, I wasn’t in a mood to keep quiet and hence I decided to wage a war against Ravana to protect my mother! Unfortunately because of my old age and because of Ravana’s aggression, I wasn’t able to match his power and thus he cut off my wings and I had to fall on the ground! I was just waiting for you to come here and thus I can convey this important message to you! Oh Rama! Oh Bhagawan! You don’t worry about me now, but please do not delay any further. Please hurry your way towards the southern direction now to save our beloved mother! I’m sure she would be waiting for you to come and protect her! I’m happy and contended that I’ve passed on this important information to you! Now I can peacefully die without any worry!”

Saying thus, Jatayu breathes his last! This makes Bhagwan Rama burst into tears even more! He now turns towards Lakshmana by the side, hugs him and cries thus, “Oh Lakshmana! I think I’ve accumulated so much of sins in my previous birth! First I lost my father! Then I lost my beloved wife! Now I’ve even lost a very senior person in my life called Jatayu! Because of this one Rama, all of them around me are suffering! Oh Lakshana! Now I’m scared that I would lose you too! You better go back to Ayodhya and live peacefully and happily there with your wife and our mothers! I shall be the one who would suffer and will take it upon myself!”

From here we can see the amount of respect that Bhagwan Rama gives to Jatayu. It should be importantly noted here that the same Bhagawan Rama who didn’t cry when he lost his father, who didn’t cry when he lost his wife, is crying loudly looking at the pitiable state of Jatayu! Although Jatayu was a bird by birth, we can see that when Mother Sita and Bhagawan Rama were in distress, he was the first one to stand by both of them and fight for them! Jatayu physically fought to save Mother Sita and Jatayu mentally fought over his will power to make Bhagawan Rama happy! What a sacrifice and a noble sevice to Bhagawan! For this selfless service, Jatayu directly gets the “Moksha” order from none other than Bhagwan Rama himself on the spot!

This is where we see how we should never be at ease when we see someone in front of us in danger! It should be our duty to go and help them out of the danger. It is not important if we succeed or fail. Our sincere and whole-hearted attempt is what is important! Hence for today let us think and ponder over this beautiful and emotional episode of Jatayu and learn the lesson behind it! We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next important point! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point that Vidura highlights – He says that it is always better to live and let others live too, rather than being too selfish and monopolistic in life. One can never gain long-lasting happiness when others around him/her are in distress. This is an extremely wrong attitude that many of us have today unfortunately. At critical situations we tend to think only about our personal welfare and in the process we try to junk the welfare of others so as to achieve ours. This is an extremely wrong attitude and such an attitude should be under check.

Of course there might be a counter question here – If we start looking at others’ welfare for everything and anything in life, how are we going to progress? Given the competitive nature of today’s world, does this point still hold true? If we start worrying about others, won’t they stamp over us and progress forward, leaving us behind in the race?

I totally agree on the validity of all such questions. There is no doubt that we should never take people for granted like that. However I’m not saying that we should shun our responsibilities and duties completely to focus on others’. That’s not the point here. All I’m saying is that, we “collaborate” with others rather than “fighting”, so that we live and also let others live. The main point to focus here is that we should shun our selfish attitude. Of course in certain things we’ve to be selfish – If the context pertains to our spiritual growth and performing our spiritual practices, we need to be extremely selfish about it. There are no excuses to compromise on them. However on other aspects in life, it would be better if we’re selfless in nature and ensure that our surrounding people are not in any form of distress, atleast until the basic comforts of life. Of course I’m not saying that we should sacrifice our job, our income, etc. and give everything to others. All I’m saying is that, if we’re having sufficient sources of income to support our living, and if we get an income beyond what is required for us, we can of course donate some of it for the welfare of the society and for a good cause. This is how we live and we let others live as well! Hence readers shouldn’t get confused at this point. I’m not saying that we should totally sacrifice everything. Of course, given our family lifestyle in a city, it is never going to be possible. But what is more important is that, we make a contribution (as much as we can, depending upon our capacity) for the welfare of our society too. All of us as ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma” should realize this important point.

Now moving on further, Vidura continues to highlight this important point in the form of the following sloka wherein he says that as followers of our Sanaathana Dharma, we should not even harm a small insect in our life. Vidura says thus:

“Atheeva guna sampannaha na jaathu vinayaanvitaha!

