The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point as mentioned by Vidura wherein he explains the significance of a person’s mental acumen. He added a keynote that with a sound mental ability and an acumen, one can inflict any kind of defeat on another person in such a way that he/she can never get up from that defeated state forever! We’ve seen quite a few examples in today’s life too, wherein intellectual people nail and bash those who come up with baseless arguments. Thus from this point, we should realize that mental ability and acumen is of prime importance when we consider the broader aspect of “Strength”. In other words, the true strength for a person comes only from his/her mental ability, which includes the ability of keeping oneself calm at all situations, the ability to think wisely at critical times, ability to make appropriate and path-breaking decisions at the right time and finally the ability to communicate the ideas that are conceived. If these four abilities are imbibed in a person, this becomes the greatest strength for the opposition to reckon with.

Before we move forward to the next point, we need to witness a small extension of yesterday’s discussion. This is going to be a bit sensitive topic to talk about in a blog like this, however I request readers not to take it as a personal veil of attack motivated towards any individual or a community of people. Even though it is a sensitive topic of discussion, I’m not shying away from taking it up because if I do not take it up, it is going to be a great disservice to our Hindu “Sanaathana Dharma”.

It is sad and unfortunate to note that in many places (especially in the south of India), many anti-Hindu groups (predominantly two other religious communities well known to the readers) are forging and plagiarising important excerpts from our Hindu texts such as Vedas, Bhagawad Gita, etc. and are trying to misinterpret these sacred texts with the sole aim of misleading the common people against Hinduism. The sole aim of these anti-Hindu and anti-India elements is “religious conversion for money”. Let us accept this blunt and hard fact although this is not discussed much in the public domain. If this is not the worst, nowadays it is also astonishing to see that the so-called “fathers” of a religion are trying to pull innocent people into the fold of their baseless religion by inculcating “manthras” that have the sacred syllables of “OM” and “NAMAH”! This is how religious conversions happen in India these days and sadly it is painful to note that we Hindus care a damn for it! Isn’t it our bound duty to protect our “Sanaathana Dharma” from being illegally plagarised for a criminial motive?

This is where I keep repeatedly stressing on the point that we Hindus should learn and understand the important principles of our “Sanaathana Dharma”. For this, we should devote some time amidst our daily routine to understand the significance of our Vedas, Upanishads, Puraanas, Ithihasas, etc. Once we start doing this meticulously, it becomes easy for us to call out the atocricies of the other religions that try to malign our “Sanaathana Dharma”. The main reason today why we’re not able to counter the false claims and propaganda of the anti-Hindu elements is the sheer lack of awareness of the significance of our Sanaathana Dharma. Once we consciously start plugging this big loophole, we would have enough firepower to gun down those baseless and reckless arguments posed by those useless fringe groups.

This is why it becomes important for us to strengthen our mental acumen and this is exactly what Vidura is explaining here too. Once we have the mental acumen, we can defeat any force in this world with ease and as ardent followers of our Hindu “Sanaathana Dharma”, it is compulsory and mandatory for us to understand our sacred texts, so as to stand up against those completely baseless religions who try to target us without even a proper agenda or a narrative other than money power. Just like the famous battle between David and Golliath, an extremely strong and a powerful “Sanaathana Dharma” is being challenged by mediocre and third-rated religions, which do not have any substance to defend themselves. We Hindus should realize our folly of “lack of unity” amongst ourselves, which is the primary focus point for all religious conversions that happen in India. Once we start standing united with each other, trust me, Hindus would be a force to reckon with, and all these fringe elements would be made to run for their money!

So for today let us extend our thought to this extremely important and sensitive issue that is posing a great threat to our “Sanaathana Dharma”. Let us together stand united to defeat these anti-Hindu and anti-India forces with the help of our strong mental acumen. Let us make a conscious effort to learn and understand the principles of our “Sanaathana Dharma” and propagate it to the world. Let us follow Vidura’s advice in this way so that our great Hinduism is protected! We shall wait for the next episode to witness Vidura’s next important piece of advice! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point of advice from Vidura to King Dhirdiraashtra wherein he clarifies the significance of five different types of strengths that a person in this world should have. Vidura lists the five types of strengths – Strength of a powerful shoulder (Physical Strength), the strength of having a good company of people around, strength of wealth and money, strength of having a significant family tradition and finally the strength of our mental capability. If all these five strengths are imbibed in a person, it can be a deadly combination for any opposition to take on him/her. Explaining thus, Vidura conveys the message to King Dhirdiraashtra that he should focus on inculcating strength and power to his son Duryodhana through any of these five means, rather than adopting illegal ways to achieve it!

Now moving on further, Vidura expands his explanation on the last type of strength – The mental strength. Here he explains how significant is the mental ability and the intellect of a person and how this one strength can be enough to defeat anybody in this world! Vidura explains thus:

“Pragnyaasarena abhihitasya jantah chikitsakaah santhi na cha oushadhaani!”

