Vidura is the wise minister from the Mahabharata and can be seen as the voice of rationality and philosophy. The teachings of Vidura, offer priceless insights into human behavior, morality, and existence. With all of the rapid, chaos and indecision dawning on the world today, this verse becomes a guiding light that leads us to walk a delicate path.
Sanskrit
न प्रहृष्यति संनृद्धौ न विशीदति दुर्घटे।
अन्तं न कुरुते प्रज्ञः संसारं प्रति बुध्यते।
Transliteration:
Na prahrishyati samriddhau na vishidati durghate,
Antam na kurute prajnah samsaram prati buddhyate.
English Translation:
The wise person neither rejoices in prosperity nor despairs in adversity, nor do they consider anything as the end, for they understand the cyclical nature of existence.
The verse centers on four tenets: remaining non-committed to extremes, being proactive in calamity, removing all finality in the conclusions we draw, and testing our life-studied experience, not somewhere else, against the course of life. The wise person, prajnah, does not allow live great prosperity, samriddhau to leave them elated, nor personal misfortune, or durghate, to leave them depressed and dissuaded. They have learned to behave in that way from the collective experience that human life is temporary – everyone on earth one day, reduced to dust the next, once and for all. The phrase antam na kurute (they don’t consider things to be as the end) is meant to express the deepest existent acceptance and understanding of impermanence – that God has ultimate authority as it concerns life on this planet.
Philosophically, these tenets could be grounded in the larger Indian tradition and the Bhagavad Gita’s discussion of sthita-prajna (the person who is steady in their mind) or with the stairs opinion (from the Upanisads) that ‘life is but a momentary point in the Client [eternal] timescale’ . Through Vidura, we see an affirmation that our human experiences, all those ups and downs that we call success and failure, happiness, and sorrow, are all fleeting. The deep wisdom lies in deciphering the emergence of the lordship behind those conditions. By requesting we buddhyate (understand) life as a life-studied experience rather than anywhere else in the world, Vidura is allowing room for a reflective life, not a life of circumstances alone. He is setting the stage for greater meaningfulness in our collective experience.
The verse invites us to consider life and death as two sides of the same coin. Even more so, if we view death as merely a transitional form, our passing is not the end of our life, but a key moment in the eternal cycle of samsara (rebirth). Realize that like Vidura, we can appreciate life’s tribulations and triumphs in light of divine, all-encompassing will. That is to say, to Vidura, the divine will (typically understood and described in India as cosmic order via rita or dharma) regulates existence in a way that humans could never understand. This realization encourages humility, since we need not impose restraints on the dualities of events around us and we can generate the relinquishment of our need to control and react and, instead, go into a trust in a greater purpose.
For Vidura, the wise person’s detachment is not a matter of disengagement; it is disciplined awareness. A person who can destroy their delight in prosperity or misery in adversity are maintain mental consistency that society knows very little of and little value placed thereon. This vehicular detachment is mirrored in Stoic thought in the West, from thinkers like Marcus Aurelius, who wrote of it frequently. For both Vidura and Aurelius a life worth living transcends the spectrum of control. Likewise, Vidura cautions against grasping and losing what is ephemeral, while addressing the eternal.
In our 21st century environment, amidst the ups and downs of people’s lives that inspire the constant shift from elation to despair, Vidura’s call for equanimity in the face of life’s ups and downs resonates profoundly. The times we live in are marked by fast-pacing technology, economic uncertainty, existential crises, etc.. Social media further intensifies the emotional extremes we experience. Failure to recognize that the curated portrayals of seemingly perfect lives, the reports of dismal crises, or utter despair only stoke our envy can lead to despair in our own existence. Vidura’s ever-relevant call for equanimity provides a counterbalance by leading us a brief way back from the noise of informational chaos and a moment to reflect on life’s true contexts about what matters.
Now, let us think about the contemporary obsession with succes. More and more, we have become obsessed with the acquisition of wealth, status and validation, and that quest put us on a never-ending emotional rollercoaster—joy in success, despair in failure—and think about the corporate executive who misses a big deal and thinks that his world is ending; or the student who does not do well academically and makes the same assessment of their life. Vidura’s wisdom reminds us that success and failure do not define us as worthy human beings nor do they offer any lasting peace or joy. Understanding the cyclical nature of life helps us move through our life challenges as learning experiences for personal growth and not as an end point of or the significance of challenges.
The verse also relates to our relationship with death, which is an often neglected topic of contemporary discussion. In a time where there is often obsession with youth and longevity, and continual avoidance of death with Vidura’s comment– nothing is the end, is comforting for example. Whether we are working through our own grief or facing our own mortality, this suggests that we might consider death as simply part of the divine cycle. For example, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions were going through grief and uncertainty. Vidura and his teaching could have led individuals to process their loss with humility and dignity with some faith that all would be dealt with as part of the cosmic order.
The central message of reliance on divine will is even more potent today since our society is openly questioning existence. Many people are ambivalent about finding meaning in a secular technology driven world. Vidura’s lesson implies that if you surrender your will to something larger than yourself, be it God, Universe, or natural order, then you can find positive forward movement in complete chaos. This challenge is even more relevant for modern generations, who often communicate better in a hyper-connected, but disconnected world. By acknowledging and referring to samsara, modern generations can ground themselves in knowing that everything has an upward and downward trend and that each moment is purposeful in a bigger whole.
Realizing the wisdom of Vidura is an act of discipline. There are many distractions in our culture—constant alerting, commoditization, and cultural expectations—that make being neutral out of equilibrium. Our experiences may have us leaning toward being overwhelmed. However, cultivating practices like mindfulness, meditation, or even journaling can help foster the type of more intentional mindset Vidura recommends. For instance, maintaining a daily practice of gratitude can allow us to enjoy abundance without attachment, while resilience training can help us tolerate challenges without hopelessness. Similarly, organizational cultures can build on this as well by promoting mental wellbeing and long-term strategies over short-term profits.
In society, Vidura’s approach to wisdom provides a counterbalance to the polarization of discourse and outrage that so often prevails. Thus, rising above emotional extremes can engender conversation, dialogue, and empathy, no matter how divided we are. Those in positions of power—including leaders, policy-makers, and even ourselves—would benefit by using this principle to help hold off knee-jerk responses during conflicts through restraint and perspective, and instead be able to fight for a better world.
Vidura’s verse offers us an eternal invitation to live wisely by embracing life’s impermanence, and trusting in the divine will. In a world that draws us into extremes, it reminds us to seek balance, to see beyond the immediate, and to connect our actions to something deeper. Whether it is our individual trials or societal unraveling, this wisdom shows us how to seek inner peace and live purposefully. As we move through the complexities of contemporary life, Vidura’s advice will always accompany us, reminding us to reflect, endure, and trust in the everlasting cycles of existence.
“Embrace life’s highs and lows with wisdom—discover the timeless calm of Vidura Niti in a chaotic world.”
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