Susookshmamapi bhootaanaam upamartham upekshate!!”

It can be inferred from the above sloka that the life of a person who is an ardent follower of our “Sanaathana Dharma” should be in such a way that the moment we see other living beings suffer, we should run towards them and help them out! Even if it is a venomous snake that is suffering – One should have the mercy to save that poor snake from being killed or bringing it out of whatever trouble it is facing. Just because the snake can bite us with poison, it is wrong to leave it suffer in pain. We should think for a moment – Is it the snake’s fault that it has poison in its teeth? Isn’t it God’s creation? Such is the nature of people who ardently follow our Sanaathana Dharma. Thus the message here is that, whoever or whatever living being is in pain, our heart should melt with mercy and try to bring them out of their pain and suffering. This is why we have this famous song in our Bhaarata Desha (India):

“Vaishnava janato tene kaheeye! He peetaparaathi jaane re!!”

This is a very famous song that is sung to depict the real significance of India and its people. It clearly says that if others are in suffering (“Peeta paraathi”), we should run and help them out, and such people are real “Vaishnavaites” (Indians in general). Here we should not mistake that “Vaishnavaites” are not just that one sect in Hindu Sanaathana Dharma. It denotes all of us collectively together under one umbrella. Thus the message here is that, if we see someone in deep suffering, we should have the heart to reach out to them and offer some help.This is the characteristic of a true Indian who follows Sanaathana Dharma ardently.

So for today, let us ponder over this important point and let us try to implement this in our life. If we happen to see people around us who are suffering or in some sort of pain, rather than just ignoring them and making fun of them, why don’t we have the heart to offer them some solace in the form of atleast a few soothing words? If we manage to do that, we would be able to experience profound happiness in our lives, by seeing others smiling because of us! Let us implement this and witness the change thus! We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to witness Vidura’s next point of discussion. Stay tuned! J

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point stressed by Vidura that especially at times of turbulence and tough situations, we should never lose our calm and composure. He appeals to King Dhirdiraashtra through this dimension that he better takes immediate action to mend Duryodhana’s ways. Here we should understand that the very reason why King Dhirdiraashtra is unwilling to take a step forward is that, he is afraid of the backlash that he would face from Duryodhana, if he tries to correct him. King Dhirdiraashtra is afraid whether Duryodhana would ultimately desert his father, or even try to kill him just because he tried to question Duryodhana’s cruel intents. Upon this, Vidura explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that he doesn’t need to fear such a backlash because ultimately even if Duryodhana reacts in a hostile way, the world would appreciate King Dhirdiraashtra for his positive step forward. Atleast he would be able to save his face that he stood by the “Dharma” by opposing Duryodhana’s crooked actions. If King Dhirdiraashtra is failing to do this, it simply implies that he has given into “Adharma” and the world is going to talk about him as a bad example. His unwanted fear is indirectly paving the way for the downfall of himself and also for his hundred Kaurava sons.

How is this point applicable to our modern day life? At times we might get into a tricky situation wherein we would be carried away with the fear of even approaching it properly. For instance, there might be a communication gap or a misunderstanding between us and our peer employees or our boss at our workplace. Rather than taking a step forward to solve the communication gap and set things right, we would keep “dilly-dalying” by having unwanted thoughts and opinions about others and keep prolonging the solution. This would lead to unnecessary complaining and gossiping about the other person in the organization and ultimately this leads to what we term “organizational politics”. This political behavior not only depreciates our performance at work, but also brings down the productivity of the organization on the whole. Hence we need to understand from this point that if there seems to be some kind of a misunderstanding or a lack of communication with someone over something, it is better that we solve it with that person then and there, rather than delaying it indefinitely.

Now moving on to the next important point, Vidura highlights the fact that if a person thinks that he/she should live peacefully without any problem, he/she would also think the same for others around him. This is the real sign of a kind and a noble-hearted person. If we’re only interested in our welfare and by that, if we’re going to destroy the welfare of others, it is going to lead us to disaster. Thus, if our intent is good, whatever happens to us would also be good! On the contrary, if our intent is bad, that is, if we’re going to doubt the credibility of others and stake others’ welfare for our personal benefits and gains, we’ve to be prepared to face innumerable problems in life. For instance if we’re suffering from a deadly physical disease, can we ever think that we would get relieved from it by transferring this disease to someone else? Is it fair that we enjoy our life while others suffer? A noble person would always think “Now that this disease has affected us badly – I should pray to Bhagawan that such a deadly disease should never affect anybody else in this world”, isn’t it?