Here Vidura explains that if we are getting defeated by someone with respect to our intellect and mental ability, we can never recover from the damage caused, even if we try to get any sorts of medical treatment and attention for it. Even if we get defeated by the physical strength of another person, we can go and consult a doctor to cure our injuries that occur because of the heavy blows that the other person might give us! However if a person defeats us with the mental acumen in front of a huge public audience, this damage that we receive is going to remain forever in our life and can never be compensated or cured by any means! This is where Vidura again pokes King Dhirdiraashtra – He again sends the important message thus: “Oh King! If someone is going to inflict heavy blows on you, with respect to the mental intellect, please remember that you can never get up from this defeat! Please note that Yudishtra and the Paandava brothers are going to defeat you and Duryodhana with respect to the mental intellect and this is going to be an extremely heavy blow to your Kaurava camp, from which you can never lift your face up again! Please do not act foolish and get entangled into this trap. Please try to think judiciously and do the needful now!”

How applicable is this golden piece of advice in today’s world! Many a times we ask this question – How do we defeat the opponent in a debate? Many people think today that we can defeat a person in a debate if we shout over his/her voice while he/she is putting forth the points. It should be remembered that this is not a moral victory by any means – It simply signifies the fact that by shouting over others and by not giving chance for the opponent to talk, we are incapable of countering their points effectively. The only way one can defeat the opponent in a debate is by exhibiting calmness and by allowing the other person to talk out completely. Once the opponent finishes talking, we can then take up each of the points for a fitting rebuttal and counter narratives. This is the way we have a constructive debate and this shows a clear exhibition of the strong mental acumen of the panellists in the debate. It is unfortunate to note that many news media channels today are conducting “so-called” debates, wherein one person tries to dominate the other by means of shouting, throwing barbs, verbal abuses on each other, etc. This is never going to be a constructive way of discussing a topic in detail.

Thus from this point, we should realize that mental ability and acumen is of prime importance when we consider the broader aspect of “Strength”. In other words, the true strength for a person comes only from his/her mental ability, which includes the ability of keeping oneself calm at all situations, the ability to think wisely at critical times, ability to make appropriate and path-breaking decisions at the right time and finally the ability to communicate the ideas that are conceived. If these four abilities are imbibed in a person, this becomes the greatest strength for the opposition to reckon with.

So for today, let us ponder over this important point explained by Vidura. Let us try to find out ways on how to improve our mental acumen and polish ourselves as an unbeatable force to reckon with! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important point that Vidura is going to explain! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important message from Vidura wherein he explains the significance of “Dhaanam”. Of course we’ve seen umpteen number of occasions in the past with regards to the significance of “Dhaanam”. In yesterday’s episode we had witnessed how the “Manu Dharma Shastra” gives importance to this point wherein it says that if a person earns 100 rupees, he/she should allocate 16 rupees out of it for charitable activities. It is only then he/she and family gets blessed by Bhagawan.

This was the factor that was lacking in King Dhirdiraashtra and his sons. Their greed for power and money overtook them and eventually they failed to understand the significance of “Dhaanam”. This is exactly what Vidura was lamenting during the previous episode. Forget “Dhaanam” – Duryodhana was not even interested to share the portion of the Hastinaapura kingdom with the Paandavas that was rightly due for them. This is also the case in our today’s world too – The moment we see power and money in our hands, our greed starts to increase! This results in making us crave for more power and more money, and eventually we end up forgetting the significance of “Dhaanam” completely. This is why Vidura and Manu are reminding us constantly about the significance of this point. We should realize that the money and power should be used in such a way that the whole world benefits out of it, and not only the individual self. We should develop the habit of “giving” generously and selflessly to those who are in need. If we see someone suffering, we should have that heart to voluntarily go forward to help them. This is very important and a strong step towards spiritual progress according to our “Sanaathana Dharma”.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains five different types of strength, a human being should have in his/her life. Vidura explains this to King Dhirdiraashtra for a reason. Let us explore this in more detail. Vidura explains thus:

“Balam panchamidam nityam baahubalam amaatya laabaha!

Dhana laabaha paithaamaham laabam pragnyaa balam!!”

Here as mentioned, Vidura talks about five different strengths (“Balam”). The first one that he explains is “Baahubalam”. This means, a person should have a strong shoulder! This literally means that a person should be physically strong. He or she should be able to counter any sort of obstacles that are physical and tangible in nature. Of course I’m not saying that all of us should become boxers and experts in kick boxing! 🙂 We should atleast maintain our physical health in a sound manner so that we wouldn’t buckle down with unwanted physical ailments when we’re undertaking important missions and tasks in our life. This is extremely important.

Second, Vidura explains “Amaatya laabam”. This means a person gains more strength when he gets a good company of people around him. This company might be in the form of friends, trustable ministers (if in case of a king or a leader), strong relatives, etc. Thus the power and strength of people around us would automatically make us powerful! We’ve seen this in many cases in today’s world too – How are “dons” establishing themselves? It is only with their powerful company of people that they exert their authority over others. This itself is a strength to a person and it is very important. Hence, Vidura’s important advice here is that, it is not enough if we are physically powerful. We also need people around us who are loyal to us and also who are powerful! This multiplies our strength!

