Vidura Neeti – 5

dambhaṃ mohaṃ matsaraṃ pāpakṛtyaṃ; rājadviṣṭaṃ paiśunaṃ pūgavairam
mattonmattair durjanaiś cāpi vādaṃ; yaḥ prajñāvān varjayet sa pradhānaḥ ||33.96||

दम्भं मॊहं मत्सरं पापकृत्यं; राजद्विष्टं पैशुनं पूगवैरम
मत्तॊन्मत्तैर दुर्जनैश चापि वादं; यः परज्ञावान वर्जयेत स परधानः

“In society we may have people who are arrogant, imposturous, jealous, or is a bragger, one who is always interested in doing illegal things, one who is doing things that always attracts the anger of the king, one who has the habit of always complaining about others, or is drunk. A learned scholar should never be associated with any of the above people”

A person who does not believe in righteousness, but does it to fool others is never to be believed. Similarly, a person should not do anything that is against the strong and powerful king or government. Such people will easily attract punishment. So, importantly one should avoid doing anything that is going to be harmful to others. If one has been a victim against a united group, prudence tells that the unity of the group should be broken to move ahead against them. One who is gossiping always about others is also another dangerous person as you never know whether to trust his information or not. Hence, a learned person should always be away from these kinds of people in order to stay safe.

yaḥ sarvabhūtapraśame niviṣṭaḥ; satyo mṛdur dānakṛc chuddha bhāvaḥ
atīva saṃjñāyate jñātimadhye; mahāmaṇir jātya iva prasannaḥ ||33.101||

यः सर्वभूतप्रशमे निविष्टः; सत्यॊ मृदुर दानकृच छुद्ध भावः
अतीव संज्ञायते जञातिमध्ये; महामणिर जात्य इव परसन्नः

“Every person who works hard the whole day with positive attitude, honesty, dedication, integrity, kind-heart, respectfulness, straight forwardness will always be decorated with a higher position”

In life, it is necessary to have control over the senses and the tongue at every point of time. One needs to exercise restraint and patience in his work. Work with mutual respect, have a kind heart towards colleagues and subordinates. With their support and of course with one’s own honest efforts and dedication, excellent performance
may just be a by-product of life. There would be no surprises if such people get promoted soon and decorate key roles in the organization.

ya ātmanāpatrapate bhṛśaṃ naraḥ; sa sarvalokasya gurur bhavaty uta
ananta tejāḥ sumanāḥ samāhitaḥ; svatejasā sūrya ivāvabhāsate ||33.102||

य आत्मनापत्रपते भृशं नरः; स सर्वलॊकस्य गुरुर भवत्य उत
अनन्त तेजाः सुमनाः समाहितः; सवतेजसा सूर्य इवावभासते

“One who feels ashamed himself, to do any bad deeds (that is despised by others), will be a great guide and motivator to the masses. Despite having unlimited ability and power if one has the prudence to use it only for righteous activities, he will be resplendent like the Sun due to his virtues”

mitaṃ bhuṅkte saṃvibhajyāśritebhyo; mitaṃ svapity amitaṃ karmakṛtvā
dadāty amitreṣv api yācitaḥ saṃs; tam ātmavantaṃ prajahāty anarthāḥ ||33.99||

मितं भुङ्क्ते संविभज्याश्रितेभ्यॊ; मितं सवपित्य अमितं कर्मकृत्वा
ददात्य अमित्रेष्व अपि याचितः संस; तम आत्मवन्तं परजहात्य अनर्थाः

“Troubles run away from the one who first feeds all those who have taken shelter under him and then eats a humble meal, works hard and completes all the tasks assigned to him and takes minimum required rest and financially supports even non-friends”

One has to understand that human beings enjoy many material comforts but they have to remember that they come to him only through the good deeds that he has done in the previous births. One needs to feed the needy and hungry before he partakes any food. Food and love shared with others, increase the joy and satisfaction multifold. One must not restrict the use of wealth for himself and his family’s well-being only. Some part of it should be used to help the needy. Sometimes one needs to help his enemies too. If one treads such a path then no difficulty will ever be an obstacle in his life.

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