The Indian Dharma

We’ve commenced an important discussion in the previous episode wherein Vidura is explaining six different categories of people who are dependent on six of their counterparts so as to be successful in whatever they do. For the benefit of our readers’ understanding, let us look at the sloka once more.

“Shadime shatsu jeevanthi sapthamo nopa labhyathe!

Chowraaha pramathe jeevanthi vyaadideshu chikitsakaaha!!

Pramadaaha kaamayaaneshu yajamaaneshu yaajakaaha!

Rajaa vividhamaaneshu nithyam moorkeshu pandithaaha!!”

Here we’ve discussed about the first three categories of people and their counterparts – “Chowraaha pramathe jeevanthi”, which means that a thief depends on fools to cheat and become successful. “Vyaadideshu chikitsakaaha” means a doctor’s success depends on the number of sick people he/she attends to and “Pramodaaha kaamyaaneshu” means a prostitute makes more money when she meets more men with excessive sexual desires. We’ve seen the relevance of these three categories of people in the modern day and how we shouldn’t fall into the trap of these three important categories.

Now moving on further, we shall witness the next three important categories of people and their counterparts.

“Yajamaaneshu yaajakaaha” – Here Vidura explains that the success of a “Rithvik” who performs the holy “Yagnas” and other important spiritual practices depend upon those people who want these to be performed. Today we’ve started to witness many people wanting to perform different types of “Yagnas” and “Homas” at their homes and even at their workplaces for various reasons best known to them! I’ve already discussed a glimpse about this context in one of our previous episodes wherein we’ve witnessed that those who perform three highly respected spiritual practices should be scholarly in the Vedas. Only such people have the authority to perform these practices. Extending this context further, nowadays we’ve started to view all these highly sacred spiritual practices in the commercial sense or perspective, wherein some people are ready to spend huge amounts of money to perform these practices for fulfilling their selfish motives. Sadly today, even “Rithviks” who perform these spiritual practices go behind these people just because they would get an opportunity to make huge amounts of money! Thus, the message conveyed here is that, spiritual practices such as “Yagnas” should be performed only for “Lokhakshema” (Benefit for the whole world) and not for fulfilling selfish needs. Thus through this aspect, Vidura explains that these kinds of selfish “Rithviks” depend upon these kinds of wealthy people who are ready to shell out huge sums of money to perform spiritual practices so as to fulfill their personal and selfish needs!

“Raaja vividhamaaneshu” – Here Vidura explains that a King is dependent on those enemies who come to fight wars with him so as to prove his valor to the world! It’s evident quite from the modern day scenario too wherein we see few countries go into wars just because they wish to prove to the world that they’re extremely powerful in terms of weapons and army. Readers might be aware that we are currently witnessing a huge threat in terms of nuclear weapons. Some countries take pride in showcasing their nuclear power, while some other countries oppose such public “stunts”. Thus, there is always a Cold War existing between these two blocs of countries and they keep threatening each other by playing the “trump card” of Nuclear power! How relevant are these current day situations to what Vidura has explained thousands of years ago! Thus Vidura explains here that a king would always try and look for enemies to fight, so as to prove his worth and valour to the world! Of course I’m not saying that this practice is wrong. However, one needs to be cautious and careful in terms of analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy before going in for a full-fledged war. If the king is not performing such detailed analyses before going into the war, it can be disastrous!

“Nithyam moorkeshu pandithaaha” – Here Vidura details that the success of a learned scholar (“Panditha”) lies where there are lot of fools around. In other words, if everybody had the knowledge, then where is the opportunity for the scholar to showcase his/her knowledge? Thus Vidura drives home the point that the success of a learned scholar depends upon how many people are around with him, who are devoid of the knowledge which he/she possesses! This is one reason why we see artists (musicians, dancers, etc) gain more name, fame and popularity in places where their kind of arts aren’t much in practice.

Thus Vidura has explained the six categories of people who are dependent on six of their counterparts for their immense success. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next six! Stay tuned! 😊

In the previous episode we had witnessed six important elements that we need to win over in our daily lives so as to become successful. They are “Kaama” (Desire), “Krodha” (Anger), “Lobha” (Obsessiveness), “Moha” (Completely lost in one’s own word), “Mada” (Thinking too much about oneself) and “Maatsarya” (Jealousy). These six characteristics are extremely dangerous and can pull us down at any point of time. Thus we need to be extremely careful not to fall into such a trap.

Now moving on further, Vidura is explaining the next six aspects today. What are they? These six elements are six categories of people who are dependent on six other people for their success and living. Who are they and how? Vidura explains thus:

“Shadime shatsu jeevanthi sapthamo nopa labhyathe!

Chowraaha pramathe jeevanthi vyaadideshu chikitsakaaha!!

Pramadaaha kaamayaaneshu yajamaaneshu yaajakaaha!

Rajaa vividhamaaneshu nithyam moorkeshu pandithaaha!!”

Here Vidura explains six sets of people who are interdependent on each other. We shall witness three of them today and the rest of the three in tomorrow’s episode.