Third, Vidura talks about “Dhana laabam” – Of course all of us know this point very well – Possession of money and wealth gives strength to a person automatically. The richer a person is, the more people would come towards him/her and thus eventually this person gains power and strength! In today’s world too many of us believe that money and wealth would automatically push us upwards in our power, strength and status and this is why we keep running behind money by hook or crook! 🙂 Something to ponder about!

Fourth and the penultimate strength – Vidura explains “Paithaamaham” – This is extremely important – Our family tradition and history contributes a great deal in terms of our strength! This is why people in the modern day ask “Are you born with a silver spoon in your mouth?” This directly means, if we’re born out of a rich and a prosperous family, we’re looked upon by the world with great respect! For instance, we keep seeing today how much of importance is given to the kids of celebrities like actors, actresses, prominent sports persons, politicians, etc. Of course, not everyone in this world are lucky in this aspect of life, but if someone is lucky enough to be part of such a family tradition, he/she can consider himself/herself to be very powerful!

Finally Vidura explains “Pragnya Balam” – A person’s impeccable knowledge and wisdom adds to his/her strength immensely! This is what we call in Oeganizational Behavioral terms today as “Expert power”! It simply means that a person gains strength or power by means of his/her expertise and knowledge on a certain domain – It might be anything for that matter. For instance, why do we hail people who are professional musicians, dancers, international cricket players, etc. so much? It is simply because of their expertise in their respective domains of work! Hence this is a very important source of strength!

Explaining thus, Vidura conveys the message to King Dhirdiraashtra that he should focus on inculcating strength and power to his son Duryodhana through any of these five means, rather than adopting illegal ways to achieve it! So for today let us also give it a serious ponder and introspect ourselves if we’re on the right track or not! We shall wait till the next episode to take this point forward and also to move into Vidura’s next important point! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important advice of Vidura to King Dhirdiraashra wherein he makes a strong statement that if our mind is occupied with divine and good thoughts, he/she becomes completely focused on the “Dharma” and nothing else. By saying thus, Vidura again pokes at King Dhirdiraashtra how he and his sons are in the contrary to this! He categorically slams King Dhirdiraashtra by fuming that he and his son Duryodhana are only focused on how to harm Pandavas and whatever way possible, so as to grab power and money from them. Vidura thus sends out a warning by saying that even now it’s not too late. Duryodhana still has a chance to mend his ways and mind. If he does so, it is good for the kingdom of Hastinapura and for the royal family.

Saying thus, Vidura is repeatedly taking potshots at King Dhirdiraashtra, hoping that he would change his attitude and mend his ways accordingly. As we’re witnessing all through the 245 episodes of Vidura Neeti so far, Vidura is trying to employ all the tricks in his dictionary to change the stance of King Dhirdiraashtra, but so far nothing has worked really on the ground! With the slightest of the possible hopes for a positive turnaround, Vidura thus moves on to the next important point. He says,

“Ardhasiddhim paraam icchan dharmameva aaditaschareth!!”

Here Vidura explains a beautiful and an important point – He says if we’ve to become richer with lot of “Selvam” (Wealth – Both Cash & Kind), we’ve to strictly follow the path of “Dharma” at all times. By employing the term “Dharma”, he means to say that we’ve to develop the habit of giving away portions of our wealth in donation to those who are in dire need of it for their very existence. This is what we call as “Dhaanam” in Sanskrit. It is said that the more we give our wealth as a “Dhaanam” to the needy, the more amount of wealth would come to us. It’s like an increasing proportion here and this is why we always keep saying that we should never put all our wealth under “lock & key” without even giving one paise of it to anybody!

As Vidura explains this point, he again pokes at King Dhirdiraashtra categorically! He means to convey the message that both King Dhirdiraashtra and his crooked son Duryodhana are trying to amass more and more wealth with the kingdom, but never are they ready to share it with the Paandavas, although they have a definitive right over it. It should be noted here that King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana are not even ready to part with the wealth that they had “stolen away” from the Paandavas, who has a moral right over it. We should forget “Dhaanam” here for some time in this particular context! What irked Vidura the most is that, Duryodhana is not ready to give even the share of wealth that is legally due to the Paandavas! He wants to keep it all for himself! If such is the case, what do we talk about “Dhaanam” to King Dhirdiraashtra and Duryodhana? This is what made Vidura so irritated!

From the above explanation we should understand and realize that giving out our wealth to the needy is of prime importance in our “Sanaathana Dharma”. It should be noted that according to the “Manu-Dharma Shaastra”, a person should donate one-sixth of his earning to the needy as charity. It is only this characteristic that would add on enormous wealth to him or her in life. For instance if we earn 100 rupees, we should make sure that atleast 16 rupees out of it goes for charitable purposes for the needy. This habit should be mandatorily cultivated by us. The donation might be for various things such as food for the needy, shelter, clothes for poor people, donating towards renovation of important and sacred temples, across our country, etc. By doing so, it not only would give us a sense of satisfaction, but also would pave the way for more and more wealth to come towards us as Bhagawan is happy with our action.