Having said this, are we practising this in our lives every day? It might not be our intention to hurt someone deliberately, but at certain situations we tend to become selfish! For instance, if we’re running a business or heading an organization – We may have to wage a fierce battle with our competitor companies within the same industry. However, can I think that all the other companies in the industry should shut shop and my company should be the ultimate monopoly, enjoying all of the profits that are generated? Only if we have a good ecosystem, would our products and services be sustainable, isn’t it? Else, who would come and buy our products? Thus we should try and give space for all of them to grow and prosper. Only then will people have the purchasing power to buy what we sell.

Hence the message from this point is that, we should live and let others live too. If we’re going to have a selfish attitude that only we should live and others should perish, we’re never going to gain happiness. This is the common mindset of a vast majority of today’s politicians. Why do we call some politicians as third-rated brats? It is only because of this selfish and cheap mindset that I would only make crores and crores of money and others should get poorer by the day! Hence we should make sure that we do not fall into this trap of a mindset and we should be prepared to accept everybody around us equally. We should understand that only if others live peacefully around us, we would also be able to live peacefully.

This is exactly where Duryodhana is making the mistake too. His only aim in life is to succeed his father to the throne of the Hastinapura kingdom. His intention is to rule the whole of the kingdom by himself and to enjoy all the luxuries associated with it. He never has an iota of thought that he should let his Paandava brothers experience the same amount of joy that he wants to experience. This is where the problem lies. If we’re starting to be selfish in nature, we need to be prepared to face more and more problems and disasters that come our way.

So for today let us ponder over this important point and introspect over it. We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to witness the subsequent point of Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed an important extension of Vidura’s point highlighting that real and sustained victory in life comes only through relentless hard work, patience, perseverance and consistent performance. If we “shout and scream” our way through or make unnecessary noises to our way of victory over someone or something, it is going to be unsustainable and ultimately going to lead to losing people from our vicinity and long-lasting failure in whatever task that we do! We should always realize that fighting, huffing and puffing with our near and dear ones is never going to yield us any positive results. Rather, constant fighting only leads people to lose interest on us and thus ultimately leaving us once and forever. This is an important point that Vidura is stressing repeatedly to King Dhirdiraashtra wherein he warns that Duryodhana is earning the wrath of his Paandava brothers just for his selfishness to rule Hastinapura kingdom all by himself. This is going to have long lasting negative impact, not only on Duryodhana’s life, but also on the lives of his ninety nine other brothers and the kingdom as a whole too!

Now moving on to the next point, Vidura explains that if suppose we are in a difficult situation in life we would get extremely nervous or tensed up. We would never relent from our tension until we come out of that problem or that difficult situation. However once we’re out of that problem and when we look back at it, we would start thinking “Oh! Did we get so much worked up for such a small thing in life? There are so many bigger aspects that are more important than this!”

I’m sure many of us would have had this kind of an experience in our lives. For instance if we are inside an aeroplane and that aeroplane passes through turbulent weather. What would happen? The aeroplane would start vibrating because of the extreme weather and during those times, we would get a touch nervous! However after few minutes when the plane crosses that particular area it would again become stable and smooth. At this point in time we would look back and think “Oh wow! That was just a small little period of turbulence. Is it for this small thing that I was getting so scared? Of course there are experienced pilots in the cockpit to handle such things efficiently! Why should I get scared?” Thus we can see here that when we are undergoing that small periods of problems, we would feel so tensed and worked up! However after we pass through that situation we would think why did we get so worked up for such a small thing in life! However the bigger question here is that, why aren’t we able to have this same mindset when we are undergoing the problem? For instance, why aren’t we able to keep ourselves calm when the aeroplane is undergoing turbulent weather?

This is where Vidura stresses on the point that we need to maintain our calm and composure at turbulent times, if we’ve to taste victory in whatever we do! Just because we get tensed, nervous and shout our way, nothing is going to change! Here Vidura is advising King Dhirdiraashtra thus, “Oh King! Ultimately while mending Duryodhana’s relentless pursuit of “Adharma”, what maximum can he do to you? He might abuse you or he might torture you or he might maximum kill you! So what? Atleast if you die by that, you would have achieved your goal of trying to mend your son’s ways and you can sleep peacefully henceforth! But now what’s happening? Are you able to sleep properly, given the present situation? Even now you’re not able to sleep well, isn’t it? So what’s the point in not taking a step forward to criticize and mend Duryodhana’s ways? This is a turbulent time and you’re getting carried away by the turbulence and trying to “escape” from your duty as a father! However if you can keep yourself calm and composed and try to take the responsibility to mend Duryodhana’s ways, you can save Hastinapura kingdom from going into the brink, isn’t it?”