“Chowraaha pramathe jeevanthi” – Here Vidura is explaining that thieves are dependent on those who are fools and ready to be cheated! How relevant is this to the modern day scenario! While we mention the term “thief”, I’m not only referring to those who steal or pickpocket small items while we travel on a bus or train. I’m looking at a bigger picture here – For instance, just because our society is obsessively running crazy behind some so-called “professional” educational courses like engineering, medicine, etc. there are giant thieves who make a killing by using this foolishness of ours! How many times we see colleges charging and demanding exorbitant fees from students? Why is this happening? It is only because of our foolishness – We as a society create an “artificial demand” for certain “professional” courses and as a result, colleges offering those courses make use of this demand and charge hefty amounts of money from us, thus ultimately end up “stealing” all our hard-earned money! At this point we need to think – “Is this course matching my personal interest? Is this really worth spending so much money to obtain such an educational qualification just because of societal pressure?” If each of us start thinking this way, we would be able to move away from being big-time fools and eventually escaping out of the traps laid by these giant thieves!

“Vyaadideshu chikitsakaaha” – Here Vidura explains that a medical practitioner depends on his patients for success! In other words, a doctor becomes successful if he’s able to handle more and more sick people efficiently. How relevant is this in today’s world? How do we differentiate between good, experienced doctors from the others? Why do we have “family doctors”? It is only because of the experience that these people have. We can see many a times that there might be innumerable number of patients waiting in queues to meet one doctor who might be less qualified and on the contrary, there might be no patients visiting a doctor who might be highly qualified on paper! The reason for this is the amount of experience and the ability to diagnose the disease in the patients correctly and the ability to cure the diseases within a minimal time frame, medicines and money! Such doctors are obviously in high demand. Hence Vidura explains here that doctors are more successful when they meet more and more patients, understand their problems and suggest treatments accordingly.

“Pramadaaha kaamayaaneshu” – Here Vidura explains that prostitutes make a killing with lot of money only when they come across more men with excessive sexual desires. We are able to see this today too wherein we witness young girls in their teen ages and in the 20’s making huge money via prostitution. Of course we can argue that it’s their personal choice to take up such things in life, but as a responsible human being, avoiding such things are advisable. There are innumerable challenges that one has to fade if involved in such unnecessary things in life. We should always remember one thing – Earning money via shortcuts is extremely dangerous in life. Money should always be earned in the legitimate way and in the normal way through honest and sincere working. If someone gets to know that we invoked ourselves in such aspects, our reputation amidst our family and society would go for a toss. If money is lost, nothing is lost – But if character is lost, everything is lost! We need to remember always that there cannot be a shortcut to earn huge money! If done so, the money would not be sustainable in our hands. More than even the reputation part of it, in today’s scenario we come across dangerous diseases that are being transmitted through these anti-social activities – Some are sexually transmitted diseases that can be incurable at times! Should we sacrifice our entire life just because of that momentous physical desire and the desire for money? Let us think!

Thus through this sloka, Vidura sows the seeds for some important lessons for our everyday life. We’ve seen three out of the six aspects that Vidura explains in this sloka. So for today let us spend some time to introspect within ourselves and to check if we’re falling into any of the above traps. We shall wait till the next episode for the next three lessons. Stay tuned!! 😊

In the previous episode we had witnessed an important discussion on “Work-life Balance” and how do we strive to attain it with Vidura’s valuable and priceless advice. In today’s episode we are going to witness the next sloka wherein Vidura explains the six important elements that we should avoid and win over in our life, so as to be successful and happy.We might all know these six elements already, yet in the context of the ongoing discussion, it becomes important for us to recollect and remember.

“Shannaaam aathmani nithyaanaam aishwaryamyaha adhi gacchathi!!”

Here Vidura explains the six important aspects that we should win over, so as to lead a peaceful and a satisfied life – “Kaama”, “Krodha”, “Lobha”, “Moha”, “Mada” and “Maatsarya”. I’m keeping this discussion a bit short because all of us might be aware of these six.

“Kaama” means “Desire”. In the current day we might be having innumerable desires running in our minds. If we’ve to give into each and every desire of ours, leading a happy life is never going to be possible. Hence as we grow up and mature, we should slowly and consciously start cutting down on our desires and expectations. The lesser and lesser our desires, the more and more we attain peace of mind!

“Krodha” – Excessive desires lead us to “Krodha”, which means “Anger” and “Frustration”. If we expect something or desire upon something and unfortunately if we aren’t able to attain or fulfill our expectations or desires, we eventually get into the “Anger” mode! We tend to “forcibly” satisfy our desire by exhibiting anger! Thus, if we are able to control of desires, anger would automatically be under control.

“Lobha”– Excessive desires also lead to “Craving” or “Obsessiveness”, which is otherwise referred to as “Lobha”. Sometimes we tend to “crave” for a favorite food of ours. This is because of the excessive desire for tasting that food item. Thus if we let the desire grow within us, over a period of time it transforms itself into “craving” and “obsessive” character. Hence we need to again focus on controlling our desire and expectation.

“Moha” – This is nothing but excessive “dizziness” or in other words, “being in a completely imaginative world”! Many a times we would see people “lost” in their own world! They would be completely engrossed in their own thoughts and would not be in sink with what is happening on the ground! Such a behavior is dangerous and we should try and avoid it. In other words, we should be aware of what is happening around us all the time! 

“Mada” – This is nothing but unwanted “pride” or “thinking too much about oneself”. Why does this happen? The main reason is overconfidence. When does overconfidence arise? If we’re able to accomplish something that nobody or very few in this world have accomplished, we start feeling on the top of the world! Eventually with many people starting to appreciate us for our great accomplishment, these appreciations start to get over into our heads and transforms into “pride” and “overconfidence”. This “overconfidence” is extremely dangerous and can pull us down at any moment! We should of course have the requisite “confidence” in us to face life as it comes, but we should realize that this confidence should not transform into “overconfidence” and pride. There is a thin line of difference between “confidence” and “overconfidence”. We should realize this difference and act accordingly! Thus, we should also strive to control the characteristic called “Madam”.