So for today, let us ponder over this fact, and let us do accordingly! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important point explained by Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point as narrated by Vidura to King Dhirdiraashtra wherein he mentions that as a king and as a father, he should never allow his sons to destroy the Pandavas, as their support and valor is extremely important to maintain the sanctity of the Hastinapura kingdom. He compares this with a beautiful analogy of a forest wherein lions, tigers and other wild animals are of prime importance for the sustainance of the forest. If for whatsoever reason these animals are destroyed, it would eventually create a huge ecological imbalance. As a result, there would be a huge danger of many species of animals becoming extinct.

In today’s world we’re already facing this problem and a threat is looming large over many such species of animals like tigers, leopards, etc. Because of constant deforestation and destruction of animals for their skin, tusk, etc. the threat of extinction of these poor animals is on the rise. This is where we saw yesterday that the government is forced to take a periodic survey as to take a census of the population of tigers, leopards, etc. so as to maintain the ecological balance. Hence in today’s world with respect to the ecological balance, we should refrain from killing animals for no fault of theirs and this is one of the greatest sins that we would be committing in our lives!

“Nasyaath vanamrute vyaagraan vyaagraanushruthe vanam!

Vanam hi rakshate vyaagraihi vyaagraan rakshati kaaranam!!”

As Vidura explains thus, we move on further: Here Vidura explains that if a person’s mind is focused only on auspicious activities in life, he/she never deviates from the path of “Dharma” and this person tends to acquire all kinds of “Punya” (Good Karma). If it is on the contrary, it becomes imminent that this person only acquires sins and nothing more! Vidura explains this beautifully in the following sloka:

Na tathechhanti kalyaanaan Pareshaan veditum gunaan!

Yadairshaamyaathumichhanti nachair punyam papa chetasaha!!”

Thus Vidura explains through the above sloka to King Dhirdiraashtra that if one’s mind is occupied with divine and good thoughts, he/she becomes completely focused on the “Dharma” and nothing else. By saying thus, Vidura again pokes at King Dhirdiraashtra how he and his sons are in the contrary to this! Vidura explains thus: “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Look at the plight here! Your son Duryodhana only thinks of unlawful things right from waking up in the morning until going to bed at night! As a result of these unlawful and wrong thoughts, his actions are also routed towards “Adharma” and nothing else! For the amount of sins he has committed towards the innocent Paandavas for no fault of theirs, look at the ghastly end he is going to meet to his life! That day is not too far off!”

Letting out a strong warning thus, Vidura continues to caution King Dhirdiraashtra: “Oh King! If your son’s attitude is that way, what are you doing as a father? Rather than criticizing your sons at the right time and instance, you only seem to fuel their bad thoughts and wicked intentions! What steps did you take to mend the ways of your crooked sons? Thus if your mind goes into such evil and wicked thoughts, it is directly going to reflect in your actions! This is why you’re not realizing the amount of tantrums you and your sons are creating towards Paandavas! Your actions show how polluted your mind is towards “Adharma”. Hence even now its not too late. Try to realize this fact that if your mind goes in the path of “Dharma”, it would reflect in your actions! If you’re thinking only in a crooked way, you’ll end up committing more and more sins in your life! Most importantly, you’re not realizing that you’re doing all this right under the nose of Bhagawan Krishna!”

Saying thus, Vidura sends out a strong message to his king! But is he going to realize the importance of Vidura’s golden advice? Neverthless, the most important question here is that, are we going to realize the importance of Vidura’s golden words of advice! Let’s ponder today and try to find an answer for ourselves! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next message from Vidura! Stay tuned!

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point emphasized by Vidura wherein he explains that whatever action we’re doing as part of our everyday life, should be of some benefit either to us or to the society around at large. Strictly speaking, all our actions should be more beneficial to the society and the world at large, more than to ourselves. However, if I start talking this way, I’m sure none of our readers would read our blog further! 🙂 But we need to begin it somewhere isn’t it? We should slowly start cultivating that selflessness attitude within us, so that we would be ready to extend a helping hand to others without an expectation. If we start doing this, Bhagawan is going to get pleased with our actions and thus He’s going to take care of us in a wonderful way.

