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Friday, April 23, 2010

impediments to success


क्रोधो हर्षश्च दर्पश्च ह्रीस्तम्भो मान्यमानिता

    यं अर्थात् नापकर्षन्ति स वै पण्डित उच्यते

विदुर नीति   महाभारतं उद्योग पर्वं  खण्ड ३३



krodho haraśca darpaśca hrīstambho mānyamānitā

     yam arthān nāpakaranti sa vai paṇḍita ucyate

vidura nīti   mahābhārata udyoga parva  khaṇḍa 33

He whom neither anger nor joy, nor pride, nor false modesty, nor stupefaction, nor vanity, can draw away from the high ends of life, is considered as wise.
(translation : Kisari Mohan Ganguly)

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Vidura, the learned younger brother of Dhritarashtra is discussing the righteous way of life for the benefit of his elder brother.  
This treatise has become the ultimate guide in righteous living and many later texts in Sanskrit have drawn inspiration from this incomparable piece of wisdom.

There are many roadblocks even for the most learned, in the course of their jouney towards achievement of  lofty goals they have set unto themselves.  

1 The first drawback is uncontrollable anger.
2 Next comes excessive desire for pleasure.
 In material as well as spiritual pursuits, we attain some minor achievements at first but if we slacken our enthusiasm with a view to enjoy such  minor things forgetting the ultimate goal, we are in for disappointment .

3. Too much of  pride  makes one  arrogant and derails him from the path towards  victory.
4. False Modesty comes in the way of one's achievement because this tendency prevents one from viewing things from the right perspective and approaching the right persons and resources to strengthen his pursuits. 


5. It is the most common human trait to stand aghast  as if hit by an electric shock which condition  renders his incapable of doing anything when temporary even  setbacks are encountered. 


It is for the wise man to realise that such stupefaction will not help him in any way and that going ahead with greatest self control along  the difficult path one has set for himself  alone will enable him to reach the final goal.  


6 Another deterrent in the path of success is vanity.
 Vanity also makes a man arrogant, excessively confident and makes him lose sight of the exalted goal. 


 So Vidura  the wise minister advises that a learned man should steer clear of the above impediments and forge ahead relentlessly towards  lofty goals.

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