The word ‘Vidur’ in Sanskrit carries the meaning of skilled, intelligent, and wise. These were exact qualities possessed by Vidura from the famous Hindu Epic Mahabharata. The epic Mahabharata portrays him as the half-brother of King Dhritarashtra and the Minister to the fabled kingdom of Hastinapur.

He is celebrated for being a great scholar, who was an epitome of truthfulness, unbiased judgment, dutifulness, and unfaltering faith to Dharma. However, he is prominently known for his Nitis, chronicled in the form of conversations with his brother Dhritarashtra, which took place prior to the War of Kurukshetra. While Vidur Niti is mainly grounded in politics, it can be widely used even in our daily lives. Here are some useful tips from Vidur Niti to help you make your life easier.

1. Characteristics of Wise Person
आत्मज्ञानं समारम्भः तितिक्षा धर्मनित्यता ।

यमर्थान्नापकर्षन्ति स वै पण्डित उच्यते ॥

Aatmajnaanam samaarambha stitikshaa dharmanityataa

Yamarthaannaapakarshanti sa vai pandita uchyate

The quote aims at describing the characteristics of a wise person. The phrase, when translated states, a wise person does not deviate from higher goals of life because his actions are based on qualities like self-knowledge, endeavor, patience, and devotion to dharma.

2. An Aware Person Is Unbiased In Action
यस्य कृत्यं न विघ्नन्ति शीतमुष्णं भयं रतिः ।

समृद्धिरसमृद्धिर्वा स वै पण्डित उच्यते ॥

Yasya krityam na vighnanti sheetamushnam bhayam ratih

Samriddhirasamriddhir vaa sa vai pandita uchyate

In order to be wiser one needs to be unbiased and lose any emotional attachments; it is a keystone for succeeding in work and life itself. The quote above reads, “A wise person’s actions and undertakings are not affected by cold, heat, love, fear, and affluence or poverty.

3. Focus on our Goal
नाप्राप्यमभिवाञ्छन्ति नष्टं नेच्छन्ति शोचितुम् ।

आपत्सु च न मुह्यन्ति स वै पण्डित उच्यते ॥

Naapraapyamabhivaanjhanti nashtam nechchhanti shochitum

Aapatsu ch na muhyanti sa vai pandita uchyate

It is foolish for a person to long and works for things that are unattainable, as one is wasting his efforts and time. Similarly, a person who worries and loses his sense in difficult times cannot achieve his goals because he will lose his vision. The quote describes it in a brilliant manner; the quote reads, “A wise man doesn’t waste his effort and time after unattainable goals, does not worry about things he lost and does not lose his sense in difficult times”.

4. Commitment to Task in Hand and Time management.
निश्चित्वा यः प्रक्रमते नान्तर्वसति कर्मणः ।

अवन्ध्यकालो वश्यात्मा स वै पण्डित उच्यते ॥

Nishchitwaa yah prakramate naantarvasati karmanah

Avandhyakaalo vashyaatmaa sa vai pandita uchyate

This Vidur Neeti quote states, “A Wise person is committed to his Endeavor Beforehand, he does not take long breaks before completion of the task, does not waste time, and has a control on his mind. We all tend to keep doing mistakes of running after temporary goals and end up abandoning it. In order to succeed, we need to take preemptive action of being committed task ahead of us. This will help us be focused on our end goal. Likewise, if we waste time and take long breaks during work, we may forget our short-term goals and halt the work itself. Thus, we shouldn’t take long breaks and waste time. In order to develop the aforementioned qualities, we need to have control over the mind. The control over the mind is key because we tend to get attracted to ease and leisure.

