Gopala self appraisal report is good Honest truth admission of himself as a Goebel KR
On Wed, 8 Apr 2026 at 17:26, 'gopala krishnan' via KeralaIyers < [email protected]> wrote: > A fellow often telling lies write about truth. Has ha got any diginity? I > recollect the Tamil saying "Chekutthan Vedam Othukirathu" > Gopalakrishnan > > On Wednesday, 8 April 2026 at 09:11:06 am IST, Rajaram Krishnamurthy < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > What are Truth and Honesty? > > Truth means describing something exactly as we saw it, heard it or sensed > it in some other way to others. Hindu scriptures say the following about > truth: > > Where there is truth, there is Dharma; where there is Dharma, there is > light; and where there is light, there is happiness. Conversely, where > there is falsehood, there is Adharma; where there is Adharma, there is > darkness; and where there is darkness, there is sorrow.[1] > > There are four austerities of speech. They are:[2] > > To keep quiet instead of speaking nonsense > > To speak the truth > > To speak endearing words > > To speak that which is in conformity with Dharma > > Honest means behaving with others in a truthful and straightforward way, > not manipulating others or playing with their emotions and not cheating > them in financial transactions. Truth and honesty are very basic human > virtues and he who does not have them is not considered a good human being, > not a good friend material or a good companion or spouse. No one trusts > someone who does not speak the truth, as is illustrated in the fable of > Aesop given below. > > Story (Aesop's Fable): The Boy who Cried Wolf There was a shepherd boy who > looked after his village sheep. He took them to the land on which grass > grew, so that the sheep could eat. One day, as the sheep were eating grass, > the boy felt bored. So he played a trick. He started yelling, "Wolf, wolf! > A wolf has come from the forest and is killing the sheep." When the > villagers heard him, they rushed with sticks and knives but found no wolf. > The realized that the boy had lied. > > The shepherd boy did the same joke on some other days. Every time the > villagers came, they saw that there was no wolf attacking the sheep. They > were angry at the boy for wasting their time. After the boy did this trick > a few times, the villagers stopped believing in him. One day, a wolf > actually did come and started eating the sheep. Once again, the boy cried, > "Wolf, wolf." But the villagers thought that he was lying. No one came to > drive the wolf away. The wolf killed all the sheep! The story shows that no > one believes a liar even if he speaks the truth. > > Truth is the Strength of One's Character : Integrity > > A person who is honest and speaks the truth even when there is a danger to > his life, health, and wealth etc., is said to be one of a very strong > character or in other words, he has moral integrity. In the Hindu > tradition, we revere the life of King Harishchandra[3] because he was > willing to forgo everything for the sake of truth and keeping his word. > Another story is that of Satyakāma, who risked being refused admission to > the elite school of Ṛṣi Gautama if he spoke the truth. And the third story > is of a judge in the court of a Hindu King who chose poverty and oblivion > over dishonesty and riches. > > Story: Harishchandra, the Truthful King Several thousand years ago, the > city of Ayodhya was ruled by King Harishchandra. He was a very good king > who took great care of everyone in his kingdom. He was famous for being > truthful and fair. He was married to Queen Chandramatī. Together, they had > a son named Rohitāshva.[4] One day, Ṛṣi Vishvāmitra decided to test > Harishchandra. By his powers of Yoga, Vishvamitra changed his form to > become a wild pig. This pig played havoc in Ayodhya. Everyone was fed up of > the pig. Harishchandra decided to get rid of the pig himself. He started > chasing the pig out of the city and entered a jungle. As he was chasing the > pig in the forest, Harishchandra lost his way. The pig disappeared. > > In fact, the pig had changed itself into a Brāhmana. When the king saw the > Brāhmana, he bowed out of respect. He did not recognize the fact that it > was the Ṛṣi who had changed himself to a pig and then to a Brāhmana. The > king asked the Brāhmana if he knew the way back to Ayodhya. The king > promised to give any gift to the Brāhmana if he could help him reach his > palace in Ayodhya. The Brāhmana agreed and asked the king to follow him, > till they reached Ayodhya. > > There, in Ayodhya, the Brāhmana reminded