The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode we had extended the discussion on why is it important for all of us to have a control on what we talk. Thus the message from yesterday’s episode on this topic was that, every problem in this world has a definitive solution and this solution can be arrived at only with love and affection. Violence and adopting harsh means such as physical or verbal abuse can never bring about a solution to any problem. Even if the issue is complex, there is always a positive way to look at it with pleasing and affectionate words. This would melt the hearts of the opponent and thus would pave the way for corrective action to take place, atleast in most of the cases.

With this discussion we come to the end of this “Adhyaaya” (Chapter) of Vidura Neeti. The next “Adhyaaya” is going to be in the form of a small story and is also a relatively smaller “Adhyaaya” for us to complete. This story is going to about the conversation between three people – Prahlada, Virochana and Shudhanvaa.

Shudhanvaa was a Brahmin by birth. Prahlaada as we might know, is the son of the erstwhile Raakshasa king Hiranya Kashibu. However when this story is taking place, Prahlada had been coronated to the kingdom after the demise of his father Hiranya Kashibu. The son of Prahlada is Virochana. This Raakshasa-clan-born Virochana and the Brahmin-clan-born Sudhanvaa are now going to the “Svayamvara” (Pre-Marriage ceremony) of Kesini. For the benefit of our readers’ understanding, “Svayamvara” is like a competition between grooms to project themselves to be smart and superior in front of the prospective bride, who evaluates each one of them before selecting one! Hence for the “Svayamvara” of Kesini, Virochana and Sudhanvaa are on their way. This story is how truthful and honest did Prahlada conduct himself during this “Svayamvara”. It illustrates how Prahlada was so truthful that even he didn’t care that Virochana is his own son.

It is also interesting to note here that Virochana’s son is none other than the great king Mahaabali. Thus the “Raakshasa” family tradition goes like this: Hiranya Kashibu – Prahlada – Virochana – Mahaabali.

Now as they reach the venue, the competition is going to begin. Here, the contest is directly between the Brahmana-born Sudhanvaa and the Raakshasa-born Virochana. The contest is about to begin, but who is the judge for this contest? Every contest has to have a judge to evaluate the contestants, isn’t it? Now who is the judge here? The judge is none other than Prahlada himself! It is to be keenly noted by the readers that Prahlada’s son is also one of the key contestants in this competition.

“Broohi bhooyaha mahaa buddhe dharmaartha sahitham vachaha!

Shrnvathoo naasthime tripthihi vichithraaneeha bhaashase!!”

Now let us set up the context in Vidura Neeti for this story to commence. Here from the above sloka King Dhirdiraashtra requests Vidura to show an example of how all the “Dharma” that he had explained are put to practice. Vidura replies thus:

“Sarva theertheshu vaasnaanam sarva bhooteshucha aarjavam!”

Here Vidura explains back to King Dhirdiraashtra thus: “Oh King! Whatever it might be in life – It is always good to be truthful and honest with everyone around! This is equivalent of having a holy dip in all the sacred rivers across the world! Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! Please teach your sons to be honest and truthful to everybody! In that manner, you too would have to mend your ways to be open, transparent and honest! This is one of the most important characteristics of a righteous king! Just because your sons should have a luxurious life, please don’t disrespect the Paandavas. Please be truthful and honest with them!”

“Athraapi udaaharantheem ithihaasam puraathanam!

Virochanascha samvaadham keshniyarthe sudhanvanaa!”

Here is where Vidura is going to explain this important point of truth and honesty with the example of what happened during Kesini’s “Syamvara”. We’re now thus going to witness how irrespective of Virochana being Prahlada’s son, he treated him on par with the other contestant, Sudhanvaa. Such is the truthfulness that is required to be a true leader. Hence Vidura is advising with this example that, just like how Prahlada being a great king, was neutral towards his son, King Dhirdiraashtra should also be neutral towards his son Duryodhana and criticize his wrongdoings.

“Svayamvarestithe kanyaa kesini naama naamathaha!

Roopena apprathimaaraajan vishishta pathikaamyayaa!!”

Now Vidura begins narrating the story – Kesini was a beautiful girl and it is her “Svayamvara” that is taking place. Both Sudhanvaa and Virochana have arrived for the function. Kesini now comes near Virochana who is seated on a throne-like chair. She asks him thus, “Oh Virochana! Why are you sitting in this chair? Why shouldn’t Sudhanvaa sit here? Are you more powerful than Sudhanvaa?”

“Kim braahmanaaha svichreyaamso dvijithaaha didhijaaha svith virochana!

Athakenasva paryankam sudhanvaa naa dirohati!!”

Thus Kesini questions why Virochana is sitting in that throne-like chair and why not Sudhanvaa? Now Virochana has to answer Kesini’s question. What does he reply?

“Praajaapathyaasthuvai sreshtaa vayam kesini sapthamaaha!

Asmaakam kalvime lokhaaha ke devaahakve dijaathayaaha!!”

 Now Virochana replies back to Kesini, “Oh Kesini! I’m sitting here because I’m the most superior person of all! Because, we the Raakshasaas have already won over and established our supremacy over the Devas, Brahmanas, etc. Hence, as a representative of the “Raakshasa” clan, I’m the most eligible person to sit in this chair as I’m an embodiment of all the powers and strengths!”

Upon hearing this, Kesini was somewhat irritated. She now replies abck, “Okay! If that’s the case, let us all assemble at this same place tomorrow morning. We shall have a test to decide who amongst both of you is more powerful!” Saying thus, Kesini leaves the place hurriedly.

