Paramacharya

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Truthfulness from Hindu Dharma

 

Truthfulness means mind and speech being well integrated. The wise

say that speech being at variance with the mind is untruthfulness.

 

Vangmanasyoh aikarupyam satyam

 

God has given man the gift of speech so that he may give expression

to his thoughts and feelings. If what we speak is at variance with

what we think (with our mind) God will take away the faculty of

speech from us in our next birth- that is we will be born in the

animal kingdom.

 

There are, as we have seen before, exceptions made in our sastras to

the rule of absolute non-violence: in waging a war to preserve

dharma, in offering animals in sacrifice. Are there similar

exceptions to the rule of truthfulness? You will perhaps say none.

But, as a matter of fact, there are.

 

In a locality there must be a number of undesirable characters. Let

us suppose that a certain citizen is annoyed with such characters

and gives open expression to his anger. " He committed this outrage.

That other man is guilty of such and such a crime, " he keeps

recounting the misdeeds of the bad elements. In doing so he is being

truthful, that is his speech and mind are in accord. But by giving

expression to his feelings no purpose is served for neither he not

the community is benefited. It is a futile kind of accord - that of

his speech and mind - and it cannot be called truthfulness.

 

Take the example of another person. He is full of evil thoughts and,

if he gives expression to them, can he be called truthful? No.

 

So truthfulness, now we see, is not merely accord between mind and

speech. It means voicing good thoughts, thoughts that are beneficial

and are liked by people: " Satyr bhuahitam priyam. "

 

Doing good through thought, word and deed is truthfulness. All that

does ill is untruthfulness. It is not enough that you speak to a man

what is good for him. You must speak with affection and the one to

whom your words are addressed must find them acceptable. If you

speak harshly nobody will listen to you even if you mean well. Thus

words that serve no purpose do not constitute a truth. Your speech

must be beneficial and, at the same time, capable of bringing

happiness to the man to whom it is addressed. This is truthfulness.

 

The wise say: " May he speak the truth. May his speech be pleasing.

May he not speak the truth that is unpleasing. And may he not speak

an untruth that is pleasing. "

 

Satyam brutapriyam bruyan-

 

Na bruyatsatyamaptiyam

 

Priyam ca nanrtam bruyad-

 

A mind that is subject to desire and anger will not give rise to

words that bespeak affection and cause well-being. Truthful words

that create good are the product of a mind free from desire and

anger.

 

What is truth then? Thought and speech must be in accord; the mind

must be serene; and the words spoken must do good to the speaker as

well as the listener.

 

For a man rooted in truth there is an avantara prayojana, an

incidental benefit, gained from his speech. Since such a person

habitually speaks the truth, his words will become the truth. Such a

man will never deliberately utter a lie. But, if unwittingly or out

of ignorance, he commits an error while speaking, that error will

turn out to be the truth. I will tell you a story to illustrate

this.

 

In Tirukkadavur, in Tanjavur district, there was a great devotee of

Amba called Abhiramibhatta. He would often go into an ecstasy of

devotion to the goddess. During such times he would speak like one

mad. Someone poisoned the ears of the raja Sarabhoji against

him. " Abhiramibhatta is a drunkard, " he told the ruler. " His

devotion is a mere pretence. " Sarabhoji wanted to find out the

truth. So he went to see Abhiramibhatta in Tirukkadavur and asked

him: " What day of the moon is it today? " The Bhatta was then lost in

devotional joy and, thinking only of the radiant face of Amba which

was like the moon, said that it was a full moon day. Actually it was

the new moon. The raja concluded that what he had heard about the

Bhatta must be true and said scornfully: " Is that so? Let us look up

and see whether the full moon has risen. "

 

At that very moment the full moon did appear in the sky.

Abhiramibhatta was steeped in truthfulness. By mistake he had spoken

an untruth but Amba made it the truth by hurling her ear stud into

the sky causing it to shine like the full moon. The blessings as

well as the curses of great men come true because of the force of

their innate and habitual truthfulness. This is the " incidental

benefit " they derive from their habit of truthfulness. But

truthfulness must not be practised with the deliberate intention

that what one speaks must come true. Power such as this is earned

unintentionally and unconsciously.

 

A man will purify himself completely if he performs the forty

samskaras and adheres to principles like non-violence, truthfulness,

non-covetousness, cleanliness and also controls his senses. He will

then develop the maturity and wisdom to find out who in truth he is,

who Isvara is and what the Ultimate Reality is.