Moreover, it is always believed that the more we think of the welfare of others around us, our welfare would automatically be taken care of by Bhagawan! We do not really need to think and care much about our welfare at all. Hence let us take a vow to develop this attitude within us – Let our actions be devoted and dedicated to the welfare of the world, and not only for us. In this way, we also discussed in detail during yesterday’s episode that we need to spend time in understanding the principles of our “Sanaathana Dharma” and try our best to inculcate them to our younger generation. By this way, the younger generation would learn to appreciate our “Sanaathana Dharma” and its significance and also would be strong enough, not to get carried away by those anti-Hindu elements that try to thwart our Hinduism for their personal hidden agenda! We should focus all our efforts towards this path and as ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma” it would add to a huge service if we’re ready to take up this assignment.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that as a king, he should ensure that none of his subjects – Including the Paandavas should face unwanted destruction. For instance, if there is a dense forest, there should always be a group of wild animals such as lions, tigers, leopards, etc. that would add beauty to it. If we tend to kill all these animals for no fault of theirs, we’re creating an imbalance in the global ecosystem. Similarly here too, Vidura explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that if the Paandavas are destroyed, then who is going to protect the kingdom of Hastinapura? Vidura advises here that King Dhirdiraashtra should develop an “ecosystem” wherein both his sons and the Paandavas should live in peace together, without infighting. Vidura says thus:

“Dhaartharaashtraavanam raajan vyaagraaha paandu suthaamathaaha!

Maavanam chindi savyaagram maavyaagraa neelashan vanaath!!”

Here Vidura thus explains with a beautiful analogy of a forest ecosystem. As mentioned above, all living beings should live at its own comfort zone and with peace so that the ecological balance is maintained. For instance, if we tend to go against nature and destroy snakes, the population of rats and other organisms (that would be prey to the snakes) would increase, thereby creating many unwanted problems to the world. In turn, if the creepers and other related organisms that prey upon snakes for their food are killed, the population of snakes is going to increase manifold! Similarly if we tend to kill living beings indiscriminately for no fault of theirs, we’re going to create a huge “ecological imbalance” in this world, which can have real adverse effects!

Unfortunately we’re witnessing this “ecological imbalance” big time in today’s scenario. We’ve come to a stage wherein we’re forced to take a census of the number of wild animals like tigers, lions, elephants, etc. in a forest area. This is because their numbers have been steadily declining due to the indiscriminate killings by human beings for various purposes. It brings tears into my eyes while realizing that many species of animals and plants have already become extinct from this world or are at the verge of becoming extinct! What wrong did these poor animals do to us, so that we destroy them like this so mercilessly?  We should realize that just like we human beings deserve a place to live in this world, these animals too deserve equal space and rights to live in this world. Nobody has any right to kill any living being in this world, and this is the duty of Bhagawan! Hence as far as possible, we should refrain from killing animals or hurting them in any manner. We should realize that animals too undergo the same pain as we do if we get hit by something or someone. As ardent followers of “Sanaathana Dharma” we should never ever hurt anyone or any animal and we should make sure that we do not inflict pain unwantedly.

Saying thus, Vidura explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that he should make sure that his son Duryodhana follows this same principle – He should not unwantedly poke into the Paandavas and hurt them for no fault of theirs! It is only then the kingdom of Hastinaapura would live at peace. So for today, let us ponder over this important point that Vidura explains and let us try to meticulously implement it in our daily lives from today! 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 of advice from Vidura wherein he talks about the importance of good parenting. As a parental duty we should make sure that our children are educated in the right direction and get them married to the right person, in such a way that their life is well-settled for the future. More than just these duties, it is also important for every parent to inculcate the basic value systems that are prescribed by our “Sanaathana Dharma” for a peaceful and a disciplined living.

This is where we tend to lose out in today’s world of westernization. As discussed in the previous episode, we must make a definitve attempt to inculcate these important value systems, the significance of our Indian culture and traditions to our children, although it might pose a great challenge in doing so. The point is that, just because it might be a challenge, we should never give up on our attempt. As an Indian and as a part of the great religion called “Sanaathana Dharma”, we should always stand up and live up to the expectation.

It is pleasing to witness today that many people from the western countries are trying to embrace our “Sanaathana Dharma” by trying to meticulously following its principles and Dharma. If they’re able to do this, what should stop us from following our own “Sanaathana Dharma”? We should stand up to crush all other anti-Hindu forces that are trying to play havoc in our society and this is the duty of each one of us.

As I’ve mentioned time and again in the past, one of the main purposes of starting and running this blog page over the past two years or so is this – There is an ardent lack of awareness about the significance of our “Sanaathana Dharma” and we’re moving into a stage wherein the “Dharma” and Vedas are slowly getting forgotten. There are many anti-Hindu elements that are trying to raise up their heads, thus posing a major threat to the existence of “Sanaathana Dharma”. However let us not be afraid of this point as nothing can destroy our great religion. As Valmiki Maharishi himself portrays in the Ramayana text ‘ “The Ramayana text would exist and will never lose its significance unless and until the Himalayas, river Ganges, the Sun and the Moon would exist in this world!” This simply means that the Ramayana is virtually undestroyable! If the Ramayana can be undestroyable, how can someone destroy “Sanaathana Dharma”? We’ve witnessed earlier how the Ramayana in itself is a complete package of all the principles of our Sanaathan Dharma put together! Hence all we need to do at this critical testing time is to try and understand the principles of our Indian Dharma and make a sincere effort to pass it on to our younger generation so that they do not get carried away by the whims and fancies of the anti-Hindu groups!

