There is this one conflict which probably all of us have experienced at some point of time or the other. My English teacher used to say (and probably, everybody has heard similar things from some senior or the other) that at every crossroad of life, you will get two roads. One of them would be the easy way out to all your problems that you might be facing at that particular time. This road will give you probably all the comforts that you are looking out for, it will give you pleasures unlimited and soo you will feel that you have taken the right road and be happy about it. The other road will be the difficult one - where you will face lot of difficulties and hard times. This road leads to the truth. Every step you take on that road, you will have to fight your way out, and its going to be tough... but in the long run you will emerge a winner if you can stick on to that road.
Each one of us have some golden words deep rooted in our hearts which we regard as THE PRINCIPLE of our lives. For me, my English Teacher's words were like that. She taught me the importance of honesty and truthfulness. She taught me the value of being an honest person. As I grew up and faced tougher situations in life that attaining surprise class tests, I realised that she was indeed right in what she said. At every crossroad of my life, I did get two roads. Like during exam times, if I had not prepared well, the easy way out would have been cheating from my friend's copy. And I did that in life once, and got very good marks. So apparently, I should have been happy...not studying and even getting good marks is cool!!! But that day, when I went back home, showed my copy to my father and uncles, and got a lot of appreciation from them, I felt so cheap. They were praising me for something that is not mine - the score of that exam was definitely not mine - it was my friend's score they were praising - I felt so hollow. Today I thank my English teacher (and indirectly God) for giving me that maturity to realise that this praise, and all the good thingsa that were happenning to me because of my chetaing, were not good at all. I realised, if I had not cheated, then my score would have been less, probably I would have got a bashing from my father for that low a score, probably some form of punishment as well like, no chocolates for the next one week or whatever...but atleast I would have been at peace... and today, I thnak God for making me realise that when I was 14 years old.
What is peace - is peace all about not facing the truth? is peace all about running away from the truth? is peace all about not standing by what you believe? - why? just because if you face the truth, or stand by it, you may face a lot of hardships? This lead me to a question I often ask myself and others as well... why do we lie? I have got many answers to this question of mine:
a) We lie in order to save someone else - perfect
b) We lie to avoid violence - why?
c) We lie because thats the ony resort - who said so?
d) We lie because we are afraid of speaking the truth - what is "fear"?
I know, there cannot be generalisations in life - each and every one of us is different, we face unique circumstances, and even if we face similar circumstances, we definitely react uniquely to them. So probably, each one of us have our own unique reasonning for our lies. But I still cannot understand why we have to lie...why we have to deviate from the truth. Take my example. Was I really happy to get all the adulation and appreciation for getting high score in exam? No, I was not...simply becuase I didnt deserve them. I realised that I would have been better off if I didnt cheat, and got less marks instead. But at that point of time, when I decided to cheat, probably I took that decision because:
a) I thought that would "save" me from getting less marks
b) I thought that would help me "avoid" my father's punishments
c) I thought that the "only resort" to save myself from the fact that I didnt do my studies which I should have
d) I was "afraid" of facing the consequences
But the fact remains that by "cheating", I was no better-off... even though apparently everything turned out to be just perfect for me. Then the question arises, even though everything was the best that could have happened under the given circumstance - why did I feel bad about it? - the reason is - my CONSCIENCE... yes, our conscience tells us what is right and what is wrong. My conscience told me not to cheat ever, and never in my life I cheated during exam...
So may be, people who continues to lie in their lives, their conscience doesnt stop them from doing so... this led me to another question, which I am still looking out for an answer...
Why are there people who conscinece doesnt tell them that TRUTH is the ultimate... you should always strive to speak the truth, stand by the truth and face the truth... because good, or bad; peaceful or violent; acceptable or not-acceptable; TRUTH is the ultimate, u cannot change it...so why cover it up with LIES??? Just for a temporary relief? Just for a temporary peaceful ambience? Just for a little bit of more comfort?
Am still looking out for answers - please do let me know your views...why do we LIE, and can LIES actually cover up the TRUTH? Can the tower of PEACE be built on the pillar of LIES? Can such TOWER suvive for long? Can you actually be at peace by covering up TRUTH? Can you have a peaceful night's dream, when you know you are lieing, or hiding truth? Can we look into our eyes in the mirror, when we have done something our CONSCIENCE doesnt approve of?
I have these questions am seeking out answers for... If I lie, can I teach my children the value of truth? Or is it not important at all to teach our children the value of honesty - simply because if am not honest, I dont value it myself... what values are we planning to give to our next generation? I remember a quote, once a friend of mine used as his signature
"Is the child you were, proud of the man you are?"
And if not...can you really pass on the qualities of your chilhood to your next generation?...You cannot, simply because you do not possess them anymore...so my dear grown ups, next time you do anything, that your childhood would not approve of...stop right then, not for you, but for your child...because WHAT YOU ARE TODAY, YOUR CHILD WILL BECOME TOMORROW...stop that from happenning...its better late than never.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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6 comments:
but in a situation where the truth could lead to terrible consequences ... what does one do? i am taking an extreme example ... the Taliban are standing for what they believe is true, and they are saying it openly, so they would be far more praiseworthy than someone who is a closet Sharia follower, even though the latter may not be imposing it on anyone?
You yourself mentioned - you are taking an extreme example... and by the way, its very important to have a clear definition of "truth"...and that "truth" is not the only aspect of a sound character...it is one of the most immportant aspect. And to comment on your eg, before believing in Sharia... how "true" is Sharia in the first place. What you are talking about here, is believing customs, rituals which are not good for the majority of the masses... then toh Raj Ram Mohan Roy should actually be degraded for going against the "then established" Hindu norms/rituals of "satidaah" etc. You are taking this discussion to an extreme for sure.
But then, how many of the things that we believe in are "universal truths"? Hindus believe eating Beef is a sin, but is that a "universal" truth?
And, i was trying to hint at the thing you yourself wrote ... there are things other than truth which are very important. Truth, while being important, is one such attribute, and this does not mean by any logic that the other attributes are any less important.
Another aspect of course is the debate about whether lies in a noble cause are ok, which would lead us to the age-old debate of ends vs means.
I think you are confusing truth with "right" or "wrong"..."good" or "bad". Truth is ultimate, and universal... truth is about what has already happened... say for eg, I bunked my school and went for a movie...whether i think bunking school is good or bad is a different thing altogether, but the truth is that i "bunked" my school... now shall i tell this to my parents or lie about it and say that i had a good day@school and studied a lot? Shall I hide the truth with lies or not? and what are the consequences of speaking up the truth or lieing about it...here truth is universal... truth is always universal...good or bad, right or wrong...thts relevant
But you mentioned in the post that truth is right. So, in your view, truth is inextricable from right. Maybe to the detriment of other attributes?
Maybe we should look at right or wrong and not truth or lies?
According to me and my conscience, the act of speaking the truth is "right"...u may debate that, I have no issues. Like I sadi, people who lie, their conscience doesnot believe so... and my question is to them only... why is that you dont believe that Telling lies is wrong?... now thats the point of discussion...not whether, truth is universal or not...TRUTH IS ALWAYS UNIVERSAL... whether good or bad, right or wrong...
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