One – Five

Vidura continued to use numbers to influence Dhritrashtra towards dharma.

One: The one trait that is the characteristic of a just person is tolerance*. Exhibiting patience and displaying forgiveness, even towards those who cause one harm, is the hallmark of a righteous person. This trait has only one drawback, tolerance may be mistaken for weakness!

*Yudhishtira personified this quality

Two: There are two categories of people who can never be condoned.
i) Those who possess riches but are not charitable.
ii) Those who possess no riches yet fail to understand what life is about.

Three: There are three gateways to hell. i) Desire: Excessive or insatiable desires cloud the mind and lead one astray. ii) Anger: Thwarted or unfulfilled desires lead to disappointment and in turn, anger. Anger makes a person lose his power of reasoning. iii) Greed: When desires are fulfilled, one desires more of the same and begins to hoard. Along with this springs the desire that others must not possess what he does.

Four: In this world, we have to wait for everything to take their course of time, except under four influences. i) God’s will: Sankalpa refers to the act of pronouncing one’s intentions with sincerity and conviction. Man can merely propose but it is God who disposes. The intent of man alone does not guarantee results. It is Devatha sankalpa (the will of God) that results in instantaneous results. ii) Capacity: Other than God’s will, results are yielded if knowledgeable or realised people make an effort in their raised capacity (saamarthya). iii) Humility: Results yield instantly when a highly accomplished scholar who exhibits extreme humility (vinaya) puts in effort. iv) Wickedness: Typically, the sins of one birth yield results in a distant future birth. Yet, the extremely wicked who commit the most heinous of crimes meet a terrible end (vinasha) in that very birth and are cast in eternal hell.

Five: Vidura speaks of five fires which have to be revered and possess the capacity to destroy the one who disrespects them. i) Father: The giver of life and the one who grants us the body, without which we cannot exist. ii) Mother: The one who gives birth, nurturing us before and after birth. iii) Preceptor: Teachers or mentors who grant us knowledge and shape our thinking. If the father/mother/mentor is pained and utters a curse, it is believed to be very potent. iv) Fire: Fire itself can be useful when used respectfully for acts of worship, cooking etc. Yet, this very fire when treated casually can consume entire forests, destroying everything in its wake. v) Self: The fire within which maintains the health by enabling digestion. If fed with the wrong food with no respect to the process of eating or the time, this fire is sure to wreak havoc in the body.

In addition to the five fires mentioned by Vidura, the Katopanishad mentions a sixth fire... a hungry guest. The householder should placate the fire in his belly with water and food...

To be continued...