“Maatsarya” – What if others achieve something that we couldn’t achieve? Immediately we start feeling “jealous” about those people who have accomplished! This “jealousy” is what is called “Maatsarya” and this should be avoided! If someone has achieved something great, we should know that he/she has achieved it only with his/her hard work and dedicated efforts! There is nothing to feel bad about it. Rather, if we’re aiming for such a success, we should put our heads down, work towards it and achieve it, instead of feeling jealous of others and cribbing about it!

Many of us in the modern day tend to waste lot of time in this – We keep unwantedly cribbing about other people and eventually waste lot of productive time of ours! Rather, if we focus on ourselves and try to cut down on all these unwanted six elements, we can achieve immense success in our life. When we tend to crib about someone next time, we should take a pause and think – “What am I going to gain by cribbing about this person? Is he/she going to help us in completing the tasks that I need to complete within this time?” If we start thinking progressively in this manner, half of our time can be saved and instead put to use productively.

So for today, let us introspect on all these six elements – “Kaama”, “Krodha”, “Lobha”, “Moha”, “Mada” and “Maatsarya”. Let us join hands together and make a conscious effort to start cutting down on these six elements one by one. By doing so, I’m sure that success would be ours for the taking! Let us strive together in this aspect and witness the huge change that is going to take place in this world in the positive direction! We shall wait till the next episode to see Vidura’s explanation on the next six elements! Stay tuned! 🙂

Dear esteemed readers,

With the divine grace of Bhagwan Rama and Krishna, I’m happy to inform all of you that the viewership of our blog page titled “The Indian Dharma” has crossed 17,000 views from across 83 countries across the globe!

At this wonderful moment I wish to extend my humble gratitude to all of you for making this mission grow leaps and bounds within such a short span of time! I thank all of you for your time, comments and feedbacks that has propelled me to strive better to make it more interesting and relevant to the modern day context!

For many of you who had been asking me for the archived episodes of our previous Ramayana project, you can visit our blog site:

http://www.theindiandharma.wordpress.com

Here you can find all the archives of all the 324 episodes of our Ramayana project as well as the 86 episodes of our currently running Vidura Neeti project. If you still have difficulty accessing the archives, please let me know and I shall sort it out.

Once again, my deepest gratitude to all of you for taking off some time for this noble cause. Let us join together to create a better lifestyle, a better society and in turn a better world for all of us and for the future generations to come!

In the previous episode we had witnessed an interesting explanation from Vidura with regards to six different aspects that would ensure complete comfort and satisfaction in our every day life. They are “Arthaagamah” (If we’re able to get “non-stop” and uninterrupted income of money), “Nithyamaarogithaa” (If we’re able to lead a life without paying a visit to a doctor on account of physical illness), “Priyaacha bhaarya” (If we’re blessed with a wife who is amicable and understanding), “Priya Vadineecha” (If we’re blessed with a wife who has the capability to talk in a pleasing manner), “Vaschascha puthra” (If we’re blessed with children who do not deviate an inch from our advice and guidance) and finally “Artha kaareescha vidya” (If we’re able to get a job in line with our educational qualifications). Hence Vidura explains that these above six elements would give immense happiness, satisfaction and pleasure in our life.

Now that we’ve seen those elements that give us the ultimate happiness in life, our current focus should be on how efficiently we act so that we ensure that these six elements are with us always. For instance, if our life partner (Wife or husband) is not having that characteristic of talking in a pleasing manner, how can we make this happen? How can we teach our husband or wife to talk in a pleasing manner? We should take a conscious step forward to make things happen, rather than cribbing with each other.

Of course during the initial days of marriage it would be tough, since both the man and the woman are two different individuals with different interests, priorities, tastes, etc. We need to consciously spend time with each other during the first two or three years to understand each other’s likes and dislikes and slowly try to adjust. If this adjustment and understanding doesn’t happen within the first few months or years of marriage, life can become miserable. Hence, as “Grihasthas” (Family-oriented people) all of us should make a conscious effort in understanding our partner, know his/her likes and dislikes and adjust accordingly. If this is done in a proper way with understanding, love and affection would automatically prosper and our married life would naturally become a paradise.

But do we make this happen in the modern day? What are those factors that are hampering us from making this happen between our spouse? Firstly it is our lifestyle of the present day – Owing to various demands and pressures of the modern day life, both the husband and wife have to work in organizations to earn money for a sustained living. As a result of this, the husband and wife in the present day never get to see each other properly during the weekdays! The only time that they get to spend with each other at home will be the weekend, but even then there would be loads of household chores to be completed. Hence if we have to calculate the productive time that we spend at home with our partner, it is alarmingly reducing day after day! If this communication is reduced between the husband and the wife, what happens to the relationship? How does the understanding happen? Doesn’t it become a potential threat to the relationship between the couple? Isn’t it a threat to the family fabric, for which India is widely respected and revered around the world?

