Founder Acharya His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lessons from the Mahabharata: Vidura
By Nandini Vanodia, ISKCON News Contributing Writer   |  Aug 07, 2021
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Vidura is famously known as the counselor and brother to Dhritarashtra, the uncle of the Pandavas, and a great devotee. There are so many things to learn from him. His tolerance, his mission to serve, and his service attitude are just some of his vast array of good qualities. 

Tolerance is defined as the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular opinions/behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. This nearly defines Vidura’s life. Vidura served as the close counselor of Dhritarashtra, his brother. He made many horrible decisions under the influence of Duryodhana. While Vidura tried many times to dissuade Dhritarashtra, he ignored his advice. He had to tolerate seeing the suffering of the Pandavas, and Kunti, from the side of the Kauravas. 

Vidura’s mission to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead was the goal of his life. He recognized Krishna as the Supreme Personality and served him with his whole heart. Every moment he spent in the company of Krishna, he cherished so dearly. And in all of those moments, he took the opportunity to serve the Lord. 

Vidura served anyone and everyone. His attitude to serve everyone is so admirable. He served his brothers, the Pandavas, the Lord, and just about everyone else as well. Even though many people, like his brother Dhritarashtra, made wicked decisions, he continued to serve him unconditionally. From this, we can learn to serve the Lord and all of his devotees with the same attitude of the benevolent Vidura. 

In conclusion, we still have so much to learn from Vidura. His tolerance, mission to serve, and service attitude played a huge role in how the Mahabharata played out. Certainly, many things would’ve happened differently without his influence.

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