Hence the message from today’s episode is that, at turbulent times, we need to keep calm and patient and try to execute our duties as sincerely as possible. Just because of some difficult situation in our life, there can be no excuse to switch our path towards “Adharma”. Hence we need to develop these virtues in us and these would help us tide over any situation in life. So for today let us ponder over this important point and let us wait till the next episode for an enhanced discussion on this and to further move on to the next point. Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point emphasized by Vidura wherein he says that real and sustained victory is never possible in this world if we’re going to demoralize and demolish others on the way. He pinpoints the character of Duryodhana and explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that the world can never see a better crook than what Duryodhana currently is! In other words, he has tried out all sorts of atrocities on the Paandavas and has insulted and demeaned them to the core – All because he wants to succeed his father to the throne, by hook or crook!

This point is of course not only applicable to Duryodhana alone but to all of us in the modern day. At the end of the previous episode I had put forth a series of questions for all of us to ponder upon. “What are we going to achieve upoin winning over another person by resorting to any extent possible?” Let us give this important question some substantiation and relevance to today’s context. Both in the personal and professional front, every passing day we get into some kind of a fight or an argument with someone and try showing our “supremacy” over that person! For instance, it has become a common affair at many homes nowadays that the wife is trying to scream on top of her voice to silence her husband or vice versa. If we’re going to fight this way within the family to establish our supremacy over our partner, what is going to happen ultimately? If at all we gain and re-gain our “supremacy” over our partner, who is going to award a trophy for our “victory”? Moreover, what is the ultimate benefit of our victory over the other person? Is it going to be sustainable? Unfortunately the answer is “no”! If this kind of a “supremacy” fight rages between the couple, ultimately at some point in time, one of them is going to lose interest over the other person and finally leads to divorce or breakup or a separation of the couple. Hence if “victory” is labelled as “getting over the skin of the other person” by hook or crook, it is never going to happen! Maybe at that instant of time we might feel happy and contented that we’ve won over that poor husband or wife, but ultimately we should remember that because of this fight, we’re starting to lose that person forever from our life! Hence if a married life should be enjoyable between the couple, there should be some sort of a compromise and understanding between the two people. The more we compromise with each other’s likes, dislikes, interests, etc. and the more we start talking with each other patiently and with care, the relationship prospers and the intimacy between the couple grows exponentially, thus resulting in ultimate happiness and peace of mind. Hence all of us should think of this point very seriously, so as to make our personal lives peaceful and happy.

Similarly when we look into our professional lives, how many instances are we witnessing today wherein there are “political rivalries”, “corporate rivalries”, etc.? These sort of things are increasing at an alarming rate, not only in India but also across the world. There are innumerable cases wherein people take revenge on each other, just to prove the point of “supremacy” and to answer the question “Who is the boss?” We’re witnessing corporate politics so much in today’s world that this has started to hamper the growth of an organization in a very bad way! Forget rivalry between two competitors, nowadays rivalries are raging between employees within the same organization – All for that “supremacy” over each other! Thus eventually the end result here because of the “fight for supremacy” is that, nobody is going to win! The organization is going to go down the detrimental path and none of the employees are going to benefit out of this useless war.

Hence the point here is that, by waging useless political fights, battles, etc. within families, corporate companies, etc. nobody is going to win over each other. Ultimately we’re facing huge threats of detrimental effects. This is exactly what Vidura is trying to advice King Dhirdiraashtra here – He asks King DHirduraashtra thus, “Oh King! What is your son Duryodhana going to gain by defaming and insulting the Paandavas this way? Maybe the kingdom – Yes! But is it going to be a sustainable victory? Do you think Duryodhana is going to be happy after getting the kingdom? This evil game is never going to end – He’s going to repeatedly create hardships to the Paandavas and ultimately neither he nor the Paandavas are going to live in peace!”

