Years ago I took a solemn vow to God: always speak the truth. There are many disciplines one can take up, but this is one of the most stringent. You may think, “Well, I generally speak the truth,” but generally won’t do—it must be every word.
When I was young I would tell a lie to avoid getting into trouble. It was based on fear; so truth and courage must go hand in hand. Even into my adult years I might have said something that was untrue, even if it was shading a thing to make myself look better. So, to speak the truth means you are simple, open—without guile or pretense—like an innocent child.
There is one essential component that must accompany truth for it to be complete, and that is love; the intention of what is said must be for the highest good of all. I have seen so-called truth used like a bludgeon; a cruel stroke not meant to heal but to hurt and dominate. This is not truth, for the intention behind the revelation comes with a crooked purpose—it is based on a lie. In the Mahabharata, Krishna works to mediate a solution with Duryodhana before the great war, but the egotistical king is spoiling for a fight and refuses to budge. After the war Duryodhana angrily berates Krishna for causing the war, and relates a number of events when blaming him—as the reader we know that what Duryodhana is saying is factually true. Krishna tells Duryodhana that all he says is a lie! To understand Krishna’s response, we must go behind the scenes and understand that the Lord is not responding to the outward facts, but Duryodhana’s premise that the war was Krishna’s fault—in reality it was Duryodhana who pushed the world into cataclysm. A series of facts alone does not alone determine truth.
I have seen an individual tell all the worst things about himself at a first meeting in a social situation. On the surface it may seem he is a humble person. But looking a little deeper, rather than self-abnegation being the reason he is truthful, he is actually trying to preserve his ego. It is an attempt to inoculate himself, “If the worst is said by me, then you will not criticize me, for I have already done that, and even exaggerated my faults.” So, you see, it is not the truth because one, it is an exaggeration, and two, the motivation is not humility, but egotism-the socially intended purpose is a falsehood.
Once when I was crossing the border into Canada the guard asked me a question—I went on to add information to my answer. He very curtly cut me off and said that I should only answer the question asked! I took this to heart. Always speaking the truth does not mean we must say everything we know; we only need to know that what we say is true. To make sure this is not a “sin of omission,” we need to know our purpose in choosing our words. If by not saying something someone is harmed, then we should carefully consider our action—we must be clear if it is the falsehood of fear or desire nature that was driving our words.
There are many tests in everyday circumstance for us to speak and know the truth. Some people have the tendency to see the worst in everything. Listening to the news can make the world seem a terrible place. However, the news is very one sided: almost all of it is bad news. Little is said about the vast, vast majority who did not suffer trauma on a particular day—because there is a lack of balance it is not the truth. On the other hand, there are those who do not want to face a truth because it makes them uncomfortable or it is painful, this is lopsided in the other direction. And, some will watch a show about an extremely bad situation, and say, “Now, that is real life!” But who’s real life is it? Does that mean that all those who are not drug addicts, victims of abuse or murder do not have real lives? And then there are those who become livid at what they hear about a public figure—yet, how are we to know the inner person and the whole situation from what is reported? Truth means we do not distort the reality—truth goes to the heart of the matter with clarity, not swayed by emotion or bias.
When truth and love go together it does not diminish the clarity of truth. There are some very hard realities about life, and people commit acts of evil that should not be swept under the rug. However, as a member of this world, and that world includes the evil which is done, if our outrage for wrong action disconnects us from God and the universal vision, then our emotional reaction cannot be said to represent the whole truth. If someone has suffered some trauma in his life, then he sees someone else suffer a similar fate and he sees red, consumed with hatred at the action, then he is not dealing with the whole truth, but a painful reaction to his own past that is projected upon the present. Those committing terrible acts must be stopped, and that is a loving act for the villain as well as the victim, because although the victimizer may be jailed and face consequences for his actions, he is prohibited from further heinous actions which would continue to further darken his soul.
To know the truth in its totality you must have a calm mind. By meditating deeply you pierce the veil of separation and realize the all-pervasive Spirit—you know truth as God knows it and through the universal vision you realize that you cannot be separate from any part of creation. To perceive truth on this level entails more than always speaking the truth—however speaking the truth is a pre-requisite to attaining and becoming established in this higher plane of consciousness. Those who lie and try to cover things up and then go on to say they represent the highest truth cannot be what they say they are.
Let us explore together the practice of speaking the truth—it is one of the great disciplines we may engage in. As we go even further into it, let us then be focused on realizing the supreme Truth at its highest level. How do we know we have come into knowing this higher truth? The great Master Jesus said that when you know the truth, it sets you free—no truer words have ever been spoken.