TRUTH

Written by

 Brij Sachdeva

Fact and Truth

Suppose, for some emergency requirement, you have decided to sell all the gold you own. Now, with a packet full of gold in hand, you are about to leave your house and a person familiar to you happens to meet you. He asks casually, "What is it that you are carrying in this packet?"

Fact and Truth 

Now, you know that this person is not trustworthy. You cannot annoy him by saying- “who are you to ask me what I am carrying”- because it may worsen the situation even more. You are afraid, he may be a thief. Then what would you do? Would you tell him that you are carrying gold, so that he may get a chance to steal your gold. So you tell him that you are carrying your shoes for repair. Now the fact is that the packet contains gold. This is a Fact.

But, what has been told by you, to that person- that the packet contains shoes - is a ‘Truth’. This is a Truth because this is your Dharma. This is a Truth because this is what you should do. This is a Truth because of the simple reason that “it works”. This is a Truth because you are on the path of truth. Sometimes you have to lie to follow the path of Truth. This is the difference between Fact and Truth.

Now consider the same fact in a different context or situation. Suppose, in the above situation, on the way, some thief snatches your packet of gold and runs away. Now while filing an FIR at the police station, if you tell the police that the packet contained shoes, you may be ruined. In this situation, telling the fact, as it is, is your Truth. It is your Dharma. The fact will remain the same in every situation, time and place, but the Truth will keep changing.

The dynamic nature of Truth

"Come out, gonna show you an elephant in the sky” father sitting in the backyard called out to his little son. By the time the child comes out, the elephant-shaped cloud changes its shape to a general ill-defined shape of a typical cloud. Now there is no elephant in the sky. Now there is no wonder, no excitement, no interest because it is just a cloud- all the same as usual. What was beautiful, became just obvious and casual. What was significant, one moment before, became insignificant the very next moment. What was a truth, became a lie in no time. What was right, became wrong in the context of the situation? 

By the time you decide that a person is good or right, he may become bad or wrong. By the time you think that a certain person is not worth giving a f**!!, may turn out to be of immense value to you.Truth changes with our reality. When reality shifts, so does truth. Look at the moon; it appears beautiful. However, if you were to visit, it wouldn't look so appealing. There is nothing beautiful there. An Indian person in South Africa is often regarded as fair-skinned, while the same individual might be perceived differently in America. In South Africa, a relatively light-skinned woman may be considered beautiful. How would this woman be viewed in India? In the United States, thinness is a popular beauty standard, leading many girls to feel that they do not meet society's ideals of beauty. Similarly, a five-foot tall man may be seen as tall in one country, but perceived as short in another.

Truth even in its slightest, minimalistic, fragmentary manifestation is very hard indeed to observe.  Truth is a flux. It is changing every moment. It manifests itself one way in a situation, place or time and just another way in another situation, place or time. Following Truth does not mean that you should not lie. It simply means that you have to find your Truth and then follow it.

Discover your Truth

The secret of a successful life is in finding your Truth. You have to find your life situation by yourself. A guru or a saint can guide you on how to be spiritually rich so that you can handle your life situations effectively. A guru can explain his own experience and ultimately leave it up to you to figure out what is right and what is wrong for you. There is no such thing as what is right and what is wrong, as such. Many enlightened masters have said, “ Truth is, that works”. Your success is enough proof that your endeavour was a truth unto itself. So you have to discover your Truth or Dharma on your own accord, moment to moment. 

Many enlightened masters have emphasized the importance of knowing oneself. By understanding who you are and the reality of your life situation, you can discover your truth. For example, if you realize that you are an introverted or extroverted person, you will naturally accept this and begin to behave and perceive reality accordingly. 

What happens when your perceptions, inclinations, priorities, and behaviors align with your true self and the reality of your situation? It becomes clear that you will be more capable of handling things efficiently. 

Truth, even in its smallest, most fragmentary, and momentary form, has the potential to change everything—your self-image, social image, self-confidence, self-respect, and mental strength. Once you come to this realization, you are transformed into a new person, making it difficult to remain the same.

CONCLUSION

After evaluating your life situation by learning from the past, and considering all the possible future implications with full involvement, awareness and confidence, if you do something consciously, knowing firmly why you are doing what you do, is bound to be right. By "right," I mean Dharma. By Dharma, I refer to your own unique Dharma that belongs solely to you. It is bound to be the Truth, which signifies your own Truth.