As Kesini, Sudhanvaa and Virochana continue to wait till the next day morning, let us also wait along with them to witness what is going to unfold! Virochana with his over-confidence on one hand and Sudhanvaa on the other hand – A cracker of a contest is on the cards tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important discussion from the Vidura Neeti wherein Vidura is advising King Dhirdiraashtra with regards to controlling our tongue at crucial situations. He explains to King Dhirdiraashtra that one of the main attributes of a righteous king is to know what to talk, when to talk and how to talk. He reminds King Dhirdiraashtra of the verbal insult that his son Duryodhana had inflicted upon the Paandavas and their wife Draupati in the public courtroom and by doing so, he had accumulated all the sins of the Paandavas on to his head! Thus the message from Vidura yesterday was that, if we’re to scold or abuse someone verbally, we would not only accumulate sins for this heinous action, but also would accumulate the other person’s sins on to our head too! Hence we need to be very careful here.

This is of course not only applicable to King Dhirdiraashtra but also for all of us in today’s scenario. Although we go through loads of physical/mental stress and strain in toady’s compelling professional and personal lifestyle, we need to be careful not to insult or abuse others verbally for anything. Especially if that person whom we’re trying to abuse is a “Panditha” or a learned scholar, the ill effect of this action is going to be even worse! Hence in short, we need to control our tongue during these testing times and if we do that successfully, half of our problems would get solved! If we look into some of the common societal problems that we face today such as divorce, any other domestic issues between husband and wife, or with parents, with friends, etc. majority of these problems are due to lack of proper communication. If this communication channel between people is set right with love and affection, there cannot be a better solution for all the problems that we face!

But in today’s world, what do we tend to do? We tend to get frustrated so easily and try to vent it out to our near and dear ones, sometimes for no fault of theirs! As mentioned yesterday, hatred and violence can never be a solution for any problem in this world. Rather, it would only aggravate the problem in hand. We see this happening not only at the domestic level within the four walls of the house, but also on a societal and even at a community and an international level. Unfortunately today, there are certain religious groups that misinterpret their so-called “holy book” to prove their “superiority” by inciting violence and by unleashing “terrorist” activities across the world. We’re frequently witnessing such incidences in many parts of the world, including India. Due to these barbaric activities, not only thousands of innocent people lose their lives, but also the peace in the world is completely destroyed! Such actions are highly condemnable and unpardonable in nature As ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma”, we should make sure that we do not fall into such categories of barbaric people in this world and we should always keep such people at bay. Thus the basic understanding is that, violence, physical and verbal abuse can never be justified as a solution to any problem in this world.

Here is where we extend yesterday’s point of discussion to the next level. If I say that we need to control our tongue and refrain ourselves from hurting others when a problem is going on, it doesn’t mean to always shut our mouths and keep quiet. If there’s an opportunity for us to express ourselves, we can always do so with kind and affectionate words. Ultimately we should realize that any problem in this world has a solution and this solution can easily be materialised with our pleasing words and actions. In addition to the above point, even seemingly complex problems can easily be broken down by just a few simple but pleasing and affectionate sentences. Any human being in this world would melt down to pleasing words and realize their folly and this is the power of love and affection.

Of course we might still argue if this is possible or not! Yes, all of us are human beings and we have a limitation of our tolerance capability. However, even if there’s a spat due to whatsoever reason, we need to be aware and conscious in a way that this spat doesn’t blow out of limits. For instance, even at our home if we happen to have a spat with our wife or our husband, we should always be aware of our limits in doing so. Some people take even small problems so seriously to heart, that what begins as a small verbal spat blows out of proportion and thus even going to the extent of separation and divorce! This advice from Vidura is especially for these people – Any issue that we face in our day-to-day personal life with our husband or wife shouldn’t be taken seriously to heart so as to avenge each other! The moment we learn to let go off things in a simpler way, our lives would become very colourful and peaceful. Rather if we tend to hold on to our stance very strictly, things are going to get harder and tougher to manage.

Ultimately we should realize that in a marriage, both the husband and the wife are two different individuals and each individual has the fundamental right to possess certain likes and dislikes in life. We need to give that space to each other to express freely and thus the understanding would automatically come. Once this understanding arises, love and affection would follow and once love and affection arises, we would automatically behave in a pleasing manner with each other and thus our lives would become peaceful without any unwanted quarrels or spats.

Thus the message from today’s extended discussion on this topic is that, every problem in this world has a definitive solution and this solution can be arrived at only with love and affection. Violence and adopting harsh means such as physical or verbal abuse can never bring about a solution to any problem. Even if the issue is complex, there is always a positive way to look at it with pleasing and affectionate words. This would melt the hearts of the opponent and thus would pave the way for corrective action to take place! So for today, let us introspect on this important point and try to apply this in our everyday lives. Once we start implementing this, we would definitely witness a positive change in our lives and this is what our “Sanaathana Dharma” preaches us! We shall wait till the next episode to witness more of Vidura’s such golden advice. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we extended the discussion on controlling of our senses to the next step wherein we discussed the reasons why our senses run out of control many a times! We spoke about two important reasons thus – “Kaama” (Desire) is the first step of destruction and “Krodha” (Anger) follows the first step in destroying us completely! We’ve of course discussed this in our previous episodes and apart from Vidura, even Bhagawan Krishna himself is constantly reminding us that we should treat “Kaama” and “Krodha” as our worst enemies and we should deal with them carefully.

Now moving on to the final point in this phase of Vidura Neeti, Vidura concludes this discussion by explaining how important is it for us to control our tongue! We should note that we should talk only when required and we should talk only what is required. Let us see what Vidura has to say with this regard:

“Aakrosha parivaadhaabhyaam vihimsanthyabudhaa budhaan!

Vakthaa paapam upaadakthe kshamamaano vimuchyathe!!”