the king of his promise. He now > changed himself to his true form of Vishvāmitra. Then he said, "I want you > to gift your entire kingdom to me." The king was shocked, but he had to > keep his promise. But the Brāhmana then put in one more condition, "What > you gave to me was only because you had given me a promise. I am a very > respected Ṛṣi. Therefore, I want you to give me some more donations too." > Now, Harishchandra was in a fix. He had already given away everything to > Vishvāmitra. So he requested, "Ṛṣi, please give me one month. I and my wife > will arrange some money and give the gift to you after that time." > Vishvāmitra agreed. > > The king, his wife and their son now walked from Ayodhya to another city > named Varanasi. Harishchandra tried to find work for many, many days. But > no one offered him a job. One month was almost over and Harishchandra now > really got worried. Chandramatī felt sad to see her husband so upset. So > she said, "Why don't you sell me as a maid to someone else. With that > money, you can give the donation to Vishvāmitra." > > Harishchandra was very surprised to hear this. But he had no choice. This > time, Vishvamitra took on another disguise and appeared in front of them. > He offered to buy Chandramatī and Rohitāshva for some money. Harishchandra > took all the money to Sage Vishvamitra's home and offered it as donation. > But Vishvamitra was not happy, "What! This is so little. I need more. By > the sunset today, you must get me some more money for donation." So, > Harishchandra started looking for another job. > > Luckily, the owner of a cremation ground[5] offered him the job of a > doorkeeper. Harishchandra's duty was to collect money from the families who > brought in the dead for cremation. Meanwhile, while Rohitāshva was playing > on the banks of the Ganga river, a snake bit him and he died. Now > Chandramatī almost became mad with grief. She begged her master to let her > go so that she could at least take her dead son for a cremation. But the > master, who was actually Vishvamitra in disguise, said, "I have already > lost money because your son has died. I had paid money to get him, did I > not? Now I want you to work during the day. In the night, you can carry > your son's dead body and take him for cremation." > > At night, Chandramatī carried her son's body to the cremation ground. Due > to darkness and because she was so sad, her voice and appearance had > changed. The doorkeeper, who was none other than her husband Harishchandra, > did not recognize her. He demanded a fee for the ticket before she could > enter the cremation ground. Chandramatī cried and said, "I do not have any > money. The only thing I have is this Mangalsutra. Take it, and let me go in > so that I can at least cremate my son." A mangalasutra is a necklace of > black beads and gold that is worn by all married Hindu women. When > Harishchandra saw the mangalsutra, he immediately realized that it was none > other than his wife. And it was none other than their son who had died! > Both of them wept a lot at their bad luck and at their condition. > > But Harishchandra was so honest that he would not permit his own wife to > cremate their own son till she paid the fee for entering the cremation > ground. So the two made a deal, they said, "There is nothing more left in > our life. Our only son has died. We have no money. And there is no way we > can be happy. Let us cremate ourselves with our son's body." So > Harishchandra set up a pile of woods. On it, he placed Rohitāshva's body. > Then, he and his wife started to enter the fire. But as soon as they took a > step towards the fire, a miracle happened. Rohita came back to life, the > fire blew out. Devatās appeared in the sky and they saw Ṛṣi Vishvamitra > standing right next to them. The Ṛṣi said, "Dear King Harishchandra, I was > only testing your honesty. You had to suffer so much and yet, you tried > everything you could have done to give me my donation. You have kept your > word. You are a very great man. I have brought your son back to life." > Then, Ṛṣi Vishvamitra returned the kingdom to Harishchandra. > > Now the king and queen returned to their palace in Ayodhya, where they > ruled with fairness for several years. And after their death, they were > both taken to heaven, because they had been so truthful in their entire > life. The story of King Harishchandra teaches us that once we give a > promise, we should keep it. We may have to suffer a lot to keep our > promise. But we should not break our word given to someone else. > > The story of King Harishchandra