4.2 TRUTH


WISE SAYINGS FROM DIFFERENT FAITHS

"The truth is from your Lord, so do not be a doubter."    Mohammed

"Do not obscure truth by falsehood, or knowingly conceal the truth."    Mohammed

"Truth has many aspects. Infinite truth has infinite expressions. Though the sages speak in diverse ways, they express the one and the same truth."    Sri Krishna

"The inner fire of Ahura Mazda (Omnipotent God), to see we yearn  -  He blazes mightily through truth."    Zarathushtra

"Have confidence in the truth, although you may not be able to comprehend it, although you may suppose its sweetness to be bitter, although you may shrink from it at first. Trust in the truth."    Buddha

"Thou shouldst not bear false witness against thy neighbour."    Jesus Christ

"I am the Way , the Truth, and the Life; no one goes to the Father except by me. Now that you have known Me, you will know my Father also, and from now on you do know Him and have seen Him."    Jesus Christ

FROM DISCOURSES OF SAI BABA

ABSOLUTE TRUTH

Absolute truth is beyond the reach of Time and Space; it is indivisible. It does not begin, it is always and ever existent; it is the basis, the fundamental, the self-revealing. Knowing it, experiencing it, is the highest wisdom. It cannot be marked out as such and explained by some characteristics. It is Adrusya, that is, invisible to the eye. (Sai Avatar 962)

Truth is that which does not hold anyone in dissatisfaction but elevates one to more genuine forms of happiness, until its absolute state is reached. It is not contradicted by any other experience and does not point to the existence of anything better or higher than it. That which never changes and is unrestricted by anything is Truth.

Physical science is objective and cannot lead to Absolute Truth, but spiritual science or Brahma Vidya can lead to the Absolute Truth. God alone is Truth; all others are mere dust. Do you agree? Yes, God alone is Real and Great; everything else is unreal and valueless. There is nothing second to God. Live in God. (070380)

Truth is one and for all time Truth. Whatever changes, know that to be untruth. Once you were small and grew bigger. That is also untruth. Where is the body of the ten-year old? All has merged into the present body. First untruth, then, when we have the experience, we know the Truth. Dark and light are not different; they are one only. (CSSB 3)

Sathya Sai means He who is based on Truth, who reclines on Truth, which the massive coils of objective desires cannot entangle. Truth knows no defeat; Truth knows no fear. It marches on, heedless of acclamation or declamation. (240373)

TRUTH IS GOD

Truth is God. The Upanishads declare: "God is all sweetness". This means that God is present in subtle form everywhere, like sugar in sugarcane and butter in milk. Although it is difficult to have a direct perception of God, His presence can be experienced in many ways. The sweetness in sugar, the sourness in lime fruit, the bitterness of the margosa leaf, all testify to the presence of the Divine. (231195)

God is the embodiment of Truth. Truth is the foundation of the Universe. This Truth transcends the mind and speech and is beyond the categories of Time and Space. Vedanta has described it as Ritam (Spiritual Truth). It is also called Transcendental Truth. Truth is that which remains unchanged over time. You must live up to this Truth. You must realise that the Divine is present in everything. Only when you can recognise the omnipresence of the Divine will you be able to experience the Divine. (150988)

TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

"Speak the truth, pursue righteousness." This is the great pronouncement of the ancient Upanishads and Scriptures of Indians. Truth and righteousness are the stepping-stones to human greatness. The Puranas have also declared: "Truth alone triumphs." Victory adores truth. There is no greater righteousness than truth", declare the Puranas.

Truth is God. It is supreme folly to forget this fact and seek to obtain the grace of God by all kinds of practices. (290490)

Truth and Righteousness are at the root of human existence. No one should think it difficult to adhere to Truth. In fact it is easier to speak the truth while it needs a lot of cleverness to tell an untruth and sustain it. (100394)

OUR INNER REALITY IS TRUTH

Man is burdened with the delusion that the true is false, that the temporary is eternal. Long identification has trained him so. He has to be re-educated into the right vision. The truest thing, that fact that persists unchanged, is the 'I' itself. All else is unreal, but appearing as real. (051070)

The Divinity in you is changeless, blemishless, without beginning or end. Just as the washerman removes the dirt in a cloth and restores its original whiteness by washing with soap and beating it on a stone, man should try to regain his vision of the pure effulgent Atma, by washing his heart in the water of Love with the soap of earnestness and sacrifice. This is the way to realise one's Inner Reality which is Truth, Wisdom, Endlessness, God (Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham, Brahma). (080493)

The word 'manava' (man) means one who lives free from ignorance. What is this ignorance? It is to regard himself as that which he is not. He is not the body. He is not the mind. The besetting evil in men is the sense of 'mine'. The acquisitive and possessive feeling. This is the cause of all other evils. Man has to develop the consciousness that he is Divine. The breath which man inhales and exhales 21,600 times a day conveys the message of 'I am He' (Soham)  -  the Truth about man's Divine reality. (060389)

You feel there is something behind and beyond all this fleeting fantasy; something that persists through all the successes and defeats, all the tears and smiles, all this mirth and moan; but you are unable to grasp it and realise that it is the same entity that underlies the entire universe. You are one with the most distant star and the least little blade of grass. You shine as dew on the petal of the rose; you swing from star to star; you are part and parcel of all this manifestation. (251169)