Here Vidura explains this same point on controlling our tongue in a different way – If a person criticizes and scolds a “Panditha”, all the sins that the “Panditha” had accumulated in his birth gets transferred to the person who criticizes him! In other words, if I openly criticize a learned person on a stage, whatever sins and wrongdoings that the learned person might have done all through his birth, would be put upon my head completely! It should be noted that anybody in this world, irrespective of being a “Panditha” or a “Mooda” would be having loads of sins accumulated with them for the past innumerable births (including the present birth).

This is exactly where Duryodhana and Co. had made the blunder. Vidura points out at King Dhirdiraashtra and slams him again saying thus: “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! As a righteous king, don’t you know how important is it to control one’s tongue and words? You’ve allowed your son Duryodhana to insult Uddhishtra and his Paandava brothers very badly and that too in the public courtroom! How dare would you allow that as a king? Don’t you think it is a blunder? Now let me tell you – By this public insult that Duryodhana has inflicted on the Paandavas, the sins and wrongdoings of Duryodhana has increased manifold! That is, he has accumulated all those sins and wrongdoings of the Paandavas too, because when he insulted them, the wrongdoings and sins of the Paandavas have also got transferred onto his head! Of course, the Paandavas also have loads of sins accumulated onto them! But with the way Duryodhana insulted them, he had taken away all their sins and put them on his own head, thus releasing the Paandavas out of all their sins too!”

Vidura continues further by saying thus, “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! By doing so, do you know what has happened now and who has benefitted out of this? Indirectly the Paandavas have immensely benefitted by Duryodhana’s foolish act of insulting them publicly, because all their sins have now been transferred on to Duryodhana’s head and he has become an embodiment of sins now! Thus, even without you knowing this, you’ve earned such a huge disaster for yourself!”

Thus the overall message from Vidura’s above slamming is that, those who scold or insult others would attract all the sins and wrongdoings of those who are being scolded! In other words, the sins and wrongdoings of the people, who are being scolded, would be transferred to the person who is scolding them very badly! This is why our elders constantly keep advising us that we should never shout at and insult anybody, whoever it might be and whatever might be the reason or circumstance. Once words come out from our tongue, it is impossible to take them back. A person once insulted, stays insulted forever and it creates such a strain to the relationship between that person and us that many a times goes beyond repair!

In the modern day it is extremely painful to see many families getting split because of war of words between the father and the son, mother and the daughter, elder brother and the younger brother, etc. Even friendship is no exception to this – How many times we’ve seen very thick and close friends getting separated because of an ugly spat between them? If we’ve to explore deeper into it, these arguments in most of the cases would be baseless or just because of a very small issue. Hence, if we spend some few minutes within ourselves, think and analyze the situation first before talking nonsense, half of the problems would be solved. We should first of all realize that “war of words” could never solve any problem in this world. Rather it would only aggravate the problem and would blow it out of proportion! If there is an argument brewing up between two people, it is only the ego that gets flared up between both of them, which directly fuels in more and more ugly spats being exchanged.

Thus for today we should ponder about this important fact of life and we should take a conscious step forward to restrain ourselves from falling into this trap. Even if someone tries to provoke us with some irritating arguments and words, we should quickly remind ourselves of this important advice of Vidura and should develop that maturity to pull ourselves out of that situation and move away! In fact in such irritating situations, it is always best to just move away from that place at that time, without letting our tongue wag its tail. By moving away from that place, we can prevent the problem from flaring up further at that moment, which would instead create new set of problems! It is always better to be patient and wait till the anger calms down and then find a solution to the problem in hand. We shall wait till the next episode to carry this important discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had continued the discussion on Vidura’s important advice on controlling of our five senses effectively. We discussed a significant clarification on the above point wherein we mentioned that when Vidura explains that we’ve to keep our senses under control, he doesn’t mean that we should completely shut them down by not doing anything. Rather, we need to channelize the activities of our five senses in the right direction so that we pave our way for success, both personally and professionally. In fact, these five senses given by Bhagawan are five big gifts, but they are like double-edged swords – If we use them in a constructive purpose, Bhagawan is going to lift us up to Vaikunta straightaway! Whereas if we use them for a destructive purpose, the same Bhagawan is going to let us down by making us falling into his trap! Hence we need to be extremely careful and choosy with our actions that we perform by using these five senses.

Moreover, we concluded yesterday’s discussion by emphasizing that the best channel through which our senses can be directed towards Bhagawan, rather than all the other worldly activities is nothing but the channel called “Bhakti-Maarga” or “Devotion” towards Bhagawan. Our eyes should look at Bhagwan and enjoy His beauty. Our ears should listen to the various stories (“Charithra”) of Bhagawan and melt in His glory! Our nose should smell the sweet-smelling “Tulasi” and the other flowers that we offer to Bhagawan. Our tongue should be made to chant the “Manthra” of Bhagawan and at the most, to talk about His significance. Hence, the best channel that all our five senses can be integrated into is “Bhakti” and nothing else! By doing this, all our dirt that is sticking on us for the past so many births (“Praarabdha” and “Sanchita” Karma) start getting washed away slowly.

Thus marks the detailed explanation from Vidura on the subject of controlling the five senses, with the following sloka:

“Vashyendriyam jithaathmaanam druthadhandam vikaarishu!

Pareeksha kaarinam dheeram athyantham shireer nishevate!!”

Thus through the above sloka, Vidura consolidates all the explanations on the controlling of five senses and advises King Dhirdiraashtra to do the needful immediately without any further delay.

Next, Vidura links the controlling of senses to two important factors that we come across every minute of our life – “Kaama” and “Krodha”. “Kaama” means “desires” and “Krodha” means “Anger”. We’ve already discussed in your earlier episodes about these two challenges, however, given the significance of this particular context, it is worth mentioning again.

