Manu gave to the world yet another profound declaration:
“Sathyam brooyaath, Priyam brooyaath. Na brooyaath sathyam-apriyam”
(Utter the Truth. Say what is pleasing. Never tell what is truthful but unpleasant).
This means that you should not speak an untruth because it may be pleasing to one. Nor should you speak out the truth when it is likely to hurt a person’s feelings. Every man should speak the truth, but it should be truth that is pleasing.
In the Gita it has been stated:
“Anudvegakaram vaakyam Sathyam Priyahitham cha yath”
(In speech, the words should not cause any excitement, they should be true, pleasing and well-meaning).
When you see a blind man, you know that he is blind. This is true.
Discourse to a gathering of students and older devotees
03 June 1986
FIVE principles have to be observed for realising the divinity in man. They are: Ahimsa (Noninjury), Sathya (Truth), Soucham (Purity), Daya (Compassion) and Asthikyam (Faith in God).
Non-harming (Ahimsa):
It is a supreme virtue. But, in daily life, almost at every step some harm or other is being caused. When we breathe in or breathe out, countless microbes perish. There are occasions when wittingly or otherwise, injury is caused to some being or other. Complete nonviolence is not a practicable ideal. What should be ensured is that there is no deliberate causing of injury or harm to anyone.
Truth (Sathyam):
Truth is Divine. Where there is Truth there is Divinity. When Dushyanta forgot that he had given a ring to Sakuntala when he met her near the sage Kanva's ashram, Sakuntala declared in the open court of the king that Truth was the supreme Dharma and a king should uphold truth at any cost. She pointed out that in the order of merit, starting from digging wells to performing horse-sac...
