mithyopetāni karmāṇi sidhyeyur yāni bhārata
anupāya prayuktāni mā sma teṣu manaḥ kṛthāḥ ||34-6||
Vidura tells Dhritarashtra not to indulge in activities that are achieved through falsehood, deceitful or unfair means. Gambling and other unfair activities may fetch gains in the short run but they aren’t ethical and over time, achievements through such means lead one to sorrow than happiness. Hence deter your mind from achieving success through unfair means. The wealth usurped or attained through deceitful means is a temporary one, but the wealth attained through ethical and rightful means are eternal. So let us traverse the path of righteousness and live a happy and contented life.
In today’s world we find people compromising greatly on ethics to earn short term gains. Vidura forewarns such people that righteous means of amassing wealth is the best method as it leads to long term wealth.
yas tv etāni pramāṇāni yathoktāny anupaśyati
yukto dharmārthayor jñāne sa rājyam adhigacchati ||34-11||
The one who has knowledge of wealth and penalty will have the knowledge of governance and conduct too and such a person shall lead the country/organization. A leader or a king should possess anveekshaki i.e., reasoning, trayi- scriptural knowledge, vartha- getting news on citizens’ issues from the intelligence department, danda niti- knowledge of punishments to be given for every offence. The above four are the most essential prerequisites for good and smooth governance and hence their knowledge and implementation is absolutely necessary. Most leaders fail to hold on when they attain power, sometimes it could be that the expectations from them are high but most of the time, it is because of the lack of the above four virtues in the leader.
na rājyaṃ prāptam ity eva vartitavyam asāṃpratam
śriyaṃ hy avinayo hanti jarā rūpam ivottamam ||34-12||
Once the power/the kingdom is in hand, one should not rest as the world is very competitive and the foes/competition would have set their eyes on taking over your kingdom/position. The leader should plan on sustaining the current position and moving ahead. Thus, he should plan for a strong defence. An impolite and a lazy king/leader loses his kingdom in the same way as old age destroys one’s youth and beauty.
It is not sufficient that one earns wealth. It is more essential to make substantial efforts to sustain it and grow it. If the wealth is used for material comforts, it will melt away. The simile used here is of age and beauty, old age snatches away beauty from the youngsters.
yac chakyaṃ grasituṃ grasyaṃ grastaṃ pariṇamec ca yat
hitaṃ ca pariṇāme yat tad adyaṃ bhūtim icchatā ||34-14||
Two things are very dangerous to human beings and both emerge from a single sensory organ- the tongue. Man loses his control over speech and food most of the time and that paves way for his downfall. Here, Vidura points out the right way to have food. One who is concerned to keep himself healthy has to keep an eye on the type, quality and the quantity of food intake. The food thus taken in should be digestible and such digested food should be able to give happiness and health. Therefore, one has to have interest in such kind of food as the right kind of food would lead to highlighting of the proverb “Health is wealth”.
Food is a source of happiness, energy, motivation, and good health. Therefore, one should consume food as per one’s need and not as per the wishes of the tongue. Also, he should know and eat as per the capacity of his digestive organs. One should know the after effects of consuming different types of food before eating.
vanaspater apakvāni phalāni pracinoti yaḥ
sa nāpnoti rasaṃ tebhyo bījaṃ cāsya vinaśyati ||34-15||
One who does not wait till the fruit is ripe and plucks raw fruits will never be able to enjoy the true benefits and taste of the fruit. Besides, he also destroys or damages the seed of the plant.
In today’s world, we see people are impatient and wanting to get early results without even waiting for the required period. They do not wait for the fruit to fully ripen in the tree and pluck raw fruits at an early stage causing damage to the plant/tree that bears the fruit. Also since the fruit has been plucked early, it may not give the best taste/juice to the plucker. This is similar to the story of the hen that lays golden eggs and the owner became greedy and killed the hen and lost the opportunity to get golden eggs in future. A human being should also be given full opportunity to develop (ripen) just like a fruit.
An ardent student of Indian philosophy-Tatvavada.. with focus on management and leadership insights from Ithihasa and Puranas. Interested in Neeti and dharma shastras.