“Kaama yeshaha krodha yeshaha rajo guna samudhbhavaha!

Mahaashanah mahaapaapaathmaa vidhhi yenamiha vairinam!!”

Through the above sloka from the Bhagawad Gita, Bhagawan Krishna clearly explains that both “Kaama” and “Krodha” are the two biggest enemies of mankind.

“Kshudhra aksheneva jaalena jashaava pihitaa vuru!

Kaamascha raajan krodhascha tau pragnyaanam vilumpataha!!” 

Through the above sloka, Vidura drives home precisely the same point as Bhagawan Krishna later did in the Bhagawad Gita, about “Kaama” and “Krodha”. He takes up an analogy to explain the context better – Vidura explains thus: “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! For instance, if two fishes get stuck up together in a fishing net that has a small outlet in it, both these fishes would see this as an opportunity to bite the remaining portions of the net and break it open to escape out! Similarly, oh King! If you have two fishes called “Kaama” and “Krodha” in yourself with a small loophole called “unrighteousness” in you, these two “fishes” would bite you like anything and make the unrighteous character in you bigger and bigger and finally lead you to your own downfall!”

How relevant is this advice of Vidura in today’s world? We should analyze these two factors in a sequential manner. Firstly as mentioned above, “Kaama” is nothing but desire and this is the first step. As this first step grows in enormous size gradually every passing day, this manifests into the intermediate step of “greed”. This step of “greed” would lead us to the next intermediate step of searching for ways to satisfy that greed. If we’re able to satisfy the greed, fair enough! However if we’re not able to satisfy this greed because of whatsoever reasons, we try different methodologies in order to satisfy that greed somehow! If none of the methodologies work out, we tend to lose our balance and try to vent out our inability! Here is where we move on to the next step called “Anger”. Thus we can see here that “Kaama” (Desire) is the first step of destruction and “Krodha” (Anger) follows the first step in destroying us completely!

For instance, if we look at an object and if we like that object very much, we develop a “Kaama” for it. Once the desire is developed, we would look out for different ways to attain that object. If we’re able to do so successfully, we’re safe! If on the contrary, the inability of possessing that particular object transforms itself to anger and frustration! This is where we would start venting out and yelling at those people/circumstances that deny us from attaining that object. This is where the problem lies – If we get angry, we would go to any extent to insult, abuse and even kill others, so as to satisfy the desire that we have. Thus we can see that “Krodha” is an extremely dangerous factor that might pull us down instantly from our spiritual progress.

This is why Vidura and even Bhagawan Krishna himself are constantly reminding us that we should treat “Kaama” and “Krodha” as our worst enemies! So for today, let us focus on this important lesson of Vidura Neeti and Bhagawad Gita and introspect into ourself. Let us try to address those areas and situations in our daily lives wherein we give room for “Kaama” and “Krodha” to take over! Let us consciously take a step forward to cut down on both these detrimental factors! We shall wait till the next episode to explore more of Vidura’s advice to King Dhirdiraashtra, and in turn for all of us! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the continuation of an important advice that Vidura is providing King Dhirdiraashtra, which is also directly applicable to all of us. He is currently talking about how important is it for all of us to keep our five senses under our control at all times. If we fail to control our senses at the time when they have to be, we’ve to be prepared to face our own downfall. We witnessed in yesterday’s episode how Ravana, despite being a powerful and an invincible king was defeated quite easily by Rama. It is quite evident that Ravana had failed to control his senses and had to meet his end in such a ghastly manner. This is the same path through which King Dhirdiraashtra is walking through in the Mahaabhaarata and Vidura is trying to tide over the crisis that is upcoming. He advises, laments, slams and requests King Dhirdiraashtra to mend his ways by controlling his senses in the right direction. But is King Dhirdiraashtra ready to mend his ways? The answer is unfortunately a “No”! However, irrespective of whether King Dhirdiraashtra mends his ways or not, we can mend our ways by listening carefully to Vidura’s advice, isn’t it? Let us try to do so day by day and little by little! 🙂

Before we move on to the next point of discussion, there is one more aspect to be extended from this important discussion on the five senses: Just because Vidura says that we’ve to keep our senses in control, does he mean to say that we should close our eyes, ears, nose and mouth at all times? The answer is no! Here is where we need to be very careful – Our eyes, ears, nose, etc. would keep doing their jobs until our last breath in this world. We can neither change nor control that. In other words, what does Vidura mean by the word “Control”? Our readers should be careful to distinguish between the two words – “Control” and “Shut Down”. Here, Vidura is not asking us to “shut down” our five senses. He’s advising us to “control” them! What is the difference between these two? He tries to explain to us that these five senses would continue seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching something or the other. But we need to channelize them in the right direction!

I shall try and explain this better with an analogy – Why do we construct dams across rivers? The main purpose of a dam is to store the water during the rainy season and systematically channelize the stored water through the downstream areas, so that this water can constructively used for irrigation and drinking purposes by the people. What if there is no dam across the river? During the rainy season when the river is in spate, all the water would unwantedly drain off into the sea. This implies that we’ve wasted all the resources without putting the water into good use. Similarly, we should construct a dam called “control” across the “rivers” of vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Once we construct this dam called “control”, the five rivers would be channelized in the right direction so that it would benefit the individual as well as the society at large.

