Call SPADE a spade!

Vidura said to Dhritrāshtra: O King! Your brother Pāndu, received 5 sons as glorious as great demigods. Due to circumstances, you raised & taught them everything and thus they're obedient to you. Now you should return to them their rightful share of Kingdom. If you do this, you’ll be happy & your good reputation will be firmly established in the worlds

Dhritrāshtra said: Pls speak some more so that the burning anxiety robbing me of my sleep will be relieved. Tell me what is on Yudhisthira’s mind. What will prove beneficial for both Pāndavās & my sons?

Vidura replied: When a person desires to benefit someone, he should speak unadulterated truth, even if it is unpalatable. As I’m your well-wisher, you can be assured that I’ll tell you that which is truly beneficial for your sons

Never act impulsively, nor employ unrighteous means to achieve your ends. Before doing something, an intelligent person carefully considers nature of the act, and his personal abilities. In other words, to act properly, one must first gain control over his mind & senses

A King who hopes to control his ministers without having conquered his own self will surely come to grief. Similarly, a king who tries to defeat enemy without having gained control over his ministers will meet destruction. But a king who controls his senses, considering them enemies, will be able to control his ministers & conquer his adversaries too

When a fool tries to injure a wise man by using harsh speech, he takes upon himself results of derided person’s sinful reactions. If a forest is cut down, trees may again grow back, but a heart that is wounded by harsh words never recovers. Arrows can be extracted from body, but dagger of harsh words, once plunged deep into heart, can never be removed. The arrowlike harsh words that can come from one’s mouth should never be discharged by a learned person

When a man’s doom has been ordained by demigods that control destiny, it is seen that he loses his good intelligence & thus can no longer restrain himself from performing abominable actions. Such a condemned person thinks that wrong is right & right is wrong, as his intelligence has been stolen by illusion

Dear Brother! I must warn you that your sons possess such clouded intelligence & it is for this reason that they have created enmity with Pāndavās. You should allow obedient & virtuous Yudhisthira to rule earth, instead of your wicked sons

Great learnings & wisdom regarding who is our true well-wisher, how we should speak & the power of words

Krsna says:

anudvega-karaṁ vākyaṁ satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat

svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva vāṅ-mayaṁ tapa ucyate

Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature

Unless we read scriptures, we cannot know what is truth, leave alone practicing it. Knowledge & our attitude based on time, place & circumstances counts

Thoughts? #gameoflife