Hence we should think about all this and try to adjust our schedules in such a way that we have sufficient time to spend with our partner and children at home. This is what we call in the modern day as “Work-life Balance”. Thus we should make a conscious effort to attain this “work-life balance” so as to make our life interesting, happy and peaceful. This is exactly what Vidura has explained thousands of years ago! How much of visionary thoughts were Vidura and Sage Veda Vyasa having! They were able to predict what all situations would unfold after thousands of years and have imparted the “Dharma” well in advance! Hence it is not enough if we just read through this “Vidura Neethi” everyday. All of us need to make a conscious effort to put all the principles of “Dharma” in practice. Only if we make the effort, we would be able to attain all these six elements that Vidura had explained in the previous sloka. All these six elements can be made effective provided we plan in advance, prepare a strategy and execute our plans accordingly. Thus for instance, if a couple is well-understanding, amicable and adjusting in nature, this would set an example for the children to follow. This would automatically signal to the children that their parents are an epitome of happiness and eventually would start respecting and obeying us. If on the contrary, the parents keep fighting with each other every passing day, what sort of a respect can we expect from our children? Thus, if we are united as a family with the proper understanding between each other, all the other five elements of happiness would automatically fall into place! 

Of course, there would be hurdles in the middle. But those hurdles should not deter us from executing our plans in a proper way. We might be thinking what would be those hurdles that I’m talking about! In the very next sloka itself, Vidura explains the six different types of hurdles that we need to overcome, so as to attain the six elements of happiness and satisfaction. What are those six types of hurdles? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂

The previous episode was an important one wherein we had seen the crux of our Indian Sanaathana Dharma. We had seen six important pillars of Dharma that are nothing but “Sathyam”, “Dhaanam”, “Anaalasyam”, “Anasuyaa”, “Kshamaa” and “Dhruthihi”. Thus Vidura explained in detail that these six pillars of Dharma would ensure that we live in peace of mind with the complete grace of Bhagawan.

Now moving on further, Vidura explains the next six. He explains here that these following six aspects in life would give us the ultimate comfort and happiness! Now as I’m going to explain these six aspects, all of us would really feel that “comfort” and “Happiness”! 🙂 What are they? Vidura explains thus,

“Arthaagamaha nithyamaarogithaa priyaacha bhaarya priya vaadhineeccha!

Vaschascha puthraha artha kaareescha vidyaa!!”

 Here Vidura explains the six aspects one by one:

“Arthaagamah” – If we get an uninterrupted income of money without any hassles! Every morning while we wake up from bed, if someone is ready to give us Rs. 20,000, who wouldn’t be happy in life? J Thus the first aspect that would give us immense happiness and comfort is “Arthaagamaha” or “Uninterrupted source of income.

“Nithyamaarogithaa” – If we are able to lead a life without visiting a doctor (medical practitioner) even once, what more comfort do we need? In the present day, why do we face so much of insecurity and fear all throughout our lives? It is because of the fear of falling sick and getting admitted in the hospital! It would of course be a pain both physically and financially. Now, if we’re able to lead a healthy life without falling sick, this would of course be the best “boon” that we could obtain from Bhagawan! Hence, this forms the second aspect that gives happiness and comfort.

“Priyaacha bhaarya” – If we are having a wife who is amicable and understandable to our way of life and living, this would perhaps be one of the most important aspect that would give us the ultimate satisfaction in our lives. Thus here comes the important roles for the husband and wife – The most important aspect of this beautiful relationship is to understand each other and sacrificing! The more we sacrifice and let go of small issues, the more pleasure we derive out of the relationship. As per our “Sanaathana Dharma” the main purpose of getting into a marriage is to lead a path together to uphold and protect “Dharma”. In other words, both the husband and wife should strive together towards performing good deeds and follow the principles of “Dharma” together by complementing each other’s actions. This is where in the Ramayana we’ve seen that when King Janaka marries his daughter Sita to Lord Rama he says thus,

“Iyam sitaa mama suthaa saha dharma chareethava!

Pratheecha yenaam bhadramthe paani grunheeshva paaninaa!”

In this famous sloka King Janaka asserts to Rama that his daughter Sita is a girl who knows all the Dharma and will walk with Rama in the path of Dharma at any instance (“Saha Dharma Chareethava”).  

Here King Janaka indirectly says one more important aspect – If Rama walks the path of Dharma, Sita would follow him in that. Whereas, if at any point of time Rama deviates from the path of Dharma, Sita would not follow him! Rather, she would advise him in a pleasing manner and correct him back to the path of Dharma! This is an extremely important characteristic that every woman should have – She should be able to convince her husband in a pleasing way and make sure that he doesn’t deviate from the path of Dharma. This is what Vidura explains here by the term “Priya Vadineecha”. Thus it is not enough if the wife (Bhaarya) is amicable and understanding. The wife should also be able to talk in a pleasing manner so that it would be effective enough for both the husband and her to follow Dharma.

“Vaschascha puthra” – Of course if we are lucky enough to have children who are willing to follow our words and advice, what more happiness are we going to gain in this world? In the modern day, this is one aspect that lacks at almost every home! Children want to be “independent” of everybody and do not like it when parents advise them on certain aspects! Hence, if we are lucky enough to have children who would obey our words just like how Lord Rama did for his father, King Dasharata, it is the biggest happiness that we can gain in this world! Again in the Ramayana project, we’ve seen how King Dasharata appreciates Lord Rama while he was breathing his last – Rama went to the forest on exile, just for that one purpose of honoring his father’s words, for which, King Dasharata laments, “Oh Rama! Even if I take a thousand births in the future, I would want you as my son in each and every birth!” Such is the impeccable character of Lord Rama and is thus a role model for all of us to follow!