has been very famous in India. Mahatma > Gandhi was inspired a lot by the honesty of this king. To honor him, the > very first movie made in India in the year 1913 was "Raja Harishchandra". > The movie was 40 minutes long. It was a black and white silent movie > because in those days, we did not have the technology to record the voice > of actors and play it along with the scenes in the movie! The film was made > by Dada Saheb Phalke and was a super hit. Today, India makes the largest > number of movies among all the countries of the world, but "Raja > Harishchandra" was the very first Indian movie. > > Trick Question: What was the language in which the movie "Rājā > Harishchandra" was made? > > Story: Satyakāma Jabāla, the truthful Student Once, a boy named Satyakāma > Jabāla wanted to study a lot. He heard that Ṛṣi Hāridrumata Gautama was a > very renowned scholar and that he was accepting new students. So he > approached Gautama with a request to take him in as a student too. In those > days, it was a custom for the teacher to ask about the family background of > their students because the students had to live all the time with others in > boarding schools. They would interact with each other throughout the day. A > single student from a bad family could spoil the atmosphere of the boarding > school. For this reason, famous teachers who ran the top-notch schools had > to make sure that all of their students were from good families and had > good values. Therefore, Gautama also asked Satyakāma, "What is your family > background and who are your mother and father?" > > ow, Satyakāma had never seen his father. So he went to his mother to ask. > When he put the question to her, she trembled with fear, but told him > truthfully, "When I was young, I knew a lot of men. Therefore, I do not > know who your father was. My name is Jabāla. Therefore you are Satyakāma > Jabāla." Now Satyakāma felt ashamed of what he heard. He thought that if he > were to tell the truth to his teacher, he would be refused admission > outright. But he decided to speak the truth. > > When he approached the teacher, he found all the other students in the > classroom studying. The teacher asked him, "Did you find out about your > family details?" Satyakāma Jabāla said, "Guruji, my mother Jabāla does not > know who my father was. Therefore, she said that I am Satyakama Jabāla." > When the students heard this, there was a hushed silence, because they were > all aghast. They were sure that Gautama would immediately turn him out of > the school. > > But Gautama said, "This child did not hesitate to speak the truth. And > truth alone is the true mark of belonging to good family. And therefore, I > have no hesitation to say that Satyakāma's parents are both very noble > because he did not hesitate to speak the truth to me. I will surely accept > him as my student." And so, Satyakāma became a student of Gautama. In fact, > in the course of time, he became a great Rishi himself and compiled several > Vedic and other Hindu scriptures. The Jabāla Upaniṣad, a sacred scripture > of the Hindus named after him still exists and is highly respected to this > day. > > Judge Rām Śāstri prefers poverty and oblivion over riches earned through > dishonesty. Rām Śāstri was the chief judge at the royal court of the > Peshwa,[6] who ruled a large empire in India. He lived a very simple and > frugal life, following the Hindu scriptural teachings that Brāhmanas must > not live lavishly. One day, his wife visited the Queen in her palace. > Seeing her soiled clothes, the Queen gifted her with expensive clothing and > jewelry. When Rām Śāstri saw his wife return home wearing her gifts in a > palanquin, he immediately shut the door on her, saying, "It looks like a > Queen has accidentally come to a poor Brāhmana's home." The wife understood > her husband's intent. She returned to the palace and changed back into her > old clothes. > > his time, when she walked to her home, she found that Rām Śāstri had > already kept the door open for her to enter. When she arrived, he said to > her, "A Brāhmana's wife must also live very simply, otherwise we will lose > our real treasure, which is humility." Sometime later, the Peshwa died and > his son, a child, was murdered by his Uncle Raghoba. Rām Śāstri was asked > to adjudicate in the case and be the judge in the trial of Raghoba. > > Raghoba and his wife were a very powerful couple in the Maratha Empire. > They offered riches to Rām Śāstri if he delivered a verdict declaring them > innocent. When Ram Śāstri did not agree, they threatened to have him > murdered. But