So for today, let us  realize the fact that just because of shouting or screaming over someone, or just because of any sorts of violence over someone is not going to yield us any sort of victory! Real sustained victory would come only with our sincere hard work and performance on the ground. Without real performance, all other talks and fights are short-lived and we can never win over anyone in this world with such an attitude. When it comes to our home and personal life, we should make sure that if at all there is a misunderstanding or a misconception between the couple, we should try to broker peace and collectively analyse the situation, rather than picking up a fight and ending up proving our “supremacy” over each other! Such attempts are only going to thwart the relationship and ultimately would lead us to damaging consequences of separation from our near and dear partner, who has tried to give his/her life for us and our happiness! Hence for today let us ponder once more over this important point and let us wait till the next episode to take Vidura’s next point for discussion! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point from Vidura to King Dhirdiraasdhtra. In fact, this is a re-iteration and re-substantiation of his stance that Duryodhana is unfit in all ways to succeed King Dhirdiraashtra to the throne of Hastinapura kingdom. He emphasizes by recalling the fact that he has analyzed Duryodhana’s horoscope on the day when he was born and on that very day he had advised King Dhirdiraashtra to keep an eye on Duryodhana’s activities. However King Dhirdiraashtra was completely carried away by his excessive affection towards Duryodhana that whatever mischief he did, went completely unnoticed. Finally today after so many years, Duryodhana stands at the brink of destruction for all what he has done over these many years! Vidura also warns that it is not only Duryodhana who is at the brink, but also all his other ninety nine brothers who followed Duryodhana’s “Adharmic” path. This is because, each of the ninety nine Kaurava brothers were at different stages, responsible for the humiliation of the Paandavas. Saying thus, Vidura warns King Dhirdiraashtra to mend Duryodhana’s ways atleast now, to save his sons and the kingdom from going into a full-fledged succession war, which was looming large!

Now as King Dhirdiraashtra listens to these words from Vidura, he becomes pained at heart deeply. King Dhirdiraashtra asks Vidura back thus: “Oh Vidura! You might be right in whatever you’ve said! But at the end of the day, Duryodhana is my son! Just because he might be bad in his attitude and actions, how can I desert him? Isn’t it difficult for me to do that as a father? How can I reject Duryodhana like how you’re advising me? Don’t you think it is not feasible by any means?”

Listening to this, Vidura doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry! On one side Vidura is amused at the deep level of ignorance King Dhirdiraashtra is in! On the other side, he is deeply pained that King Dhirdiraashtra is failing to understand the practicality of what he’s trying to advice! Thinking thus, Vidura replies back, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! When did I say that you’ve to leave Duryodhana completely and desert him? My point is not that! Please do not misunderstand and twist my words. All I’m saying is that, just because you’ve to favor your son, please do not inflict harm on others! Just because your son should rule Hastinapura tomorrow, why do you want to torture the Paandavas? What wrong did they do to you?”

This is an extremely important point that Vidura is going to emphasize here. Vidura continues thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! For the sake of abducting the due share of the kingdom from the Paandavas, what do you think Duryodhana would do? Did you ever think of that? However having said that, if at all Duryodhana succeeds in abducting the kingdom from the Paandavas, do you think that he is going to be contented with it? He will still try to torture the Paandavas and finally even would go to the extent of killing them! Fine enough! But will Duryodhana be happy even then? Neither he nor you is going to gain any sorts of happiness by doing such things! Already both you and your sons are accumulating sins after sins and if Duryodhana takes the extreme step of killing the Paandavas tomorrow (if at all it might be possible), do you think that you would be able to sleep peacefully henceforth? Already you’re suffering from lack of sleep today! Do you think there is going to be any sorts of improvement if Duryodhana succeeds the throne in a hostile manner? Please remember King Dhirdiraashtra – There can never be a situation wherein one can succeed in life by dethroning and demoralizing others! It is only with one’s own effort will one be able to taste success in life! Today we can cheat someone, humiliate someone and win over them. But do you think that this victory is sustainable? It is never going to be! Ultimately “Dharma” will win and will win in a canter! So if you’re not going to mend Duryodhana’s Adharmic ways now, there is no use feeling sorry later on!”