When we are youngsters we brim with lot of energy. This energy can be used in different ways – For instance, we see many college students in India protesting and going on strikes for various demands. As the protests turn violent, these students resort to fighting, breaking down of glass panels of buses and trains with stones, setting them on fire, etc. Thus we can see here that the energy of youngsters are being dissipated in a destructive purpose because their senses are not channelized in the right direction! Rather, if this same energy can be used in a constructive purpose like enhancing one’s own professional capabilities such as learning a new language, a new art, improving oneself with the desire of excelling in his/her studies and corporate career, it becomes beneficial for the students as well as for the country at large! We see examples of people who had excelled in their careers at such a young age – We’ve seen people becoming CEO’s of some great organizations of the world at a young age!

This is the difference that Vidura is exactly talking about here. Hence the message form today’s episode is that, when Vidura explains that we’ve to keep our senses under control, he doesn’t mean that we should completely shut them down by not doing anything. Rather we should infer that we need to channelize the activities of our five senses in the right direction so that we pave our way for success, both personally and professionally! In fact, these five senses given by Bhagawan are five big gifts, but they are like double-edged swords! If we use them in a constructive purpose, Bhagawan is going to lift us up to Vaikunta straightaway! Whereas if we use them for a destructive purpose, the same Bhagawan is going to let us down by making us falling into his trap! Hence we need to be extremely careful and choosy with our actions that we perform by using these five senses.

To go one step further, what is the best way in which our senses can be channelized? In other words, which is that one best channel through which our senses can be used constructively? It is only through the channel called “Bhakti-Maarga” or “Devotion” towards Bhagawan. Our eyes should look at Bhagwan and enjoy His beauty. Our ears should listen to the various stories (“Charithra”) of Bhagawan and melt in His glory! Our nose should smell the sweet-smelling “Tulasi” and the other flowers that we offer to Bhagawan. Our toungue should be made to chant the “Manthra” of Bhagawan and at the most, to talk about His significance. In this way if we channelize our senses towards Bhagawan, this is nothing but “Bhakti”, isn’t it? Hence, the best channel that all our five senses can be integrated into is “Bhakti” and nothing else!

So for today, let us think and assimilate this important point into us. Let us try to channelize our senses slowly into the stream of “Bhakti” or “Immortal Bliss” and when we slowly start succeeding in this, we would definitely reign into a state of ultimate peace of mind and with a high level of confidence within ourself! We shall wait till the next episode to explore more into Vidura’s advice! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous two to three episodes we had witnessed that Vidrua has started to lash out at King Dhidiraashtra owing to his indecisive approach and towards his unrighteous outlook towards the kingdom of Hasthinaapura. As all of us know that this is due to King Dhirdiraashtra’s excessive affection towards his son Duryodhana, that even if Duryodhana walks the path of Adharma, King Dhirdiraashtra is not in a position to correct him and mend his ways! In lieu of this, Vidura is trying to make King Dhirdiraashtra understand that if he goes on like this, he is in for a big disaster – Both for the kingdom as well as for his dynasty and his sons.

In that way, he is using various methodologies to make King Dhirdiraashtra understand the practical situation. He initially started with some mild pokes, then transformed them into valuable advises, and now he starts to lash out on King Dhirdiraashtra, hoping that he would be able to mend the king’s ways in some way or the other. Now we are at a stage where Vidura is lashing out and lambasting King Dhirdiraashtra – In the previous episode Vidura slammed him by saying that if one doesn’t have a control of his five senses, he is going to be doomed in no time! This warning is of course not only for King Dhirdiraashtra, but for all of us in today’s Kali Yuga! All of us are going behind our senses in some way or the other in the modern day and we should somehow try and create a control on that! For this, we need to use the power of discrimination that Bhagawan has gifted us with, try to analyze which is good and which is bad and then move forward accordingly. We should realize that all these material desires for which our five senses go behind, are all traps laid by Bhagawan to make us fall! In fact, he is checking our perseverance whether we are able to walk towards Vaikunta without falling into any of the traps!

For instance, there would be some worldly pleasures that we would go behind every time, there would be fights between two religions or even between two communities of the same religion – Of course all of us know today that there is a constant strain between staunch Hindus and other people of other religions. This is alarmingly becoming more and more these days. I shall talk about this in a later episode when the apt context arises. If this is the case, there might always be a fight between Shaivites and Vaishnavaites within Hinduism itself. We should remember that all these so-called fights between and within religions that we have today, are all traps laid by Bhagawan to check if we’re falling into them or not!

Now what should we do? Given that these traps are evident now, we should try and avoid these traps to reach Bhagawan in Vaikunta. How do we do that? Irrespective of whatever happens, we should never lose our focus on Bhagawan. We should always have Him at the center of whatever actions that we do in life. In fact, the biggest advantage of being in the Kali Yuga is that, we’ve got the easiest method to attain Bhagawan! This methodology is nothing but “Naama-Sankeerthana”, which in other words, “Chanting the name of Bhagawan repeatedly”. This is the reason why “Satgurus” and “Aachaaryas” always stress upon the importance of chanting our “Manthra” as this is the easiest way to attain Bhagawan’s feet.

Now moving on further, Vidura continues thus:

“Avijithyaha aathmaanam amaathyaan vijigeeshathe!

Amithraan vaajithaamaathyaa sovashaha parigeeyathe!!” 

Here Vidura is going one step further to drive home his previous point on the controlling of the five senses. He again uses an analogy to explain this point – Keeping the five senses under control is like a king keeping all his ministers, army chiefs, etc. under his control at any circumstance! If a king is successful in keeping all his ministers and other important personnel around him under his complete control, only then he can unitedly take on the opposition and win wars against them. Whereas, if this king is going to let all his ministers loose, the unity is gone for a toss and this is becomes a cake-walk for the enemy to invade the country and defeat it.

Similarly, Vidura advises King Dhirdiraashtra again thus: “Oh King! Please try to have a control over your mind and senses! The mind is like a mad monkey and it is our bound duty to control it’s activities and intentions!”