he still did not budge and finally pronounced Raghoba guilty > of murder of his nephew. Due to political complications, Raghoba was spared > the sentence and was asked to be the next King. Rām Śāstri retired to his > native village. He preferred to live the rest of his life in isolation and > poverty than give up his principles of truth, honesty and simple living. A > more contemporary example is given below where a businessman actually > speaks the truth out of honesty to lose money. > > Story: Business Owner returns extra Money back to his Insurance Company > Once, Gitā Press, a publisher of Hindu scriptures in N India, set up a > stall for sale of its books during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. > Unfortunately, a fire broke out in the area and the stall of the Gitā Press > also suffered a lot of damage. The shop caretaker filed a claim for Rs > 14,000 which was the total insured amount of the books with the insurance > company and got a check for this amount soon from them. > > A few days later, the owner of Gitā Press Jaydayal Goenka asked the shop > care-taker, "Did we sell any books before the fire broke out?" The > shopkeeper confirmed that half the books worth Rs 7000 had been sold and > the money collected had been safely deposited before the remaining books > got destroyed. Goenka was furious when he heard this and reprimanded his > employee, "If you had already sold books worth Rs 7000, then how dare you > file a claim for Rs 14,000? I want you to return the excess Rs 7000 to the > insurance company and ask them for forgiveness for this lapse." > > Speaking a Lie by not speaking the Truth > > Another type of lie is when we deliberately keep quiet when we should have > spoken the truth. We kept quiet because we were scared or because we think > that we will lose a lot of money or friends by speaking the truth. In > several lawsuits involving crimes like murder and robbery, the courts > request witnesses to come forward to either give evidence against or in > favor of the accused. Suppose you come to know that a man accused of murder > was not the actual culprit because you were present at the scene of the > crime and had seen the murderer actually, then it is your duty to step > forward and give your witness statement. But if you are scared that by > getting the accused released and by revealing the name of the true murderer > your own life will get endangered because the true murderer will get his > henchman to kill you if he finds out that you are going to reveal his name > to others, then you will not go to the court to give your testimony. As a > result of your silence, the falsely accused person might get convicted and > get hanged, although you saved your own life. > > In such situations, it requires real courage and intelligence to act > correctly. You could request for police protection in return for your > eye-witness account or request anonymity in return for providing the > evidence the court needs. But if you just stay scared and do not try > anything at all, an innocent person will lose his life. This is an example > of silence that is equivalent to speaking a big lie. > > Half Truths > > Sometimes, we speak a half truth and a half lie. In the Mahābhārata, we > come across an incident where a person who always spoke the truth had to > speak a lie for the sake of Dharma. In the great war between the righteous > Pāndavas and the evil Kauravas, the Pāndavas were having a tough time > defeating Droṇa, who was fighting on behalf of the Kauravas. They knew that > Droṇa really loved Ashvatthāmā, his only son. So Kṛṣṇa asked Bhima to kill > the elephant Ashvatthāmā. > > hen, he asked Yudhishthira to say the sentence, "Ashvatthāma, the > elephant, is dead." and told him that the words "the elephant," will be > drowned out by a loud sound. So when Yudhishthira was speaking this > sentence, Kṛṣṇa blew his conch shell exactly at the time of the words "the > elephant." All that Droṇa heard was, "Ashvatthāmā is dead." He was shocked > to learn that his son was dead. As he heard it from Yudhishthira, he had no > reason to disbelieve it. He lost all will to fight and another warrior > Dhrishtadyumna came up from behind and beheaded Droṇa. > > Prior to this incident, Yudhishthira's chariot wheels always levitated a > little above the ground. But after he had spoken his first lie of his life, > the wheels came down to the ground with a thud. When he died, he had to > visit hell for a short time, to pay for this lie that he had spoken. > However, the punishment that he received for being a part of a lie that > caused Droṇa's death was very mild. The reason was that Yudhishthira was on > the side of Dharma and he had spoken the lie so that Dharma would win. > > Instances where we should speak a Lie > > However, there are instances where speaking a lie is not considered a bad > thing or where speaking a truth is bad whereas speaking a lie is good. Sage > Nārada said, "Speaking the truth is a good thing, but even better is > speaking that which promotes the welfare of others. In fact, I am of the > firm opinion that those words alone are truth which promote the welfare of > other living beings."