Now moving on further, this is exactly what Vidura explains – We should make sure that we always perform only those activities, which would be of some benefit to us as well as for others. Vidura explains thus:

“Hitam yat sarva bhootaanaam aathmanascha sukhaavaham!!”

Thus Vidura explains clearly that every action of ours should be useful and should be directed towards achieving some benefit. If we monitor our daily activities closely and if we take a statistics, we can witness for ourselves that most of the activities that we do as part of our daily routine would neither benefit us nor others! If we take a paper and a pen and start writing down a list of our daily activities for the past six months to one year, we would come to a state of shock! We would realize how wastefully we’ve spent our precious time. In many cases, it would be alarming that we spend only less than 10% of our time in doing something useful for us and for others! Rest of the 90% goes wasted by gossiping, chit-chatting about unwanted and unimportant things, fighting, arguing, etc. Each of us have developed our own innovative ways of wasting time nowadays! 🙂 Hence there is no point in talking about that any more! All what can be said is that, we should strive a bit harder to convert that 10% gradually into 100% and reduce that 90% gradually to zero! This means that we should make ourselves more productive and try to spend our time in as many useful activities as possible.

This is exactly what we’re discussing right now – Rather than wasting our time in unwanted activities, if we spend our time in knowing and understanding the significance of our “Sanaathana Dharma”, we can use our knowledge to propagate the “Dharma” to the next generation and thus this activity would ensure that the “Dharma” gets protected. If we’re able to do so, this would be of great service to our “Sanaathana Dharma” and I’m hereby taking this opportunity to stress and insist each and every reader of ours to take a conscious step towards this goal.

So for today, let us all take a pledge to spend our time productively in reading and understanding the greatness of our Sanaathana Dharma and try our maximum best to propagate it to the world and specially to the younger generation, so that the whole world benefits out of it. We shall take this point forward in the upcoming tomorrow’s episode as well and discuss it in more detail. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed Vidura’s important words of caution wherein he explains that we should be extremely careful in evaluating those people whom we should seek help from. This is like a double-edged sword – One one hand we should realize that people in this world (a vast majority of them atleast) are opportunistic in some form or the other. At the bare minimum level, they would expect something in return for the help they do for us. This return might even be a courtesy gesture. Very few people in this world would offer us help in an unconditional manner. Hence given this fact, we should be prepared to offer a reciprocal help to those people who help us today.

On the other hand, there might be few people who would try to take an advantage out of this. These crooked people might take our inability and weakness and would demand some unrealistic and/or unethical favors from us at a later stage. If we’re unable to give in to their demands at that stage, they might even start blackmailing us with regards to the help that they offered to us previously. At this point we would have no other option but to give in to their unrealistic/unethical demands. This is exactly what Vidura indirectly explains here – He says that if we’re receiving help from someone, we should prepare our mind to reciprocate them at a later instance of time. However, before we go for help to someone, it is always better and wise that we evaluate that person in detail for his nature and character. This is just to avoid some unpleasant experiences with that person in future.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains the next point. Here he talks about the important duties of a parent. He says thus:

Uthpaadhya puthraan arnaamcha kruthvaa!

Vrithhincha thebhyaha anuvidhaaya kaanchith!!

Sthaane kumaarihi prathipaadhya sarvaaha!

Aranya samsthobhi munirbhubhoosheth!!

Here Vidura explains that if we’re a father of a boy, it is our parental duty to provide him good education and a good standard of living so that he would be able to lead an independent life of his own, along with his wife and family. If we’re a father of a girl. It is our important parental duty to marry the girl to a good boy when she attains the age of marriage. This is of prime importance of being a parent.

Of course if we compare Vidura’s explanation that was 5000 years ago with our present day lifestyle, there might be a minuscule change that may be warranted to this sloka. In those days, the main parental duty in the case of a girl child is to get her married as quickly as possible. Things however have changed today. Nowadays we talk about lot about gender equality and woman empowerment  🙂 Hence women are given equal importance in everything and everywhere in this world. Thus nowadays it is becoming very important for modern-day parents to give good and high quality education to girl children too and thus this sloka warrants a small change. Having said that thus, the important duty of the parent to find the suitable groom for the girl still remains. There is no change in that. Thus as parents we should never compromise our duties towards our children.

More than the education and marriage part, there is a more significant duty for us as parents. Along with the modern day mainstream education, we should also inculcate our rich cultural and value systems into our children. We should make a meticulous effort to teach them the various aspects of Dharma and habituate them into following the Dharma meticulously in their every day routine life. The younger generation should be nurtured and developed in the righteous way so that they would be able to appreciate and follow the value systems of our Sanaathana Dharma in future.

Having said that, I do understand that this is not going to be an easy task for us in today’s world, given innumerable channels of exposure our children are prone to. It is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to make children understand our traditions and cultural values, given the broader and deeper penetration of “westernization” in almost everything that we do today. It should be noted here that I’m not against westernization, however, what I’m stressing here is that, we shouldn’t compromise on our traditional value system to adopt something new. We can very well follow both at tandem in whatever we do. By this, we would be able to differentiate ourselves from others in the world.

