Truthfulness & Acceptance
Do you recognise this statement? 'Satyam Eva Jayate' (Truth alone succeeds!). This is not only a popular Indian TV show by Bollywood's Aamir Khan & the national slogan of India, but it's originally a quote from the Veda (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6). It means: May one follow the truth & that will lead you to success/happiness. Truthfulness was defined by Shankara, the great teacher of the Bhagavad Gita, as: ' speech which is in keeping with what I think, which is free from falsehood and hurt'. Hence, we try to say things which are truthful, considerate & useful. Also our words, thoughts & actions are aligned – what I say is what I do. But what if I think I know something, and it ends up being wrong? This can be problematic, therefore our teaching (Shastra) emphasises that we have a responsibility to reasonably check that what we think we know, is actually correct (called 'rtam'). This means if we are not sure about something – it’s more honest to simply admit 'I don't know' and try to find out the answer, rather than pretend we know. This requires humility – there is no weakness in admitting you don't know something! In fact, it's a great strength – you do not compromise the value of Satyam.
We also saw the value of 'Kshanti' mentioned in Gita 13.7 = Cheerfully & calmly accepting the behaviour of others and situations which I cannot change. Kshanti is having a value for trying to accept people and situations as they are – allow others the freedom to be who they are. In the process we also free our mind from ups & downs caused due to our non-acceptance of a situation or someone's behaviour. This still means we try our best to help others if we can, but accept the results of your efforts – whether it works or not. No-one is perfect, everyone is a mix of qualities we like & dislike: Friends, Family, Colleagues, Partners, etc. Unfortunately, life shows us that not everyone will change to be the way we want them to be – hence kshanti is a liberating quality to have. It makes one loving, accommodating, patient and calm. How to cultivate Kshanti? Try to be more understanding of the reasons why people behave the way they do, this helps a lot.
