Truthfulness

The word "truth" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word treowe and originally from the Sanskrit word derew, both meaning "tree." The idea is that one who is truthful is as firm, upright and strong as a tree. When one is truthful, he does not misrepresent the facts, but presents them fully for the benefit of others. Of course it is conventional from the social point of view to speak the truth only when it is palatable to others, but this is not what is meant by truthfulness. One should always speak the truth under all circumstances, although it may seem to be unpalatable at the time. Flattery, like insult, is directed to the body. How can one flatter the spirit soul? So, neglecting to be truthful for the sake of flattering others is indulging in a type of sense gratification. In the Srimad Bhagavatam it is said that the Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates. So we should understand what the Absolute Truth is, and we should always speak according to that understanding. Then we will be speaking truthfully. Lord Jesus Christ has said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The truth frees us because when we tell the truth we do not become entangled by trying to compromise with material situations, which are always changing. Because we know the Absolute Truth, which is, "God is great and we are subservient," we have a center for speech, thought and action and so are straightforward in all our dealings. By not becoming entangled in a chain of lies, we are set free.

If we don't accept our subservient position before God then we have to do it before material nature. It is a false notion that we are independent. We cannot be absolute. Nature's law forces us to starve, forces us to take breath, forces us to get sick and die. Materialistic ideas of independence and freedom are but the wishful pipedreams of feverish brains. In America the slaves thought that when they would be set free, all their problems would be solved, but the Emancipation Proclamation was just the beginning of their problems. Similarly, India, although eating well under British rule, was hankering for independence. But now that she is free she is starving and begging. So what is this independence? It is simply illusion. We are all put under the jurisdiction of material nature. Our freedom only comes when we are subservient to the Absolute Truth. When one serves the government he partakes of the opulence of the government, and when one serves the Absolute Truth he partakes of the qualities of the Absolute Truth and so becomes truthful and free from illusion. He speaks of the Absolute Truth for the benefit of others, and he does not invent but bases his statements on scripture. It is often said that God is truth and is referred to as Absolute Truth because He is never at variance with truth. This is to say that He is never false or in a state of illusion, nor can there be any duplicity in Him.

Meister Eckhart once wrote, "What is Truth? Truth is something so noble that if God could turn aside from it, I could keep to the truth and let God go." This means that the concept of "God," which is the concept of Absolute Controller, is not as important as Absolute Truth. Out of helplessness we yield to the Absolute Controller, but out of love we yield to the Absolute Truth.