“Artha kaareescha vidya” – If we get a job in line with the qualifications we have, this would also give us immense satisfaction, isn’t it? This is also one thing that lacks today in many cases – We get educated with any stream in Engineering such as Electrical, Electronics, Civil, etc. and however all of us invariably land up into jobs pertaining to Information Technology (IT). Although we might be earning considerable amount of income, somewhere down the line we might feel bad that our job is not worth of what we’ve studied and our knowledge is going wasted without being put into optimal application in the job that we do! Hence, if we are able to get a job in line with the stream of our education, it is the best aspect to have in life and this would give us the ultimate professional satisfaction.

Thus for today let us ponder over these six aspects in life that give us the ultimate happiness and satisfaction. We shall wait till the next episode to find out what Vidura is going to explain next. Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the remaining three important categories of people whom we should avoid in our daily lives. We were amidst an important discussion for the last couple of episodes about six different categories of people to be avoided from any kind of companionship.

To sum up the whole discussion into a nutshell, we should avoid a teacher who is unwilling to impart or share his knowledge or expertise properly to his students, a “Rithvik” who tries to perform “Yagnas” and other spiritual offerings without the knowledge of the Vedas, a king who shuns his responsibility of ruling the kingdom efficiently, a person incharge of cattle who is only interested in sitting at home idle without doing any work, a “hairdresser” who wishes to go to the forest for doing penance, rather than doing his job meticulously and a wife who does not talk in a pleasing manner. Thus Vidura says that companionship with these six categories of people would signal danger to our lives and we should make sure that we avoid them.

Now moving on further, Vidura is going to explain the next “six”. What is he going to talk about today? Let’s witness:

“Shadevathu gunaah pumsaa na haathavyaah kadaachana!

Sathyam dhaanam anaalasyam anasuyaa kshamaa druthihi!!”

 Here Vidura talks about the six important aspects that one should always follow in our life every day. They are “Sathyam”, “Dhaanam”, “Anaalasyam”, “Anasuyaa”, “Kshamaa” and “Dhruthihi”. We’ve witnessed explanations of all these six characteristics at innumerable times and contexts in the Vidura Neethi, and yet Vidura emphasizes these characteristics one more time.

We might be wondering the reason for this repeated emphasis by Vidura. Here we need to understand thoroughly and reiterate the fundamental purpose for which the “Vidura Neethi” was born – King Dhirdiraashtra is lacking in all of these six characteristics and this is the reason he is unable to get a sound sleep during the night time. Vidura is trying his best to make King Dhirdiraashtra understand that our “Dharma” revolves primarily around these six characteristics only! He repeats his advice in different ways and in different contexts so as to make King Dhirdiraashtra realize his fault and mend his ways accordingly. However, King Dhirdiraashtra was in no position to follow these principles of Dharma. It was too late for him to mend his ways! He was completely carried away by “Puthra-Vaatsalya” (Excessive affection towards his sons) and thus he was unable to realize the significance of what Vidura is repeatedly emphasizing to him! However, irrespective of King Dhirdiraashtra mending his ways or not, we should not go down his way! We can listen to Vidura’s explanations keenly, introspect within ourselves and try to implement them in our everyday life! This is why we’re looking into each of Vidura’s explanation in elaborate detail. Thus, even though certain explanations are repetitive in nature, we should understand that only if certain important things are repeated more than once, would our brains grasp it! If important aspects like these are just explained once and left alone, we would never be able to understand their significance!

Hence let us look into the six “pillars” of Dharma as Vidura explains:

“Sathyam” – At any point in time and at any situation in our life, we should strive to be truthful to ourselves and to others. As ardent followers of our “Sanaathana Dharma”, wherever we are in this world, we should make a conscious effort to strive and uphold the “Sathya” (Truth). As per the old proverb “Truth alone triumphs” or “Sathyameva Jayathe”, it is the truth that would stand till the end, irrespective of whatever false narratives are being propagated for whatsoever reason. Moreover, we should be steadfast in our ethics – both at home as well as at our workplace. We should make sure that we do not involve ourselves in any kinds of wrongdoings, especially at the workplace wherein the lives of thousands of people might be put at risk because of our mistake! We should set a role-model for others to follow, rather than going behind others’ mistakes.

“Dhaanam” – It is not important as to how much money we earn, rather, it is more important as to how do we spend that money wisely. We should make it a practice in our everyday life that a certain sum of money or our belongings should go for charitable purposes, so that the wealth goes to the needy! In any case, wealth should not be concentrated only with one person or one family. It should be made sure that the wealth is distributed or shared amongst others as well so that the entire society is uplifted. This noble characteristic is referred to as “Dhaanam”. All of us should make it a point to donate or give or distribute our wealth to those poor people who are in dire need for even three proper meals a day! Real happiness in us would prosper only when we see the happiness in others’ face.

“Anaalasyam” – This means, “eradicating laziness”. We’ve of course discussed this at length in the last couple of episodes and so let me keep the explanation short here – At any point in time, if we’re assigned a task – both at home as well as at work, we should make sure that we perform it diligently with our 100% effort. There should be no room for lazing around and procrastinating our work! If such things happen, the perfection in our tasks go for a toss. Hence we need to be extremely careful in what we do and we should have that awareness in us so as to avoid being lazy.

“Anasuyaa” – At any point in time, we should make sure that we are devoid of “Jealousy” over others! This is a common mistake that all of us do – If we see someone on the road driving an expensive car, we would immediately think “Ha! How lucky this fellow is! Wish we could also drive such a car on the road some day!” Little do we realize that he is able to afford such an expensive car because of his hard work and dedication and he is reaping the results for it! If we need to afford such things, we also need to put in our efforts, rather than feeling jealous and cribbing at others. Hence, this should also be carefully introspected by us.