If we explore the Ramayana in this particular aspect, the reason why Ravana lost the battle to Lord Rama, is not because of the lack in strength or power. The only reason is because Ravana failed to control his senses and he let them go behind Mother Sita. Thus the failure to keep his senses under control led him to his downfall, although he was a mighty king with all the luxuries in the world! We can see this illustrated in the Valmiki Ramayana text in the “Yuddha Kaanda” wherein immediately after Ravana’s death, his wife Mandodhari comes crying near him! Rama is standing in front of Ravana’s body with his huge bow as she cries aloud by saying thus:

“Vyakthameshu mahaa yogi paramaathma sanaathanaha!” 

Mandodhari cries thus, “Oh Ravana! From all what had conspired till today, I’ve realized who this Rama is! I wonder how did you fail to realize this truth, despite you being a scholarly person! Oh Ravana! You did not succumb to Rama’s valor or strength. Even now I do not have any doubt on your strength! I know that you are powerful enough to defeat Rama easily! You are a great warrior! You are a scholarly person in all the “Shaasthras” (Scriptures)! But how did you land up in such a huge downfall? You succumbed to your own senses! You succumbed to the failure in controlling your senses at the right time! If you would have had complete control on your senses, you would have definitely been an invincible person in this world! You desired for another person’s wife and that is what created your downfall and finally your demise!”

Thus the message here is very strong and clear – We should have our senses under our complete control and if this is not the case, we would meet our downfall very easily! Hence for today, let us once again ponder over this important point and try and mend our ways in the right direction! We shall wait till the next episode to witness more from Vidura! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we witnessed a big bashing that Vidura has started giving to King Dhirdiraashtra, in a desperate attempt to mend his ways in the path of Dharma. He lashed out at King Dhirdiraashtra that he was in euphoria for money and property than anything else and he went on to criticize him by saying that the euphoria for alcoholism seems to be much better than compared to the euphoria for money and property! He lambasts King Dhirdiraashtra that he is behaving as if he’s from a very low class or section of the society and that his attitude and activities aren’t in the behest of a righteous king!

Moreover, Vidura adds on to his lambasting by bringing in the context of the ill effects of not controlling our five senses! He says thus,

“Indriyayir indriyaartheshu varthamaanair anigrihaihi!!”

Here Vidura explains that if we let our five senses to roam around with absolute freedom, we would never be able to achieve anything in our life and nothing would be under our control. In fact, these five senses – Eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch integrated together is the trap laid by Bhagawan for all of us! It is just like a fishing net that used to catch fish from the waters. Thus, just like how fishes get dangerously trapped in the fisherman’s net, we too every passing day get caught dangerously in the trap called “Five senses”. However, it is not just the trap that Bhagawan has laid for all of us. He has given us the power of “Discrimination” in our mind, so as to think and analyze the situation correctly and to escape out from not falling into the trap! Hence it is upto us to utilize this sense of “Discrimination” to know what is right and what is wrong for us and to act accordingly.

Here Vidura lashes out at King Dhirdiraashtra by saying, “Oh King! These five senses are extremely important for a man to keep under control! However as a righteous king you’ve failed in doing so because, you’ve just gone behind money and property on the behest of everything else! You’ve failed to put a check on your desires, which in turn are motivated by your five senses! If you do not tame them atleast now, disaster is waiting at your doors knocking!”

This is an extremely important point, not only to King Dhirdiraashtra, but also for each and every one of us today! In the modern day we’re exposed to innumerable kinds of things – Right from the television to the social media to the Internet of things, and so on! We can virtually get everything in this world in the touch of a button! Such is the growth of technology in today’s world. However, this tool called “technology” can well be a boon and a bane too! Of course we can say that technology is a boon in today’s world owing to the ease of doing things with minimal effort. However, this same technology can become a disaster if used in the wrong way to harm people and other living beings. For instance, if there is a knife in our hands, it can be used for two purposes – One is to cut vegetables or fruits beautifully for eating them, so as to make a healthy living. The other way is to use the knife to stab at people! We should know thus, which is that activity we should undertake and which we should not!

Similarly we talk about the social media today – Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. If these media are used for a constructive purpose – For instance, during the recent flood situation in Kerala, India, social media was put to such a constructive use that many people were rescued from the rising floodwaters with SOS messages through Facebook! At the same time, this same Facebook can be used for different bad purposes too – We see many people misusing social media by befriending strangers, torturing them for money, etc.

Hence the message from this episode is that, we have our five senses that can be used for our professional, personal and spiritual development, if used in the right channel. If it’s on the contrary, these same five senses can be five traps laid by Bhagawan to bring us down from where we are! However we need to realize that Bhagawan has also given the sense of discrimination and we should consciously utilize it and decide which is good and which is bad for our growth. So for today, let us introspect on this extremely important point and analyze within us. We should find out where do we let our five senses go loose and should try and tighten the grip on them at the appropriate time! We shall wait till the next episode to witness more of Vidura’s advice to King Dhirdiraashtra! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had an extremely interesting discussion on what is “Hell” and “Heaven”. We witnessed that “Heaven” and “Hell” are two subjective terminologies and that, they would differ according to different people’s needs and likes. But one thing is constant – Everybody likes to experience “Heaven” and dislikes to experience “Hell”. We witnessed real-time examples to illustrate this important point. Also we looked into the Valmiki Ramayana to drive home this point as well, wherein Sita explains to Lord Rama as to what is “Heaven” and “Hell” according to her. This moved Rama to tears and accepted Sita’s decision to accompany him to the forest.