This is an extremely important message that Vidura is giving out to all of us here – We can never taste real victory by defaming or dethroning others! Many of us have a myth that if we’ve to win, we need to push someone down and move forward. This is a totally wrong perception. Our victory should be because of our sincere and conscious effort towards the path of “Dharma” and not by demeaning or undermining the efficiency of others. If we go against “Dharma” and try to win over others, this is where “dirty politics” arise! Unfortunately in today’s world we are witnessing many such incidents of “dirty politics” wherein people try to “outsmart” each other through illegal ways. People propagate lies, fake stories, trying to pull each other down, defaming each other and sometimes even going to the extent of murdering the other person! What kind of a world are we in? Isn’t it like a jungle wherein lions and tigers fight amongst each other this way? What is the difference between us human beings and wild animals like them, if we’re going to reduce ourselves to resorting to third-rated crimes to prove supremacy over others? We should really spare a thought on this as we move forward in our life.

So for today, let us ponder over this important point from Vidura. Let us together ask this question within us: “What are we going to achieve upon winning over another person by resorting to any extent possible? Is someone going to give us a trophy for our so-called victory? What are we trying to prove to the world? If we resort to such winning, is our reputation in the society going up or down?” Thus the main point to ponder upon is that, we can never win over another person by defaming him/her! We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to take this point further and thus move forward to the next point! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed an important extension of Vidura’s point emphasizing the dangerous aftereffects of “blind faith” over someone whom we love so much in life and “blind hatred” over someone whom we dislike in life. Both are equally dangerous and this is exactly where King Dhirdiraashtra has entangled himself in. His “blind faith” over his crooked son Duryodhana has made matters worse for the Hastinaapura kingdom, wherein Duryodhana’s arrogance and evil tendencies are leading to a huge turmoil of a succession war! However because of his “blind faith” over Duryodhana, King Dhirdiraashtra is never able to realize the imminent danger in front of his eyes. Similarly, his “blind hatred” towards the Paandavas is driving away the “Dharma” from the kingdom, thereby sealing the fate of the Kauravas’ downfall.

This is where we get trapped many a times too – If there’s something wrong going on in front of our eyes, are we able to shun attachments towards that person (who’s committing the mistake) and oppose it? If we’re unable to do it, it simply means that we’re getting entangled into the “Adharma” and we’ve to face the disastrous consequences of it. On the other hand, if we have blind hatred and rivalry towards someone, whatever good deeds that person does, go unnoticed. This is where we witnessed a beautiful example in the present day corporate, wherein companies adopt “codeshare” agreements with each other. Thus, rather than seeing other companies as competitors, why can’t we have a positive outlook and instead work together as collaborators to achieve more success? In other words, rather than looking at only the negative and weak points of each other, why don’t we make an attempt to look at each other’s positives and strengths and work together to provide a world-class experience to customers? This is how we should move forward, given the challenging work environment in today’s world. Hence modern day leaders should spare a thought on this particular point and look at ways of collaborative working, rather than looking at each other as rivals or competitors, wherever possible. Of course I’m not saying that this is possible at all situations and contexts and I understand the difficulties and dynamics involved in it. However, an effort can be made wherever it is feasible to establish collaborations and this is important as we move on in business.

Having said thus, we now move to the next point that Vidura is going to emphasize. Its going to be a very interesting point. Vidura says thus:

“Uktham mayaa jaatamaatreviraajan duryodhanam tyaja puthram tvamekam!

Tasyathyaagaad puthrashatascha vriddhihi syaath aagaath puthrashatasya naashaha!!”

Here Vidura says thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Many years ago when Duryodhana was born, I analysed his horoscope and found out that he is going to be a crooked and an evil person – Given the innumerable amount of curses he had accumulated in his previous births! I warned you when he was a baby that you need to bring him up very carefully! I repeatedly advised you for so many years that you need to frequently keep mending his ways every now and then! I warned you that you need to keep him under constant supervision right under your nose! However over the years, you’ve failed to do so. Now look at the consequence – Just because of this one son by name Duryodhana, all your other ninety nine sons are facing an inevitable fate of destruction! This Duryodhana has successfully poisoned all his ninety nine brothers and pulled them along with him into the path of “Adharma”! I’m feeling so bad at what has happened! All this is because of your carelessness. If you had taken my advice seriously right from day one, Duryodhana would not have been what he is today! Moreover, you could have saved all your other ninety nine sons too. It is not enough if you have a hundred sons! But if all the hundred sons are following “Adharma”, what is the point of having them as your sons? Its rather better that you were childless! This succession war is going to loom larger and larger by the day if you do not mend Duryodhana’s ways now!”