5. Be Good to Friends and Be Safe from Enemies
अमित्रं कुरुते मित्रं मित्रं द्वेष्टि हिनस्ति च

कर्मचारभते दुष्टं तमाहुर्मूढचेतसं ॥।

Amitram kurute mitram mitram dweshti hinasti cha

Karma chaarabhate dushtam tamaahurmooddha chetasam

The above phrase serves as advice, it reads, “Only a fool makes enemy his friend, hurts and kills his friend, and involve himself in the misdeed. Like ants, we humans are social living beings, we need help from people to succeed. Thus, we need to be friendly to people and be good for everyone. It will help us make friends who will help even in difficulty. Likewise, they must learn to be far from enemies and should not be close to them, as they carry tendencies to hurt us.

6. Importance of Thinking in A Group
एकश्चार्थान् न चिन्तयेत् Ekashchaarthaan na chintayet

The phrase tends to emphasize group thinking, it states, “One should not think on the substance of matter alone”. We are biased towards our ideas and tend to think they are good, missing out on flaws in them. Thus, Vidur Neeti suggests us to take important decisions with a group of people.

7. Some Good Qualities for Success

षडैव तु गुणाः पुंसा न हातव्या कदाचन ।

सत्यं दानं अनालस्यं अनसूया क्षमा धृतिः॥

Shadaiva tu gunaah pumsaa na haatavyaa kadaachana

Satyam daanam anaalasyam anasooyaa kshamaa dhritih

The translation of shloka in English reads. “These six qualities should never be abandoned – truthfulness, giving, not being lazy, not finding fault even in something bad, forgiveness and determination or courage. A person can only be successful, if he is true to everyone, liars are not considered good by people. Similarly, giving and forgiving nature can take a person a long way because those who give are considered well by people, and the quality of forgiving prevents people from having grudges that give rise to negative emotion. Positive nature is beneficiary, it prevents people from being sadistic and depressed, thus one should involve in positivism by seeing positive sides. One should be determined if he wants to succeed. Determination is key to remaining focused on the task in hand, in a world full of distractions. Laziness makes mind lethargic and the ability to work actively and thoughtfully decreases.

8. Keeping Emotion Under Control

न हृष्यत्यात्मसम्माने नावमानेन तप्यते

गांगो ह्रद इवाक्षोभ्यो यः स पण्डित उच्यते

Na hrishyatyaatmasammaane naavamaanena tapyate

Gaango hrada ivaakshobhyo yah sah pandita uchyate

A person who gets overexcited in joy will suffer from harm; heightened emotion of happiness often shrouds the senses and undermines the ability to think properly. Similarly, an extreme level of unhappiness also affects the unbiased way of soaking in things. One needs to develop the ability to do work and living life in such a manner, where he is not affected by emotions. This will prevent him from thinking in just and the right way. The phrases also try to teach us the same. It states, “A wise one is not too happy when honored, he does not feel sad when dishonored and he is not affected by emotion even in difficult times”.

9. Keeping Away From Envy

यः ईर्षुः परवित्तेषु रूपे वापि कुलान्वये।

सुख सौभाग्य सत्कारे तस्य व्याधिरनन्तकः ॥

Yah eershuh paravitteshu roope vaapi kulaanwaye

Sukha soubhaagya satkaare tasya vyaadhiranantakah

Envy is a negative emotion, like every other negative emotion, it causes more harm than good. Envy gives rise to other negative emotions like anger, hate, and overthinking. Vidur in this quote states, “A person who envies other’s wealth, beauty, family reputation, noble birth, happiness, fortune or respect in society is a sick person; there is no cure for him”.

10. Forgiveness

क्षमागुणोह्यशक्तानां शक्तानां भूषणं क्षमा ।

Kshamaa gunohyashaktaanaam shaktaanaam bhooshanam kshamaa

The Vidur Neeti talks about the act of forgiveness in the following manner in above sloka, “For weak person patience (forgiveness) is quality; for the strong person patience (forgiveness) is an inevitable quality”. Forgiveness in the current world is a very important value for a person. It is an act of deciding to let go of the feeling of resentment or vengeance to a person who has harmed him. The Health and psychological benefit of forgiveness is huge. Forgiveness is often associated with a reduction of anger, anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, it is also associated with the benefit of decrease in blood pressure level, leading to a healthy life.