[7] > > Sharmishtha says to King Yayati, "Words said in a joke do not cause harm > even if they are lies. If one says a lie to his wife, during marriage, to > save one's life or to prevent the loss of all possessions, then these five > lies are not considered as evil/sin.[8] > > Sharmishtha says to Yayati, "If some bear false witness to save another > man's life, then calling that witness a liar would be incorrect. But where > the witness utters a lie to save only his life and not that of another > person whose life also depends on his deposition, then the lying witness > will get destroyed by his falsehood.[9] > > Bheeshma said, "If lying under oath frees you from captivity by evil > captors, then speak that lie. As much as possible, do not let wealth pass > into the hands of evil people because wealth gifted to them will recoil and > cause harm to the giver himself.[10] > > Story: Sage Kaushika Goes to Hell for Speaking the Truth In the > Mahābhārata, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna a story illustrating how speaking a > harsh truth that causes harm to others is sinful. Lord Krishna describes a > Brahmana named Kaushika who took a vow of speaking truth at all the times. > He constructs a hut on the banks of Ganga and spends all his time praying > and practicing meditation. He never speaks a single lie and becomes famous > as a saint who always speaks the truth. > > One day, a band of bandits came to his home, chasing a group of innocent > people who were trying to escape bandits and had passed by Kaushika's home. > The bandits say to Kaushika, "You never speak a lie. Therefore tell us in > which direction have the people we are chasing gone?" Kaushika knew that if > he spoke the truth, the bandits will find the innocent fleeing people and > they will rob and kill them. But he thought that he must speak truthfully > because he had taken a vow to speak the truth always. Therefore, upon being > asked as to whereabouts of these innocent people fleeing the bandits, > Kaushika tells the bandits which direction the people went. As a result the > bandits captured the innocent victims and killed them. Lord Krishna calls > this "truthful" Kaushika as a fool, as one ignorant of Dharma who misused > his vow of speaking truth always to cause harm to innocent people; and as a > result of speaking this "truth", Kaushika went to Hell. Krishna then > summarizes his teaching to Arjuna in the following verses: > > speaking the truth always is indeed a great virtue. Indeed, nothing but > virtue is perhaps superior to speaking the truth. But the practical aspects > of speaking truth are very difficult to understand.[11] > > Sometimes truth is protected by speaking the truth, sometimes by not > speaking it at all or sometimes even by speaking a lie. If a person is > losing everything, then it is better to speak a lie if that lie will save > that person from utter ruin.[12] > > If speaking a truth will cause someone?s death or break someone?s > marriage, then it is better to say a lie. In such situations, speaking the > truth is equivalent to a lie, and speaking a lie is equivalent to speaking > the truth.[13] > > Only a fool thinks that speaking a formal truth alone is Dharma at all > times. Instead, he alone is a knower of Dharma who speaks the truth only > after considering the situation (as stated in the above verses).[14] > > If a false promise can get you freedom from kidnappers, then better say a > lie. It would be a greater evil to promise a ransom to kidnappers and then > pay the amount to them after freedom because wealth given to evil men > begets misery for the speaker of the truth himself. One must not therefore > hesitate to speak a lie if it promotes Dharma.