In the rat race that we call pleasure seeking, we seem to have forgotten certain essential tenets in our lives. We don’t realize what we are gradually missing.
Several years ago, I had an experience while buying a rather expensive watch in a US shop. I liked the watch and wanted to purchase it. But the shopkeeper told me that he would not accept any credit cards and wants only cash.
I had to run to a nearby ATM and fetch the cash for him. Finally, while packing, he told me that he would not take it back if in case I found any problem with it later. Even the receipt he gave me for the payment, had no details of the item that I bought. But I trusted him and went ahead with the purchase, only to find after a few days, that the watch was damaged. But it was too late! That gave a bad taste and I resolved never to trust such shops any more.
I am not saying that all shopkeepers are dishonest. But one exception can spoil the reputation of the entire community and instill distrust.
A few years ago, I visited some Indian villages where the people never lock the front doors of their houses when they go out. They were sure that nobody would steal anything in their absence! How comforting.
I have also read stories about remote Japanese villages where the local farmers leave their produce in a bus shelter, with a price tag attached to them.
People who visit the bus shelter would pick what they want and drop the exact cash in the box kept there.
Neither the farmer anticipates anybody cheating him, nor anyone picks up something without dropping the cash.
These are not some fairy tales that I am cooking up. They are real incidents.
I remember the president of a US company who regularly used to write April fool pranks in his blog, stopped it a few years ago. The reason he gave was that there is lot of falsehood that goes on all over the place, and he did not want to add to it!
How about the notice I saw outside a university lab which declared “anyone caught manipulating the computers in the lab would be fined 25 bucks”! Is that the price for honesty? Instead of inculcating a sense of responsibility, we think that everything can be controlled by fear of punishment!
I am giving all these examples to drive home the point that an environment full of mutual trust is a heaven to live in. But unfortunately, we don’t seem to realize that. We always think that as long as we are not caught, we can continue to do what we do.
But dishonesty is a double edge sword – it cuts both, the one who is dishonest and the one who is the victim. And all of us are going to be victims one day.
So, when Patanjali imposes Satya or honesty, as the second ‘do’ in his first step of Yoga, namely Yama, t is not just a dogma. There is more to it. Yoga Sutra says that being dishonest is a way of committing violence to your fellow being.
What exactly is Satya as per Patanjali?
Yoga Sutra commentator explains Satya as follows
There has to be consistency between words and thoughts. One needs to say the same thing that one has in his mind and also his deeds should reflect that - A three-way coherence between words, thoughts and deeds.
The purpose of conveying something should be to share thoughts. So, it should not involve deception. It should not mislead the other person, nor it should be meaningless. It should be in the interest of all beings.
But speaking should not be intended to harm someone. In case what you say ultimately harms someone, then it is as good as telling a lie even if you spoke the truth. Such a truth is meaningless.
Deceptive communication ultimately harms not only the other person, but also the speaker himself in the long run. So, one should be very careful in saying what he says. The ultimate purpose should be the good of all beings, and not just the self.
In today’s world, I wonder whether there are any takers for these lofty ideals of Patanjali. But don’t you agree that such a world would be an ideal place to live in, however impractical these ideals appear to be? Let us at least make some effort in that direction.
We will continue our discussion in the next episode.
A series revolving around Mind – Science of Mind, Philosophy of Mind, Notions of reality, Mind modulation, Domains beyond Mind, and so on. © Dr. King 2019
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