Many of our readers might wonder the reason behind my deep emphasis on this point. This is primarily because in today’s changing lifestyle, we’ve almost forgotten our basic value system and Dharma in our routine life. Of course many of us today work in several western countries and we’ve slowly adapted to their culture and their way of living. But we should remember one basic element – It should be clearly understood that companies in the western countries employ huge numbers of Indians only because of the fact that we are an intelligent lot of people and perhaps the best intelligent lot in the entire world. Now how did we Indians get this intelligence, which might be lesser or absent in many other people from other parts of the world? Isn’t it only because of the meticulous implementation of our rich cultural and value system? Isn’t it only because of the fact that our forefathers and people of our previous generations have meticulously followed their Dharma in life? We should deeply ponder over this point and this would make us realize that if we still keep running this way for the next 100 odd years, this rich intelligence that we had obtained through various generations, would start diminishing and eventually vanish out of us!

Hence there is a dire need for all of us to change back to our Sanaathana Dharma and appreciate its significance. Of course I’m not saying that we should dump the western culture completely. We can take so many positives from their culture and I’m never against that. However, what I’m saying is that we should make it a point not to compromise on our “Sanaathana Dharma” and go searching something good from the west. Thus the message here is that we should know our duties as a parent towards our children and should be able to inculcate the “Dharma” of our Bhaarata Desha into the young minds, so that this can serve as an “eye-opener” for them in future. Apart from providing education and getting them married, we as parents should focus on this particular point with dedication.

So for today let us think and ponder upon this important point. We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next point of explanation. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the continuation of the discussion on Vidura’s point of explanation regarding consumption of minimal food, but maintaining a balanced diet. We’ve witnessed how Vidura’s explanation is so scientifically valid in today’s world of cutting-edge research in this field. This is just one example of how research in science was already cutting-edge in our Bharata Desha even 5000 years ago! There are innumerable examples like this to prove that India is far better in terms of scientific knowledge than compared to the western countries today, although they try to copy us and claim their intelligence. So (for all fellow Indians) rather than underestimating our motherland, let us learn to appreciate and understand the in-depth research that has been done in the past by our own ancestors and let us try to implement this research in our daily lives for a better living.

Moreover, it is sad to see that many of the modern-day researchers across India and also the world are merely interested in getting their names published in journals and articles and are running behind cheap publicity and money! True research should focus on the outcome and how the finding would benefit the society and the world at large. Research should never limit itself to just mere publications, rankings, etc. Institutions all over the world should give more importance to the “Implementation” part of the research, rather than gaining cheap brownie points and mileage with just the number of publications that come out. If the implementation part would not have been good, would we still keep talking about the works of Chanakya, Charaka, etc. as part of our great and glorious Indian history even after so many thousands of years? Hence the point here is that, “Implementation” of the research findings needs to be the prime focus for modern-day researchers all over the world and their valuable time and energy spent on research should directly reach the common man so that the entire world stands to benefit out of it.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains the next point – Here he says that if we’re going to ask for help to someone, we should also be prepared to help that person whenever he/she is in need. For instance, if we have an urgent financial need and we’re running out of options to scout for money. What would we do? We would immediately think of borrowing some money from a friend or a close relative of ours, isn’t it? This is where Vidura cautions that we need to be careful as to whom are we approaching for our urgent needs to be satisfied. Vidura explains thus:

“Sahaaya bandhanaahyarthaaha sahaayaascha artha bandhanaaha!”

Here Vidura explains and cautions us that many a times in life, people around us would be opportunistic in nature. If we’re going for a help to someone, we should always keep in mind that they’re going to help us only with that expectation that we would help them in reciprocal when they’re in some need at some other point in time. There would be very few people in this world who would have that selfless nature and attitude to offer an unconditional help to us without any expectation in future.

Many a times we would have seen and experienced this in our life – People would keep cribbing that they helped someone some years ago when he/she was in need, but once that help was done, that person never even cared to thank them back! I’m sure even some of us would have similar grudges over some people. This is exactly what Vidura explains here – If we’re helping others, we should maintain ourselves in such a way that the help that we offer is unconditional. It is only then, the help genuinely would benefit the needy. I’ve already mentioned a note on this in one of our previous episodes – If we’re giving something to someone with our right hand, even our left hand should not know about it! What does this mean? This means that we should never publicize the help that we do! If we try and publicize it, what does that infer? It simply infers that we’re helping someone with an expectation! It is only because of that expectation, we’re trying to show off to the world that we’re doing something to him/her. We presume in our mind that he/she would remember our help for their entire lifetime and would respect us and help us at a time when we require! This is where the problem starts – Over a period of time, the help that we offer to someone would end up in a big fight and would ultimately end up spoiling the relationship with the other person.