Thus through all these explanations, Vidura is trying to remind King Dhirdiraashtra that he belongs to the upper echlons of the society and thus it should also reflect in his outlook and behavior. Vidura explains thus: “Oh King Dhirdiraashtra! You are thinking that getting this kingdom as a whole is going to give you the ultimate happiness and Heaven! It seems that although you physically belong to the royal elite class of people, you’re mentally belonging to the poorest of the poor in the society!”

Upon hearing this stunner from Vidura, King Dhirdiraashtra is taken aback! He replies to Vidura thus: “Oh Vidura! How do you say so? In what ways do I belong to such a low strata of people in the society? As a king, isn’t it my right to protect the kingdom all by myself and according to my wish? Why should you find fault in this?”

Upon hearing this, Vidura explains thus, “Oh King! You might be right! But there is a small clause to this – If you did not have the bound duty of splitting the kingdom for other people, then whatever you’ve said just now would hold good! However this is not the case here! Your brother’s sons also have equal rights for ruling Hasthinapura. You are vehemently denying their rights just for your personal glory!Thus if you would belong to the elite class of people what should you desire for? You should be careful that your brand reputation as a king shouldn’t come down! When will your brand reputation sustain in this case? It would suffice only if you set aside a portion of Hasthinapura to the Pandavas. But what’re you doing now? Just like a poor or a low class person, you have desire only on money and property and trying to snatch it from others! Hence please realize that this is a wrong and a dangerous path that you are taking. Please don’t fall into that “low-class” category. Please live up to your reputation of being a king! Please try to behave in such a way that this world would praise you as a righteous king!”

“Aishwaryamada paapishtaa madaah paanam adaadayaha!”

 Here Vidura goes on to nail King Dhirdiraashtra even more! He says, “Oh King! People have or develop euphoria for two things in this world – One is for money and the other is for alcohol! Looking at you, it seems for me that the euphoria that is created in a person due to consumption of alcoholic drinks is much lower as compared to the euphoria that is created due to greed for money and property! This is because if the person who had consumed alcohol the previous night, will be fine the next day after he wakes up and takes a refreshing bath! That euphoria would have vanished. Whereas the person who has the euphoria for money and property (“Aishwaryam”) would never disappear even after days or months!”

Thus in other words, Vidura explains here that those people who are in greed of more and more money and property are always in a state of euphoria or an immense state of anxiety or excitement. Thus somehow, the euphoria created by alcoholism seems better than the euphoria created by greed for money and property!

A kind request to all our readers: This is a very important phase in the “Vidura Neeti” where Vidura directly points out the blunders one by one that King Dhirdiraashtra has committed in his life so far as a king. Each of these blunders that Vidura lists down is directly applicable to all of us in some way or the other in the present day. Hence all of us should really spend some time and focus on this phase of the “Vidura Neeti” very carefully with full attention and simultaneously introspect within ourselves as we read on. I’m trying to go very slowly with just one sloka per episode, so that we would have ample time to think over it and introspect.

We shall wait till the next episode to continue this important discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed yet another important point that Vidura has emphasized as part of his advice to King Dhirdiraashtra. He is currently talking about “fear” and what are those aspects for which different categories of people fear for. He says that poor people have a constant fear within themselves whether they would be able to obtain three meals a day so as to sustain their living. This is because of their low-income levels and they would always keep a check on how much money they are earning on that particular day. This is what keeps them on their toes so as to make both ends of their life meet. If we’ve to talk of the majority people like us who constitute the middle and upper-middle segment of the society, we constantly fear death! Why is that so? It is because of various tensions, pressure situations that we undergo every day in life along with the resultant diseases and side-effects that might occur. This always haunts us constantly and eventually we keep thinking about our family, children, property, etc. post our death. Thus, somewhere at the back of our mind, Vidura says, that we fear about death in some way or the other! Now talking of the rich and the upper class people, they fear their personal brand reputation a lot. The richness here according to Vidura is not only with respect to money and property. The richness can also be with respect to character, art, education, etc. For instance, if a person is an established musician and is performing various concerts worldwide, he/she might have built a huge fan following and a big brand reputation. For whatsoever reason, all of a sudden this brand reputation might collapse any day! This is what makes them extremely careful and cautious while dealing with their public life. We can witness various examples like musicians, actors, actresses, politicians, leading industrialists, eminent personalities in sports, etc. Even today we can see how these people carefully manage their brand reputation amidst the public forum and this is exactly what Vidura has conveyed 5000 years ago! Thus from all the above examples and descriptions, we come to know that all of us are in some form of a fear every passing minute and every passing day, with respect to our respective categories that we belong to.

Extending this discussion forward, today we shall witness what is “Hell” and what is “Heaven”. Velukkudi Shri Krishnan Swamy in one of his discourses brings this out beautifully. He poses an interesting question thus: What is “Heaven” and what is “Hell”? Can “Heaven” and “Hell” be the same for everybody in this world? Let us check it out with a few examples again.

For instance if we ask this question to a daily-wage worker who is on the road everytime pulling a heavy cart full of load, what would be the answer? That person would obviously say that if he/she gets a sumptuous breakfast/lunch/dinner for that day after a heavy load of work that would feel like “Heaven”! If on that contrary, it becomes “Hell”! Whereas if we’ve to ask musicians and people who render spiritual discourses the same question, what would be the answer? They would say that if their throat were intact during the auspicious Tamil month of “Margazhi” (Falls somewhere from mid December to mid January every year) it would be “Heaven” for them! If their throat develops problems with cough and cold during this particular peak season, it becomes a “Hell” as all their concert schedules are thrown off haywire! Whereas if we ask the great “Alwars” and “Aachaaryas” the same question, they would say that if they get to see Bhagawan daily and have His darshan, it would always be “Heaven” for them.