[15] > > Story: Double-Crossing Brothers Save the Dharma of Hindus Another example > where it was OK to be dishonest and speak a lie is from Indian history in > the life of brothers Harihara and Bukka: > > In the 14th cent. CE, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Muslim Sultan of Delhi, > invaded south India, he smashed several temples replacing them with > mosques, massacred Hindus and did several other atrocities against Hindus. > In one of these campaigns, he captured the fort of Kumata, the chief > Ramanatha died in the battle and all the ladies committed Jauhar[16] and > all the residents of the fort, including Harihara and Bukka were captured, > taken to Delhi and converted to Islam. > > The Hindus remaining in that region soon rose in rebellion. This adverse > turn of events in that area forced Tughlaq to depend on the two converted > brothers, who had belonged the erstwhile nobility of that region. He made > them administer oaths of loyalty and sent them South to curb the revolts > and rule the region under his name. However, when the brothers reached > their native region, an influential Hindu monk Swami Vidyāraṇya inspired > them to return to their ancestral faith. Further, there was an uprising of > Hindus in the region and Harihara and Bukka attained the role of leaders of > Hindus and established Hindu rule there, guided by the Swami and his > scholarly brothers Sayana and Mayana. > > The two brothers established the glorious Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in the > region that lasted for over two centuries. This period led to a revival of > Hindu Dharma in South India and prevented it from getting destroyed. While > the empire lasted, dozens of Hindu scholars and saints arose in the region > and they wrote thousands of explanations on Hindu scriptures, devotional > hymns to Hindu Devatas and several temples were constructed across the > region. These contributions of the Hindu Empire continue to influence > Hindus to the present day. In short, this act of "double-crossing" of the > fanatical Sultan by the two brothers who were converted to Islam by force, > saved our Dharma in South India. > > Difference between a Bitter Truth and an Evil-Intentioned Truth > > A bitter truth is one which hurts the listener but has been said for his > benefit. E.g., during a parent-teacher meeting or conference, the teacher > has to tell the truth about your bad grades to your parents. Although this > news causes them pain, they need to know it so that they can work with you > at home to work harder on your studies. The teacher's intention in giving > the bad news to your parents is good, because she wants you to study better > and improve your grades. > > On the contrary, an evil-intentioned truth involves speaking the truth > with the intent of hurting the listener. Such people are described very > aptly in this Sanskrit proverb: > > "A wicked man feels elated when he has hurts others with his unkind words. > On the contrary, a good man repents immediately even if he makes an unkind > remark out of carelessness."[17] > > It is very common to find people who will flatter us with lies, caring > only that they stay in our good books all the time. These selfish people > fear that speaking the bitter truth that annoys us initially will invite > our anger and displeasure towards them. They do not care that speaking the > bitter truth will benefit us in the long run. A well-wisher and a genuine > friend on the other hand will always speak that bitter truth to us because > he wants our welfare and is not too worried about how we will react his > words spoken to us. > > Likewise, as a listener, it is also our duty to hear the bitter truth and > react to it in a positive way by learning from it and improving ourself > instead of getting angry at the speaker. Sant Kabir has said very > eloquently, "Keep your critic close to you in a home in your own courtyard. > The critic purifies and cleans our character without using any soap or > water." > > Story: King Bhoja requests his fearless critic to become his teacher This > story is taken from the source: Bhojaprabandha. Rājā Bhoja, who ruled > central India in the 11th cent. CE was renowned for his generosity and > patronage to scholars and poets. But in his initial years, he was a miserly > King. One morning, he was touring his capital. A Brahmana crossed his way > and then suddenly turned his face away. > > Rājā Bhoja was perplexed, because the Brahmana had insulted him by not > greeting his own King. He asked the Brahmana as to why he had the look of > disgust when he saw his King. The Brahmana replied, "Your majesty, wealth > and joys of this world are all temporary and they do not last forever. It > is only our good acts of Dharma that accompany us when we die. Giving > charity brings glory to Kings that last beyond their lives. Unfortunately, > you are