Vidura continues thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! So far you had rejected all my advice pertaining top Duryodhana. However even now it is not too late. Please try and mend Duryodhana’s ways atleast now. I know it is difficult, but please don’t give it up! Please give it a try! If you try with a pure and sincere heart, Bhagwan Krishna would take care of the rest. Please have trust on my words! Duryodhana is not a good person as you think he is! He doesn’t deserve even an iota of this Hastinapura kingdom! Hence please do the needful!”

Saying thus, Vidura advises King Dhirdiraashtra about the practical situation in hand. This is a very interesting phase of the Vidura Neeti wherein Vidura gives a last-ditch attempt to convince King Dhirdiraashtra! Unlike the previous “Adhyaayas” wherein he was narrating few stories, comparing the lives of few other people to drive home the point, here Vidura directly hits the point right on the money, so that it makes an appeal in King Dhirdiraashtra’s mind! We shall pause at this point for today and we shall take this forward in tomorrow’s episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed Vidura slamming King Dhirdiraashtra on a very important point. He says that if we excessively love someone or something, whatever negative aspects that the person or thing would have, would go unnoticed! However on the contrary, if we excessively hate someone or something so badly, whatever positive aspects that the person or thing would possess, would go completely unnoticed! This is the same case here with King Dhirdiraashtra. Since he has excessive love and attachment towards his son Duryodhana, whatever crooked actions he performs doesn’t matter to him at all! This is what irks Vidura to the core! He slams King Dhirdiraashtra for such an ignorant attitude and urges him to mend his ways. On the other hand, King Dhirdiraashtra is totally ignorant and unable to see the “Dharma” amidst the Paandavas just because he hates them to the core. He’s unable to digest the fact that the Paandavas were far better than his sons and that, he has to duly split the kingdom equally to both the camps. Rather, King Dhirdiraashtra wants only his son Duryodhana to be his next successor, come what may!

This is exactly where we entangle ourselves in today’s world too – For instance, if our own son or daughter commits a mistake or a crime, how many of us, parents would be able to come forward and accept the mistake of the children? Rather, what would we do? Majority of the time we would only try and defend our son or daughter, irrespective of whatever might be the crime, isn’t it? When a person is booked for criminal conspiracy and is dragged into the court, what will the mother of this person do? She would only run into the court premises and defend her son by saying, “Sir! My son is innocent! He hasn’t done any mistake! Please spare my son! Please do the investigation in the proper way and release my son!” How many times have we seen such emotional dialogues in movies?

Hence the underlying point here is that, if we love someone, we would dare not go against him/her, however bad this person might be! This is exactly where King Dhirdiraashtra is trapped too here – However bad Duryodhana might be, King Dhirdiraashtra is unable to accept the fact that Duryodhana is unfit to succeed him to the throne! This is what Vidura is trying to emphasize and re-emphasize to King Dhirdiraasntra through various means. Here in this context we see that Vidura is fuming in anger to make King Dhirdiraashtra understand his folly! Irrespective of whatever “Adharma” Duryodhana did – For instance, playing the illegal gambling game amidst the entire courtroom, insulting Draupati in public by stripping her off, sending the Paandavas to an inhumane exile, etc. King Dhirdiraashtra still backs him up! This is the major problem here.

Thus the lesson from this context to all of us is that, even if we do not like someone, we should try to learn the positives from him/her. I know it is difficult, but we need to give it a try. We should not repeat the mistake what King Dhirdiraashtra has done here! Hence, instead of rejecting people altogether just because we do not like them, why don’t we start looking at the positives of all people? This would first of all reduce the enmity between us and that person. Secondly, the more we look into the positives of people around, we would learn a lot of things in life. Indirectly we are trying to be constructive in our approach towards people. This would also avoid the risk of isolating ourselves. Thus for all these above reasons, we should strive to look into the positives amongst all people with whom we are friends and/or enemies. Just because we like someone, we should not go too much behind that person for anything and everything. Similarly, just because we do not like someone, we should also not reject that person completely for anything and everything. A balance is always an important virtue that all of us should adopt while dealing with different kinds of people.

