To be Truthful is to be Human

To be Truthful is to be Human

by APURV TAHKUR

‘Satyamev Jayate’ meaning Truth Alone Triumphs has become just another verse for the current human society. It is actually a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture, Mundaka Upanishad. Upon independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India and we have failed to follow this simple two-word verse in our hectic lifestyle. Truthfulness is an eternal golden quality found only in the most disciplined, generous and unselfish type of human beings which is now an endangered specie in this modern society. As quoted by Albert Einstein, the great theoretical physicist, “Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either”. This quote implies perfectly to our lives where trust no longer exists as it earlier used to be and everything we do today is for our benefit or simply business.

                                        

                                

The virtue, humanity, is a set of strengths focused on “tending and befriending others.” As per the Vedas and other ancient Hindu scriptures the degradation of mankind and this planet started as soon as Lord Krishna disappeared 5000 years ago after the epic battle of Mahabharata. But we never made an effort to stop the degradation, we just want to be happy alone ignoring others and this theory of ours didn’t actually work. Being human is not as easy as branding “Being Human” by rich and charismatic people like Salman Khan. Being human in actual requires a lot of effort from our side, moral values, patience, courage and self-realization. Lack of these qualities is the sole cause for the rising tensions, stress level and ego amongst us.

We often think how speaking truth can make us a better human? We search for the answer to this, see people around us who don’t speak a lot of truth, often lies and accomplish their task by these lies. And thus we conclude that lies help us accomplish our tasks. But do we realize how short term profit it is to lie? Do we see the after-affects if our lies are caught? Do you think the person we lied to will ever trust us again and what he will tell others about us? And the biggest question arises- Will we ourselves trust these people who lie so often? These questions are what matters in long term and we often ignore them. Such ignorance from truthfulness surely affects our lives in long run. Many great and successful leaders have highlighted that being truthful made them a better human being, the biggest example being Mahatama Gandhi. Speaking truth awakes the sense of humanity within our hearts and also makes us more trustworthy. Oscar Wilde said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple”, but we know it eventually has to occur someday as truth is eternal and lies are temporary. The more we delay truth with lies, worse are its effects. Thus it is prescribed in all the religious scriptures to always speak truth for the reason that truth may be bitter at the moment it is revealed but it frees our mind thereafter. For lies the theory stands opposite.

Following the path of truth will eventually help us being proud of ourselves, reduce the stress of constantly covering our lie with more lies and purifying ourselves from within. But this path is not easy and thus quoted by Buddha, “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting”. So initiating it is important and soon we will realize its importance. Not easy, but to satisfy our material needs we work hard, similarly to satisfy our soul and mind we must initiate and take the path of truth. Surely it will help us prosper in our lives and help us replenish the lost humanity within us and the society.