a miser and it is bad luck to see the face of a miser in the > morning. That the reason why I had turned my face away from you." > > The King was impressed with the Brahmana's response. He thought, "It is > not difficult for a King to be surrounded by flatterers. But this Brahmana > is brave and truthful." He asked the Brahmana to come to the court every > day to give a sermon. From that day onwards, Rājā Bhoja became a great > patron of scholars and poets. > > Truth and Responsibility > > Truth is defined as speech that is free from hurt and falsehood and which > is also consistent with the facts. But, it is not sufficient that our > intentions are good when we speak the truth. In addition to good intention, > we should also make sure that we ascertain our facts. For example, a > traveler who is lost asks us for directions to reach his friend's home. We > give him the directions believing them to be correct, even though they are > not. As a result, the traveler gets lost. Although our intentions were good > and we thought that we gave the correct directions, we did not make sure > that we really knew the correct path. Because of our carelessness, the > traveler got lost. This example shows that we have a responsibility to make > sure that our facts are also correct. > > Truth and Sensitivity: Joke with Care > > Sometimes it is not our intention to hurt the other person. But we say > something that is true and hurts the listener, even though we had not > wanted to hurt him. Therefore, we should be sensitive to how the other > person will react to our statements. > > Sometimes, we say innocent lies to others to joke and have a little fun. > E.g., saying to a friend, "Look, there is an ugly sticker pasted on your > backside", when there is none, it is an innocent lie that startles your > friend and allows everyone to have some fun. There is nothing wrong in > doing so, especially if we joke with our friends. However, when we are > joking, we should be sensitive of how others feel. If we keep joking with > the same person all the time, it becomes teasing, harassment and bullying. > > Also, some people might be very sensitive about certain things and we > should not joke to them about that because they might take things > seriously. E.g., joking to elderly parents by saying, "You don't expect me > to take care of your medical bills, do you?" is a poor joke even if you > intend to pay their bills because your parents can take it to their heart > that they are dependent on you for help in paying their bills. > > Types of Truth and their Acceptability > > From the above discussion, it is clear that speaking the truth is not as > straightforward as it appears to be. Sometimes, we have to speak a lie, > sometimes we should just keep quiet, sometimes we must speak a bitter truth > and so on. The table below gives the summary of guidelines that we should > follow to decide whether we should speak the truth or not in a given > situation: > > Type of Truth Example Acceptability > > Factually correct and meant to cause happiness "Bhagavān is our > Creator, Provider and he wants us to speak the truth." Acceptable > > Factually a lie, but intended to cause happiness. A physician does not > want to tell his patient that he has a dreadful cancer because telling the > truth to the patient will cause him a lot of pain and reduce the chances of > his recovery. Therefore, the physician tells the patient that his cancer is > very mild and will go away with simple treatment. Acceptable. In colloquial > English, this lie is called a "white lie". > > Factually correct but meant to cause pain and sorrow. My cousin invites me > to see her new house. When I come to see the house, I tell her that I don't > like it and that it wasn't worth the amount that she paid for it. Or > telling on your sibling with the devious intention of getting him or her > scolded by your parents. Unacceptable > > Factually incorrect and meant to cause pain and sorrow Ram knew that > Sohan was blind. When Sohan tripped and fell, Ram pretended that he did not > know of Sohan's blindness and shouted, "You idiot, can't you see with your > two eyes?" Unacceptable > > Some practical expressions of being truthful and honest > > In our day to day life, here are some of the qualities we can show to > demonstrate that we are truthful and honest: > > > > Reliability: A reliable person is consistently trustworthy, truthful and > helpful. He can be depended upon for help and assistance at any time. A > dishonest / non-truthful person can never be reliable. A reliable friend, > for example, will always step