This is extremely important in the corporate too. In the modern day we see innumerable rivalries between various corporate houses, business tycoons and also amongst employees of different organizations. Thus rather than looking only at the rival part, why don’t we focus on “Collaborative working”? It would be advantageous to all of us isn’t it? Rather than looking at other companies as mere competitors, why don’t we look at them as collaborators wherever and however possible? For instance if we look at the airline sector we can interestingly find something called “Codeshare Agreements” and “Interline Agreements” between two or more airline companies across the world. Although on paper they might be competitors, this collaborative effort between the airline companies enables hassle-free movement of passengers from one part of the world to the other. Just like this codeshare agreement, why don’t we have such codeshare agreements for our lives too? Won’t our lives transform completely in the positive direction with such agreements?

Hence for today, let us think about this important point and let us try to look at the positives in each and every human being. Ultimately all of us are Bhagawan’s creations and our “Aatmans” are all integrated and well-knit to form a divine network! The earlier we realize this, the better it is for us! We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next important point of discussion in the 39’th Adhyaaya. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the subsequent continuation of Vidura Neeti’s 39’th Adhyaaya wherein Vidura emphasizes on the point on how different people derive and spread happiness in this world. It might either be through giving “Dhaanam” (Donation) with a pure and noble heart or by chanting our “Mantra” meticulously with devotion and concentration, or by working towards the benefit of all living beings in this world. In precise, we witnessed the meaning of the famous phrase “Lokah Samastah Stukino Bhavantu” and its practical application too.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains the next point thus.

“Dvesho na saadhur bhavati na medhaavi na pandithaha!

Priye shubaani kaaryaani dveshye paapaani chaivaha!!”

This is an extremely important sloka which all of us should carefully make a note of. Here Vidura drops a huge bombshell for all of mankind wherein he explains a significant psychology principle – If we start hating someone, we would never be able to see any of the good deeds that the person has done! On the contrary, if we love someone from our heart, we would never be able to see even a bad deed that the person does. In other words, we would not be able to appreciate a person however “Saathvic” he/she might be, if we hate him/her. Whereas we would never be able to accept the wickedness of a person if we fall in love with that person from the bottom of our heart! How true is this statement here! This is exactly where King Dhirdiraashtra has been entangled into! Although his son Duryodhana is such an embodiment of “Adharma”, King Dhiridraashtra is unable to see even an iota of bad in him, because his excessive affection “blocks” his eyes like a screen! On the contrary, the Paandavas, although they were embodiments of “Dharma” were looked upon by King Dhirdiraashtra as enemies, just because of his hatred towards them.

This is the reason why King Dhirdiraashtra always favoured all of Duryodhana’s cruel actions. Vidura slams him left, right & centre thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Your “Putra Vaatsalya” (Excessive attachment towards your son) is in such a way that even when your son Duryodhana performed the most heinous and punishable crimes, you had backed him up to a great level! Duryodhana locked up the Paandavas inside the palace made of wax and tried to burn them alive! You backed this action of his! Duryodhana convened the infamous game of gambling along with his crooked uncle Sahuni! Although playing the gambling game is against the “Raaja Dharma”, you backed Duryodhana in this too! Next, when Duryodhana was winning that game, thanks to the crookedness of Sahuni, he insulted Yudhistra and Co. to the worst possible extent by abusing them! You again kept quiet! Next, Duryodhana made Yudishtra stake Draupati and play the game. Eventually both Duryodhana and his brother insulted Draupati by stripping her off amidst the public courtroom! You still backed Duryodhana for this heinous crime! Subsequently Duryodhana wanted to send the Paandavas on an inhumane exile! You approved it! I mean… What do you think of yourself?”

Vidura continues thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! You’ve proved to the world that you and your sons are epitomes of anarchy. All this is because of your excessive attachment and love towards your crooked son to such an extent that whatever nonsense that he does, never seems to you as a blatant deviation from the path of “Dharma”! Whatever crooked actions Duryodhana performs, go unnoticed in your eyes! What kind of a king you are? What kind of a message are you sending across to the people of Hastinapura? Aren’t you ashamed by doing all this? Are you even fit to be a king in the first place after doing all this?”

Saying thus, Vidura loses his cool and slams King Dhiridraashtra left, right and center and thus tries to make him understand his folly! For today, let us pause a bit at this point where Vidura is extremely angry over the actions of Duryodhana and his father Dhirdiraashtra! We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to continue this important discussion further and witness the application of this point in our daily lives! Stay tuned!