The elusiveness of Truth in human life was presented in my previous article, We must keep our hope as we search for Truth, 听amplified with insights from the Hindu faith.听听Let us look further into Truth as an absolute necessity for human life 鈥� as essential as the air that we breath, for the survival of our species.听听We will also make reference to听mythological听and听historical stories听from听Hindu culture听that illustrate the infallibility of Truth.
Truth reflects integrity, and without integrity, man is nothing.听听Truth is also the foundation of Trust.听听And without Trust, the entire human civilization would collapse.
If you think this is utter exaggeration and hyperbole, consider this: you work, you earn a wage, then you receive an 鈥渙fficial鈥� looking piece of paper (pay cheque) that has your name and a dollar amount reflecting your earnings.听听You take that 鈥渙fficial鈥� piece of paper (pay cheque) to your bank and deposit it; the bank accepts it.听听You buy essentials at the store for you and your family to live on, and pay with a piece of plastic (credit card) or with a piece of paper (currency), and the store accepts it.听听The store collects payment from your bank account.听听All this involves Trust.听听You trusted your employer to give you the necessities of your livelihood as a note of promise (unlike in the very ancient system of barter), in return for your work contribution to the employer.听听The bank accepted your pay cheque because it trusts you.听听And the merchant allowed you to buy groceries, because he trusted you when you used your plastic card to pay for groceries.
There are literally zillions of such transactions occurring all around the world each day.听听All based on Trust, which arises out of Truth.听听And this Trust is enforceable by law.
Trust is also essential between individuals and leaders of organizations or states, and between states / nations to maintain economic health and a decent life for human beings.听听Trust, which is supported by international law.听听Without Truth, this whole system can collapse.听听The greatest example of coming close to a global collapse in recent times is the global financial crisis of 2008, whose origin lies in lies 鈥� an utter听abandonment of Truth and Trust听that went unnoticed and was brazenly side-lined by greedy persons forsaking Truth.
Weakening of Truth and Trust starts to occur when we, as a family, as a society, as a nation, fail as adults, as parents, as teachers, and as leaders, fail to be vigilant in adhering to Truth.听听Children, from a very young age, must be brought up understanding Truth in a way that they internalize it 鈥� that is, Truth becomes part of every cell of their being.
Adhering to听Truth听requires tremendous听discipline, and may require听sacrifice.
The Hindu mythological story of听King听Harishchandra听illustrates how an honest and truthful person (the king), no matter how rich and powerful, sacrifices his wealth and power to preserve his own integrity.听听The king and his wife, after giving up their kingdom and wealth, face challenge upon challenge, undergo tragedy after tragedy, but never give up their integrity, honesty, truthfulness or humanity.听听In the end, the Gods themselves show appreciation on听Harishchandra听and his wife, and restore his status as King.
In the history of the听Maratha听kingdom of India, the history of judge听Ram Shastri听is well known.听听When the king dies, the king鈥檚 young son is murdered by the uncle named听Raghoba.听听When judge听Ram Shastri听was appointed to conduct the murder trial,听Raghoba听tried to bribe, intimidate and even threaten judge听Ram Shastri鈥檚 life.听听At the trial of the uncle听Raghoba, judge听Ram Shastri听never wavered from Truth, and based on evidence, declared听Raghoba听as guilty of the murder of his own young nephew.听听When political considerations by the state council spared听Raghoba听of punishment, and appointed him as the king, judge听Ram Shastri听retired to his village to live out the rest of his life in isolation and poverty 鈥� a great sacrifice.
Truth, Trust and Integrity are the pillars of human societies, reinforced by laws of the nation and by international laws agreed upon by nations.听听If Truth, Trust and Integrity start to weaken, then human society itself can begin to crumble.听听Corruption and chaos could lead to weakening or even extinction of such a society.听听Societies need to be continuously reminded of these important spiritual principles, by spiritual leaders and teachers and nation builders of every generation.
The impending Climate Change/Global Warming catastrophe absolutely requires every human being on the planet to face the Truth, rise to the challenge, and do whatever is necessary to avert it.听听Otherwise, human existence itself on this planet is doomed.
Suresh Basrur听practises the Hindu faith, participates in inter-faith activities in Victoria, and speaks to audiences about Hindu religion, philosophy and practices.
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking,
Photo by听听on听
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