“Kshamaa” – This signifies the important characteristic called “Patience”. We’ve spoken at length about it previously for several episodes. Only if we have the patience, we can succeed in our lives. Lord Rama had to wait patiently for fourteen long years to become the King of Ayodhya. The Paandavas had to go on exile patiently for so many years and bear all the tortures and insults of Duryodhana and Co. It is only at the end of all this, were they successful. Similarly in the modern day, a person can become a CEO of an organization only after years of hard work and patience. Hence, the important lesson to be learnt here is that, without patience, one cannot succeed in life.

“Druthihi” – This means “Being Brave & courageous” to tackle problems and situations. It is very important that one should not buckle down at any kind of problematic situation that might arise during our pursuit towards attaining a goal. There would certainly be obstacles in our path to success and it is upto us to face those obstacles bravely or fearlessly and win over it.

Thus for today let us introspect these six important pillars of “Dharma” and check if we are on the right track. This is an important episode for all of us to check if we are on the right track. Let us consciously spend time today to do this check within ourselves and try to improve from here on! We shall wait till the next episode to witness Vidura’s next explanation. Stay tuned! 🙂

We were in the midst of an important discussion during the previous episode wherein Vidura has started explaining six aspects packed into one sloka. In the first such sloka he had explained six categories of people that one should avoid in life. We’ve discussed the first three categories of such people yesterday and we shall continue this discussion in today’s episode to witness the remaining three categories. For the benefit of our readers, let us recollect the sloka once again:

“Apravaktaaram aachaaryam anadheeyaana rigdijam rakshithaanam raajaanam!

Bhaaryaancha apriyavaadineem graamakaamamcha gopaalam vanakaamamcha naapitham!!”

We’ve seen a detailed description of the first three categories – “Apravaktaaram aachaaryam”, which means one should avoid a teacher who is unwilling to share his knowledge and expertise with his students in a proper manner. “Aachaaryam anadheeyaana”, which means that a person who calls himself a “Rithivik” or a “Pandit” should master the nooks and corners of the Vedas before performing any “Yagna” or other important spiritual practices. If a person is not an expert in the Vedas, he is unfit to be a “Rithvik” and also an “Astrologer”. In due course of yesterday’s episode I had also added a note on who can be fit to be a true astrologer and who is not – Only those people with a mastery over Vedas can be an astrologer in the right way and those who do not meet this qualification are totally unfit and end up cheating the people by making money! “Rakshithaanam raajaanam” means, a King shunning his responsibilities in taking care of the welfare of his people. In other words, anybody for that matter, who runs away from taking responsibility or an accountability for any problem or situation cannot be trusted and such people should also be avoided.

Now moving on to the next three important categories, we shall witness each one in detail:

“Bhaaryaancha apriyavaadineem” – Here, “Bhaarya” means “Wife”. Now Vidura explains that a wife who does not talk in a soft, loving, affectionate and a sweet manner (“Apriyavaadineem”) is of no use to the family. All of us would realize that there is a way to talk, so that the matter would be well received by others. Even if it might be a harsh fact or reality, it would reach the listener only if it is conveyed in the manner that would be listenable. Generally women are those whose talking is soft and pleasing to hear. This is why we see that all announcements done at all public places like bus stations, railway stations, airports, elevators, etc. are all done by women. Moreover, we can see many organizations wherein women manage their front offices. These are preferred practices all over the world and this is because a woman has the capability of giving a pleasant appearance and to talk pleasingly with a soft tone. Thus given this fact, if a woman raises her voice everytime and talks, it would not go well with the world. Hence it is very important for women to not shout over or raise her voice for anything and everything – both at home as well as in the workplace. Of course I’m not saying that women should keep quiet when there is a necessity to talk out. All I’m saying is that, women should make it a point to talk in such a way that it is pleasing to listen. Women should not employ unparliamentary words or language while talking and this doesn’t go well with the society around us. Thus the important role of a wife is to talk in a pleasing manner and try to solve problems that might occur within the family, rather than blowing up the problem out of proportions and wreaking havoc!

“Graamakaamamcha gopaalam” – A person who is in charge of taking care of the cattle (cows, goats, etc.) is not performing his job of taking the cattle to the forest for grazing, and rather sitting at home doing nothing, should be avoided! In other words, a person who is not interested in working and who likes to sit idle at home should be avoided. This is equivalent of the characteristic called “laziness” or “letharginess”. Hence in short, Vidura explains here that we should avoid the companionship of people who are lazy and fails to perform his duties. In the Mahaabhaarata, Arjuna at one point in time becomes frustrated with what’s going on around him and tells Lord Krishna, “Oh Vaasudeva! I’m getting fed up with all this vengeance, fighting, etc. with the Kauravas. Rather than adding fuel to this fire, I prefer to go to the forest and do penance for the rest of my life! I don’t want this kingdom and all these fights!” Lord Krishna upon hearing this from Arjuna, laughs at him and replies, “Oh Arjuna! If you were going to go the forest to do penance, it would be better to kill yourself and there would be no use for your life on this earth!” Arjuna asks him the reason. Lord Krishna continues, “Oh Arjuna! If you go to the forest and perform penance, do you know how much the society would laugh at you? People would think that you are a coward, running away from taking responsibility. You are a “Kshathriya” and your duty is to fight and rule the kingdom efficiently. Without performing this duty, why do you want to go to the forest as a “Tapasvi”? That is not the reason for which you’re born!”