forward to help out his friend in need. > > Sincerity: Sincerity means being truthful in mind, word and deed and not > make statements in which one does not believe in. For example, a person who > is sincere about honesty will not praise bribery in front of corrupt people > just to please them and make friends with them. > > Consistency: This means that we practice good behavior day after day and > not erratically. A consistent student is truthful to his duty of studying > diligently and maintains good grades throughout his academic year. > > Integrity: Integrity means sticking to one's moral and spiritual values > even if there is pressure to deviate from them and compromise with them. > For example, an honest person with integrity or sense of character will not > pocket a wallet found on the street even if it has a million dollars in it. > > Truth, Profit and Divine Protection > > Several people believe that being truthful and honest is foolish because a > person practicing these virtues always comes to ruin. But Hindu Dharma and > all other religions teach that Bhagavān Himself takes care of individuals > who are truthful, honest and are devoted to Him. The following story of a > saint illustrates this principle. > > Story: How Bhagavān protected Sant Wadhuram from being cheated Sant > Wadhuram[18] was a humble grocer in the town of Bhiria in the Nawabshah > district of Sindh. He had sacks of grains and other eatables in his shop > and a wooden measuring bowl to weigh out exact quantities of the foodstuff > for his customers. He collected all the money received in a clay pot kept > next to him. His business strategy was very clear and open. He told the > customers, "I will sell 16 measures of the bowl for Re. one and add one > anna as profit. You can measure the sixteen measures yourself and place one > Rupee and one anna in my clay pot." Sometimes, the customers would ask, > "What if we cheat you and measure 17 or 18 wooden bowls but put only one > Rupee in the pot?" Wadhuram would smile and say, "My Thakur[19] is sitting > next to me and He will take care of it." > > One day, a dishonest customer paid Rs. 2 plus the anna for profit to > Wadhuram but took 36 measures of grain while Wadhuram was looking away. But > as soon as that customer reached home, he had a severe attack of colic > which no medicine was able to cure. The customer felt very guilty and > returned to the shop to confess his guilt and seek forgiveness. Wadhuram > forgave him and asked him to be honest in the future. The news of this > incident spread like wild-fire and the town folk started addressing > Wadhuram as Bhagat[20] Wadhuram. > > At another time, a customer came to buy patāshas and paid with two silver > rupee coins. When he reached home, he discovered that the coins had > accidentally fallen into the packet of the patāshas or in other words, he > had not paid Wadhuram anything for the patāshas. In those days, Rs. 2 was a > large sum of money. The customer gloated to his wife how he got the > patāshas for free. She asked him to be honest and return to Wadhuram's shop > to pay the amount, but he would not listen. Soon thereafter, his eyesight > began to fail. The customer took this as a punishment for cheating a > saintly shopkeeper. He went to Wadhuram, confessed and apologized and paid > the amount owed. > > Wadhuram asked him to practice honesty and truth in the future but said, > "Since the two coins fell into your bag of patāshas, they added to their > weight. Therefore, you got less patāshas than you should have. Let me weigh > out some more patāshas equal in weight to the two silver Rupee coins so > that I can give you what I owe to you now." Then, Wadhuram weight the > patāshas and gave them to the customer, who was astonished at the Bhagat's > honesty and humility. {KANCHI MUTT} > > Sources Swami Akhandanand Saraswati (1970), p. 74 > > Mahābhārata 12.329.13 > > Mahābhārata 1.82.16 > > Mahābhārata 1.82.17 > > Mahābhārata 12.109.16-17 > > Mahābhārata 8.49.27 > > Mahābhārata 8.49.28 > > Mahābhārata 8.49.29 > > Mahābhārata 8.49.30 > > Mahābhārata 8.49.54-55 > > K RAJARAM IRS 8426 > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZorw-9W%2B_ye6hHX%3D1chENtob5jfa3xGKuekW-Ps8mBMGpg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/CAL5XZorw-9W%2B_ye6hHX%3D1chENtob5jfa3xGKuekW-Ps8mBMGpg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/78919058.261178.1775649391463%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/78919058.261178.1775649391463%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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