Thus from all these examples we see here that “Heaven” and “Hell” might be different for different people. However we need to note here that ultimately everybody wants “Heaven” and do not want “Hell”.

This concept is beautifully brought about in the Valmiki Ramayana too. We’ve of course discussed this in one of the episodes during our Ramayana project earlier – When Lord Rama is about to go to the forest, he tries to convince Sita not to accompany him. Rather, he advises her to be in Ayodhya to take care of his parents, Bharata and Shathrughna. But Sita refuses! She is adamant that she would somehow accompany Rama irrespective of whatever difficulty she faces in the forest for the next fourteen years. Lord Rama tries his best to convince her to stay back, but in vain! Sita sticks to her stance! Finally Sita asks Lord Rama this same question: She asks thus, “Oh Rama! Please answer this one question for me and thereafter you might do whatever you wish to! What is “Heaven” and “Hell”? Please do not give me any bluff answer and straightaway come to the point!”

“Yastvayaa sahasassvargaha nirayo yastvayaa vinaa!

Ithijaanan paraam preetim gaccha raamamayaasaha!!” 

Through this sloka, Sita expresses herself with tears in her eyes, “Oh Rama! Do you know what is “Heaven” and “Hell” for me? If I’m with you always, it is “Heaven” for me! Whereas if you are away from me it is “Hell” for me! This is all what I know about “Hell” and “Heaven”! You are telling me that I can be happy and comfortable if I’m here in Ayodhya. But do you think I can be happy even for a moment when you’re not with me? You are telling me that I would face lot of difficulties and hardships when I come to the forest with you. But let me tell you one thing! Oh Rama! If you are near me, what kind of difficulties am I going to face? So please do not stop me from coming with you to the forest for fourteen years! I shall be with you every minute and make sure that you would be happy and contended! So Rama, come let us go!”

Thus the message from this important episode is that, “Heaven” and “Hell” are different for different people, according to their stature, position, etc. However one thing is constant – Everybody likes to experience “Heaven” and dislikes to experience “Hell”. So for today let us ponder over this important point and decide which is “Heaven” and “Hell” for each of us individually! We shall wait till the next episode to witness more of Vidura’s explanation! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had extended the discussion on Vidura’s narration that poor people are blessed with more hunger than that of rich people. We witnessed various modern day happenings and lifestyle changes that suited the explanation Vidura had given 5000 years ago! Thus the message from yesterday’s episode was that, we should make it a point not to skip any meal of the day – Be it breakfast or lunch or dinner. Just like how we take care of our personal and professional commitments everyday, we should also take care of our physical commitments too and this is extremely important. If our physical body is out of shape owing to various reasons, then what is the point in excelling professionally and earning enormous money? We should take a moment and try to think about it and act accordingly.

Vidura explains this point very clearly thus:

“Praayena shreemathaam lokhe bhoktum shaktir na vidyate!

Jeeryantapi kaashtaani daridraanaam maheepathe!!”

Through the above sloka Vidura explains that for whatsoever reasons in this world, it is only for poor people that hunger, food habits and proper digestion of the consumed food happens perfectly at tandem (“Jeeryantapi kaashtaani daridraanaam”). He even goes on to say that the digestion capability of the human body is the strongest for the poorer people and it is strong to such an extent that even if he/she tries to eat iron or wood, the system would digest it without any problem! However for rich people, they are somehow not blessed with this kind of a capability in terms of proper digestion of food! (“Praayena shreemathaam lokhe”!)

Moving on further, Vidura explains thus:

“Avrutthir bhayam adhyaanaam madhyaanaam maranaath bhayam!

Utthamaanaam tu marthyaanaam avamaanaath param bhayam!!”

Now Vidura moves on to the next point and this time he is going to talk about who fears for what! It is evident here that we human beings have a constant fear about something or the other in our daily lives! Again the classification of people into the categories of rich, middle and poor class holds good for this discussion as well. Here Vidura is explaining which category of people fear for which of those things in life. He says that a poor person who is solely dependent on his daily wages for his food and shelter needs, would always have the fear as to what if he doesn’t get food three times a day for today! In other words, a poor person would always have the fear to meet his food demands for three meals a day. This is the status of the people who are poor.

Now for those people who are like us – The middle category. What do we fear for? Vidura explains that the people who form the strata of the middle category fear of death! (“Madhyaanaam maranaath bhayam) The moment we get some disease or the other in our body, we immediately start fearing if this disease would become fatal or not. Moreover in today’s world, if we get sick due to some ailment or the other, we get tensed as to how much of money are we going to spend for the hospital! Looking at the way in which hospitals fleece patients with exorbitant medical bills today, this itself would give us a heart attack and thus the fear of death would take over at some stage or the other! 🙂 And for those people who occupy the top most strata of the society, what do they fear for? These people fear for any kind of insult that might occur to them through some means or the other! This might spoil their brand name and their reputation amidst the society and they would be extremely cautious of this.

Thus we can see here that the people forming the lower strata of the society would be under constant fear of not getting food three times a day. People constituting the middle strata of the society fear for their life owing to various reasons like diseases, anti-societal elements, etc. Finally those people who make up the upper strata of the society fear for their brand reputation being taken for a toss due to insults from various corners.

Thus Vidura advises King Dhirdiraashtra on the above facts and this is a lesson for all of us as well. Hence for today, let us ponder over these points and think of how do we get over this fear that we constantly have in life! We shall wait till the next episode to extend this discussion forward in an interesting way as to what is “Heaven” and “Hell” for everybody in this world! Is “Heaven” and “Hell” same for everyone or is it going to be different for different people? Stay tuned to witness the answer! 🙂