From this we can understand that whatever is our duty, we need to strive to perform it with utmost sincerity and not run away from it. For instance if we’ve to be at office by 9 AM in the morning, we should make sure that we’re there on time! There’s no excuse for arriving late at office and we need to give our 100% effort for it. If we’re not arriving at office on time, what right do we have to question others who come late? Thus, “Graamakaamamcha gopaalam” is not only applicable for those who breed and take care of cattle. It is also applicable to people like us in the modern day. The important message here is that, whatever maybe our duty, we should take up the responsibility to perform it by giving our 100% effort into it.

“Vanakaamamcha naapitham” – Here, “Naavitha” means a person who does “Hair dressing”. Today we go for doing haircuts, isn’t? Those people who perform the hair cutting are called “Naavitha”. If this “Naavitha” is shunning his responsibility and says that “Oh! I’m going to the forest for performing penance!” he should be avoided! This again equates to the similar argument that we need to perform whatever duty assigned to us. Only those people who are “Tapasvis’” or “Saints” should go to the forest and perform penance. However, those saints should not get into any sorts of worldly affairs like doing business, making money, etc. Thus a saint who gets into worldly business activities to make money and a worldly person who wants to go to the forest to do penance – Both of them should be avoided from our companionship!

So for today, let us ponder over these six categories of people to be avoided. The first step is that we we do not fall into any of these six categories of people. 🙂 The next step is to avoid those people who tend to fall within these six categories. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next six aspects! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed a very important explanation by Vidura with regards to “excessive sleep” and it’s detrimental effects on us. In the yesterday’s sloka, Vidura had mentioned six different aspects that one should avoid in his/her life, so as to attain success. He commences the first of the six aspects with “excessive sleep”. The five other aspects that follow are those that revolve around this particular aspect of “excessive sleep”. For the convenience of the readers, we shall recall the six aspects again – “Nidraa” (Excessive sleep), Tandra (Giddiness because of excessive sleep), “Bhayam (Unwanted fear), “Krodha” (Unnecessary anger), “Aalasyam” (Laziness) and “Dheerga soothrathaa” (Procrastination).

Now moving on further, today we are going to see the next six aspects explained by Vidura in the subsequent sloka. What is Vidura going to talk about today? Let’s witness.

“Shadimaan purusho jahyaath binnaam naavamivaarnave!”

 Here Vidura explains thus: Just like we would strive hard to escape to save our life when we detect a hole in a boat while in the midst of the river, similarly, if we need to strive hard to escape from danger in our lives, we should avoid the following six categories of people. In other words, to avoid unnecessary problems in life, we should never encourage friendship with six categories of people. Now what are those six categories? Vidura says,

“Apravaktaaram aachaaryam anadheeyaana rigdijam rakshithaanam raajaanam!

Bhaaryaancha apriyavaadineem graamakaamamcha gopaalam vanakaamamcha naapitham!!”

Since there are quite a lot to explain in this sloka, we shall split the explanation into two episodes. Today we shall witness the first three categories of people.

The first category of people – “Apravaktaaram aachaaryam” – If we have a teacher who is scholarly and expert in innumerable aspects of life, however he is unwilling to share his knowledge and expertise with his students, we should avoid him completely. Such people are useless in this world. A person who is scholarly in something, has to share his knowledge with others, so that the skill would grow in the world and get popular. For instance, if a person is an extremely talented musician and has an expertise in the various aspects of Carnatic Music, it is his duty to share his expertise to the world. It is only then the art form called “Music” would grow and get popularized in the world. This is exactly what Vidura is explaining here – If a person is unwilling to share and teach his scholarliness to the world, we should avoid him. We should rather go to a teacher who is voluntarily coming forward to teach us.

The second category of people – “Anadheeyaana rigdijam” – Here the word “Rithvik” means “Pandit”, who is qualified to perform “Yagnya” and all the high level spiritual offerings to Bhagawan. To be a “Rithvik” one should possess an expertise and scholarliness in the “Vedas”. It is only those people who are scholarly in the Vedas, should be “Rithivks” and should perform “Yagnyas”. In today’s world, unfortunately we find so many people calling themselves as “Righviks”, yet they do not have any knowledge on the Vedas. Moreover, things have become so commercial today that people are using these spiritual practices to make money!

For instance, we can see so called astrologers today who are making a killing out of innocent people! What is “Astrology” in the first place? In Sanskrit, it is termed as “Jyotisham” or “Jyotisha Shaastra” and this is part of the Vedas. “Sheeksha”, “Vyaakaranam”, “Chandaha”, “Niruktham”, “Jyotisham” and “Kalpam” are the six different “Angas” (Part) of the Vedas. Thus we can see clearly here that only those people who has done the “Veda-Adhyayanam” (Attained scholarliness in the Vedas) should come as astrologers. Today the scenario is pathetic in the way that many people are proclaiming themselves as professional astrologers even without knowing a single phrase in the Vedas. It is to be noted that, doing such things are a big blunder and we should tend to avoid such people in our lives. Nowadays, we can see many so-called “astrologers” appearing on popular television channels and try to “market” themselves so as to make money! I can assuredly say that atleast 90% of these people is fake! Why am I making such a sweeping statement? It is because, many of the so-called astrologers use their television appearance to gain popularity and charge hefty amounts from people who come to them with real life problems. In other words, these astrologers use other people’s problems to make money! In fact, these astrologers have a wide network of people associated with them, so that all the “Parihaaras” (Compensatory prayers) are performed only with their network of people and not with anybody else. Isn’t it business? Can Vedas be used for business purpose? It is for this reason we should avoid such people and Vidura is exactly explaining the same thing here!