DISCOVER TRUTH ABOUT ONESELF

Truth about oneself is to be learnt first. When man does not know his own truth, how can he judge others or deal with others? When man knows that he is the indestructible, eternal Divine, he is freed from fear. Truth can shine forth only from a purified mind and a clarified intellect. The units of the Sathya Sai Service Organisation must be ever active in following and observing the disciplines laid down for these two processes. Man has to overcome the animal in him. The animal has to be laid low and the Master of all animals installed in the heart. This aim has to be constantly borne in mind by the Organisation and its members; the journey towards it has to be steady and fervent. Patience, tolerance, fortitude, equanimity, fraternity - these will prove valuable equipment for the pilgrim. Do not distinguish between one fellow-pilgrim and another on the basis of caste, creed or colour, and do not divide them into friends or foes. Recognise only the common traits, the uniting efforts, the basic divinity. Rich and poor, scholarly and illiterate - these are distinctions that do not hold good for long, for they are but outer frills. (290376)

The discovery of truth - that is the unique mission of man. Man is a mixture of illusion and God; the illusion throws a mist which hides the God; but through the action of the healthy impulses inherited from acts performed while in previous bodies or through cleansing done by austerities in this body or through the Grace of the Lord Himself, illusion melts away; for it is just a mist which flees before the sun. Then man is transformed into God and this world is elevated into a place of tranquillity. (060362)

HAVE FAITH IN TRUTH

Have faith in the Truth that can remove delusion. You cannot be argued into faith, nor can you derive it from books. You can know and experience Truth when you cleanse your heart and broaden it through service and love. (140182)

If your yearning to experience Brahmananda, the Being-Awareness-Bliss, is sincere and pure, from this day, keep ever in your memory what I am about to tell you:

1) "I am God; I am not different from God." Be conscious of this always. Keep it ever in mind. "I am God; I am God, I am not different from God." Be reminding yourself of this. Pray that you may not fail in this spiritual exercise.

2) "I am the Indivisible Supreme Absolute". This is the second Truth to be established in the consciousness by unremitting repetition and prayer.

3) "I am Sath-Chit-Ananda" (Being, Awareness, Bliss).

4) "Grief and anxiety can never affect me". Develop this faith and convince yourselves of this Truth by repeated assurance and prayer.

5) "I am ever content; fear can never enter me". Feel thus for ever. Pray that this conviction grows stronger and stronger.

As the physical body is maintained healthy and strong by the five vital airs, these five prayers will endow you with the 'awareness of Brahman' which is the same as the status of Brahman Itself! (231183)

Through Truth not only can the world be subdued, but it is possible even to realise the Lord of the universe. Today in Bharat, because people have given up truth and righteousness, they are not able to achieve unity and all kinds of divisions and antagonisms have developed. You have to dedicate yourselves to Truth. In offering worship to Rama and Krishna, prayers are offered to their manifestations as truth. "Salutations to the One whose speech is Truth, who is a lover of Truth, who is the embodiment of Truth".

UPHOLD TRUTH

Truth relates not only to what is factually correct, but what is true for all time. Moreover, truthful speech must be both pleasing and beneficial to the person concerned. It should not excite passion or promote ill-will. You should not indulge in falsehood to please others. (030989)

Uttering truth is easy. But indulging in falsehood is a tortuous process. One has to take a lot of trouble to cover up one lie with more lies. That is why it has been said: "Speak the truth; speak what is pleasing. Do not utter truth that is unpleasant." (150988)

There is an old saying: "Truth creates enemies. Falsehood pleases many." Truth is not always pleasant and hence provokes enmity. Lies and falsehood appear attractive and pleasing. Nevertheless, people must adhere to truth for its own sake. To say one thing and act differently is destructive of the Self. It is opposed to the scriptures. One should try to practise at least one or two of the precepts one professes. (290689)

Truth is the foundation on which the character of man is built. When Truth is not respected, the mansion of life collapses like a building that has a weak foundation. Man does not realise this and pursues a life of sensuous pleasures, ignoring Truth which is the Life Force that sustains his entire being. (100394)

Unite in the One. That is your mission, your destiny. Do not isolate yourself  -  "I for me", "He for him". If you hope to be happy while isolated, take it from me, it is a frail dream. Know that you are the Atma, just as everything else is. The Atma is self-luminous; you do not need a lighted lamp to discover a lighted lamp! You need no candle or lantern to see the moon. You can see the moon through its own rays. The Atma shines in all; you only have to open your eyes and know it. The Scriptures declare, "All this is God", "God is in all". Mere repetition of these slogans is of no benefit; experience the Truth; live in the Light of the Truth. (231181)

Each body that you see before you is a mirror in which, if you only open your eyes, you can see the image of God. The God in you is in each of them too. Do not imagine the others to be distinct; they are only you, in so many mirrors. The world is filled with your kith and kin; all are sparks from the same flame. (290769)

When you stand before another, his image is in your eye, and your image is in his; haven't you observed this? You are in me, I am in you, that is the Truth this phenomenon proclaims. When you have faith in this, and when you cultivate love, humility, reverence for life, and tolerance, you are on the right path. (April 73)