Thus the message from today’s episode is two-fold – One is, when we offer a help to someone, we should try to maintain ourself as unconditional as possible. It is only then that the help that we offer would stand to benefit the other person fully. The second is, when we ask someone for help, we should first try to check if we’re approaching the right person to ask for it. If we approach someone for an urgent help, we should always be prepared to help them back at times of their need.However, if we find that this person would expect something in return that we would not be able to satisfy, it is better to avoid such people.

Many a times this happens today – Some people tend to misuse others with the “help” that they render. There are instances wherein men expect sexual favours from women when they offer some help to them. If such is the level of expectation, it is always better that women avoid these kinds of men for any help. We might have seen many instances like these in many movies and also in reality too. Hence it is upto us to discriminate between the good people and the bad ones and try to approach the right person who would be atleast somewhat unconditional in what they offer.

So for today let us think and ponder over this important advice from Vidura as to whom do we approach for help and whom we offer help to. We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next important point. Stay tuned! 🙂

The previous episode marked a very important discussion on why should we consume minimum amount of food (yet sufficient enough). Vidura had of course given us a detailed accord on six major benefits of consuming food at a minimal level. He says that by doing so, we would be able to lead a long, healthy life free and devoid of any disease. Eating proper and minimal food would increase our strength and most importantly maintains the efficiency of our reproductive system. As mentioned at the end of yesterday’s episode, let us today witness the modern day scientific meaning to what Vidura has explained in this particular context. We shall witness the scientific relevance of Vidura’s explanation with respect to two important aspects in this episode – One with the reproductive system and the other with respect to two frequent diseases that we are prone to in the present day – Blood Pressure & Diabetes.

With reference to the efficiency of our reproductive system, many scientists and researchers are today accepting the fact that the food that we consume plays a crucial role for a healthy child birth. This is applicable both for men and women. Proper quality and quantity of food is extremely essential for the proper nourishment of sperms and the ovum’s that are responsible for child birth. Nowadays, doctors are even prescribing a definite and a specific diet to maintain the nourishment level of our reproductive agents.

Moreover, since we’re more into fast-foods and oily food stuff and also owing to the enormous change in our lifestyle, the reproductive organs are unable to get the required nourishment in order to produce a healthy child. This is one of the main reasons why we’re witnessing many children being born with peculiar defects such as lack of proper brain growth, lack of vital nutrients in the body, etc. In fact, the first category of children are increasing at an alarming rate, both in India and elsewhere – In medical terms, this condition is called ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome), wherein the child is  hyperactive or highly impulsive. The child finds it extremely hard to concentrate on the subjects taught in class, avoids difficult tasks in life, indulges in excessive talking, restlessness, etc. Over periods of time, the child also becomes totally incapable of dealing with frustration and boredom and thus tends to get unwantedly angry on people around. This is a very serious syndrome that many children today are grappling through, but sadly many parents do not understand the trauma that their children face. Of course there might be many causes for such a syndrome to occur, but one of the main causes for this is the exposure of the developing fetus to unnecessary items like tobacco, drugs, alcohol, etc. Also doctors say that if we are exposed to more amount of a chemical called “lead”, it might also be a reason for the ADHD syndrome to occur. Hence the important message from this episode is that we should try and avoid unwanted stuff such as drugs, alcohol, etc.

Readers might wonder why am I talking about all this here – The reason being, when we get addicted to alcoholism, we would tend to eat more and more and this would have severe complications not only in our health condition, but also in our next generation’s health condition as well, owing to the above mentioned explanation. Hence it is best for us not to go near such items in life. It is our bound duty to maintain our physical body fit and fine as it is a vehicle given by Bhagawan to utilize it for constructive purposes.

Apart from this, we’re constantly hearing from many people around us complaining of fluctuating Blood Pressure and Sugar levels in our blood. Why is all this happening a lot in the modern day? Why was the number very less during the olden days? What has changed? The basic answer to all these questions is that, the “change” that has constituted all these diseases is nothing but the “change” in our food habits over a period of time. In olden days we used to give prime importance for “home-cooked” food, wherein all the ingredients in the food item (Spice, sweet, oil, etc.) were kept under a proper balance. Nowadays owing to the “Urgent lifestyle”, we’ve totally compromised on the home-made food and we’ve slowly started to move into restaurants and fast-food outlets. Here we are totally unaware of the quantity and quality of the food that is prepared and when we consume it frequently, our body loses the balance in many aspects – Two such aspects are the Blood pressure and insulin levels. Hence we should take a moment today and realize the great amount of danger that we’re creating for ourselves.

Of course I’m not saying that we should never go to a restaurant or something in that way. I do realize that in today’s lifestyle, it might be a bit harsh to say. However, we can always have a limit for everything in life as I had mentioned in yesterday’s episode. If we learn to control our diet in a proper manner, we can always lead a healthy and a smooth life without the threats of unwanted diseases looming large! Hence for today let us spare a thought on this important point and let us try to understand the significance of Vidura’s words for a happy and healthy lifestyle. We shall wait till the next episode to move into Vidura’s next important discussion. Stay tuned! 🙂