The third category of people – “Rakshithaanam raajaanam” – A king who is responsible for the welfare of his kingdom, runs away from his responsibility – Such people should be avoided as well. In other words, we can note here that those people who run away from their responsibilities are to be avoided completely!

So for today, let us ponder over these three categories of people. There is some more explanation required for the third category and with that, we shall take forward the next three categories in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

In the previous episode we had witnessed the last of the “five” as explained by Vidura in which he had given an important accord on the importance of controlling all the five senses together – Eyes, nose, tongue, touch and ears. Here the stress is on the fact that even if one of these five senses go in an undesired way, the rest of the four would also follow suit! How important is this explanation in our modern day life too! We’ve witnessed couple of examples in this regard to prove the point.

Now moving on to the next explanation, here Vidura is going to explain six items in each sloka. So far, we’ve seen one, two, three, four and five items in each of the slokas. Now we’re going to see slokas that are packed with six aspects in each. Let us now witness the first such sloka:

“Shatdoshaaha purusheneva hathavyaaha bhoothimichhathaa!”

Here Vidura is explaining that if a person is desiring to attain a sustainable growth in life, he should let go of six important things. What are those six things that a person should compromise, so as to attain success in life?

“Nidraa tandraa bhayam krodha aalasyam dheerga soothrathaa!!”

The explanation is crystal clear here. The six things to be sacrificed for sustainable growth are, “Nidraa” (Excessive sleep), Tandra (Giddiness because of excessive sleep), “Bhayam” (Unwanted fear), “Krodha” (Unnecessary anger), “Aalasyam” (Laziness) and “Dheerga soothrathaa” (Procrastination). Now let us witness each of it in detail.

If we’ve to talk about “Nidraa” all of us now that this terminology in Sanskrit language denotes “Sleep”. We’ve already witnessed considerable amount of explanation with regards to sleep in our earlier episodes. Of course now we know the different stages of sleep – “Susupti Dasa”, “Swaapa Dasa”, “Jaagra Dasa” and “Turiya Dasa” and how much of sleep is required for a normal individual in day-to-day life. Our readers can recollect these terminologies from our earlier discussions pertaining to this topic. However the question here is that, why do we need sleep and to what extent do we need to sleep?

The purpose of sleep is not to keep on sleeping! 🙂 The main purpose of sleeping is to refresh all our body parts and senses and to reenergize them from the state of tiredness. Sleep is important because our mind gets adequate rest and with that, it is rejuvenated. Hence, our sleep should be for a time period wherein only these important purposes are fulfilled. Excessive sleep is something that we need to avoid in life! Some people will go to bed just because it is 10 PM. If we go to bed this way, we will never get proper sleep. Only if our body is tired and exhausted, will we get sleep immediately after hitting the bed!

For instance, why do we see people who perform extensive backbreaking labor sleep well? It is because of their excessive physical work and the body becomes extremely tired at the end of the day! However people like us who are not that much active physically would not be able to sleep a lot like the labourers do. However, whatever little time we sleep, we should be able to get that deep sleep. For this, there are many “Aasanas” and exercises in Yoga. Today we celebrate the “International Yoga Day” and so it’s a good opportunity for us to appreciate the significance of Yoga-Aasanas to obtain a sound sleep for the stipulated time period.

Hence the important message from today’s episode is that, sleep is extremely important for us. Sleep should be for the purpose of rejuvenating our body and mind and should be strictly restricted to a particular time period (Maybe 6 hours per day). Excessive sleep is bad and detrimental to our well-being and we should make sure that we do not fall into this trap of sleeping more than the stipulated time period.

Why should we avoid excessive sleeping? It is because our body becomes more and more inactive and eventually leads us to laziness and giddiness. The next two aspects “Tandra” (Giddiness) and “Aalasyam” (Laziness) are derivatives of excessive sleeping. The state of “Tandra” is because of the inactiveness of the mind and the state of “Aalasyam” is because of the inactiveness of the body. This is why even in the modern day, when we see people who sleep a lot, it would seem as if they’re drunk and trying to come out of a hangover. They would not be able to concentrate and focus on the given task to be completed. This is because, the mind and body is pushed into a state of inactiveness and it becomes very difficult to come out of that state if we sleep for more than the stipulated time period. Thus the root cause of both “Tandra” and “Aalasyam” is nothing but “Excessive sleep” and it is for this reason we say that this should be avoided.

The last two things – “Bhayam”, “Krodha” and “Dheerga Soothrathaa” (Fear, Anger and Procrastination) are nothing but derivatives of “Aalasyam” and “Tandra”. Our physical and mental laziness leads to anger and frustration because we’re unable to perform our duties meticulously. Because of this, we get into unwanted fear of “what if someone asks something”. Hence we can see here that excessive sleeping (Nidraa) is the root cause of innumerable problems in our everyday life and we should make sure that we keep a check or a vigil on the number of hours we sleep every day.

For today let us do introspection within ourselves on how many hours we sleep every day! If we’re sleeping in excess of six hours every day, we really need to think again! We should try meticulously to bring down our number of sleeping hours and maintain it at 6-7, which is good for both our physical and our mental well-being. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next six things that Vidura is going to explain. Stay tuned! 🙂