Vidura Niti is a deep ethical and governance philosophical text, embedded in the Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva contains many philosophical ideas that can still be practical in modern life, despite its antiquity. While Vidura provides many teachings on living a good life, Vidura’s instruction to avoid negative values such as dishonesty, jealousy, and greed is particularly relevant in our present context, where these bad values encourage personal stagnation, dysfunction in relationships, and systemic issues across healthy interpersonal living.
The Significant Verse
Original Sanskrit Verse (Udyoga Parva, Chapter 33, Shloka 64):
त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मनः।
कामः क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत्॥
Transliteration:
Trividham narkasyaidam dvāram nāśanamātmanaḥ
Kāmaḥ krodhastathā lobhastasmādetattrayam tyajet
English Translation:
“Threefold are the gates of hell, destructive to the soul: lust (kāma), anger (krodha), and greed (lobha). Therefore, one should abandon these three.”
The Context for Vidura Niti:
In this verse, Vidura warns Dhritarashtra about three negative traits, lust, anger, and greed, which he calls an open door to destroying a person morally and spiritually. While the word “kāma” is generally translated as lust, in this context it should be understood to mean uncontrolled desire (and beyond desire, for example, selfish motivations leading to deceptive pursuits, etc.). Vidura implores the King to avoid these traits to protect his dharma, i.e., to avoid personally destroying himself and contributing to societal destruction. To make Vidura’s warning even more powerful, the actual example is Dhritrashtra’s son Duryodhana! Duryodhana’s lust, anger, and greed caused the devastating war of Kurukshetra! Vidura’s advice to Dhritarashtra, (as king) applies to everyone as a map to living an ethical life.
Application to the current world
In today’s world of unparalleled speed, complexity, and connectivity, Vidura’s warning against deceit, envy, and greed remains meaningful. As they manifest in various ways (and can also be seen to infect personal relationships as well as global systems), these negative traits are damaging society and not building it. They also continue to be causal factors in trust, division, and inequality. Let’s consider how each of these characteristics can be observed in the present world and how Vidura has some valuable advice for recommitting us to a moral, ethical or virtuous way of being.
The presence of deceit, hiding in the motive of uncontrolled desire (kāma), is rife in contemporary society. Deceit can be traced to its roots in corporate fraud, political falsehoods, and even interpersonal betrayals. Self-centered sharing enables deceit to undermine trust while duplicity shifts the moral foundation of relationships. In this digital age, the manner in which fake news spreads, false stories are manipulated or twisted, and online and digital scams have blossomed perpetrate untrammeled deceit and manipulation based on altruism. Vidura’s desire to purge kāma reminds us to limit deceitful tendencies to reveal clarity and honesty. In this regard, leaders who actively engage in discussions around ethics, decision making and short-term gains while considering long-term investment will breed trust and consistency to avoid situational confusion. Vidura reminds us to consider personal motives before taking action. If we can manifest our decisions and actions based in truth without selfish, ambiguous desires, we will be in a stronger position to serve the greater good. If we value honesty, we will strengthen our communities and refute the messaging of false news reporting, fabricated narratives, and deceitful actions.
Envy, which is closely related to anger (krodha), causes unhappiness and hostility due to a world of comparisons. Social media has made matters worse by “showcasing” friends and family who appear to have fantastic lives, which leads to a person feeling inadequate and resentful. This could manifest as a rivalry with a co-worker, polarization in society, or someone harboring a grudge against another. Vidura’s warning about krodha signifies the need to manage envy through self-awareness and appreciation. Instead of being resentful about a co-worker’s advancement, one could divert the energy into personal growth or collaboration, which shifts to a positive place or orientation. Vidura’s guidance aligns with “mindfulness”, prevalent in today’s psychology, which encourages people to not ignore their negative emotions but also not allow their emotions to dictate their actions. By simply letting go of feelings of envy, we open the door to allow for empathy and community.
Greed, the third “gate of hell,” is responsible for many global challenges today, from environmental degradation to wealth inequality. Corporate greed embodies the guilt from exploiting the planet and all her resources for profit. Furthermore, a high degree of personal greed alienates us from those around us and denies us our moral character. Vidura’s urging to abandon lobha resonates with the growth of sustainability and ethical consumption, whether through minimalism, collective sustainability or engaging in fair trade practices. Vidura’s wisdom also provides a much-needed pathway to long-term, systemic behavior change, as we focus on benefitting the long-term, sustainable community. vidura encourages us to participate in generosity, to learning our collective responsibility.
Vidura Niti is relevant and timeless because of its universal applicability and emphasis on ethical self-discipline. In the midst of a world awash in moral ambiguity, Vidura Niti offers a way for individuals to engage ethically with personal struggles and to address societal challenges. The specific verse advising individuals to refrain from kāma, krodha, and lobha is particularly relevant in confronting the causes of modern-day conflicts. For example, a climate crisis rationalized by corporate greed or the riots of the late summer of 2020 that spilled from a lack of trust in the social contract that fueled resentment and envy are issues that Vidura’s self-discipline and ethical self-restraint offer constructive mechanisms to address.
In personal life, Vidura Niti offers a prescription for optimum self-conduct and personal improvement for those who pay attention. An individual can often be unaware of how much they have been influenced by deceit, envy, and greed. Yet having effective self-awareness means that an individual can recognize when to consciously reject deceit, envy, and greed when choosing a course of action.
In leadership, Vidura showed that the path to ethical conduct takes priority over selfishness, which applies in business, politics, and academics. Vidura Niti emphasizes the unique opportunity that leaders have to bypass self for the betterment of the common good to function with a spirit of altruism. Schools, colleges, and universities can openly teach the essence of Vidura Niti by encouraging students to engage in ethical decisions, in a world full of pressures for bad decisions.
Furthermore, Vidura Niti also resonates with current ethical models. Not only does the idea of letting go of destructive qualities mirror emotional intelligence, which speaks to self-regulation and empathy, but Vidura’s wisdom also supports its corporate governance arm through the increased necessity for ethical leadership, which is transparent and accountable. In interpersonal relationships, rejecting deception and jealousy promotes rapport and respect, reinforcing social ties.
Every day people are gifted with impulses toward immediate gratification and competition, and systematic inequalities cloud whether they are labouring with or independently of deceit, anger, and greed. And yet, these difficulties also provide opportunities to grow. All people and communities can apply Vidura’s teachings as a basis for moving toward sustainable practices, equitable systems, and compassionate interactions. Part of that practice can include developing community justice programs, ethical leadership courses, and mindfulness actions, to become more like Vidura.
Despite being anchored in ancient Indian thought, Vidura Niti continues to provide valuable guidance for addressing moral dilemmas in our contemporary world. The verse on relinquishing kāma, krodha, and lobha establishes the foundation for ethical conduct, and therefore refraining from deception, envy, and greed. By applying these teachings, we are able to uphold the principles of integrity in both our personal and professional lives, create peaceful relations with our family and friends, and become contributing members of an equitable society. In an age when ethics are regularly compromised and eroded, Vidura’s powerful messages keys in on the notion that success does not come from wealth or power, but how well you cultivate a virtuous character.
In a world tempted by deceit, envy, and greed, Vidura Niti lights the path to a life of virtue and victory.”
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