“सत्यंवद, प्रियंवद,
मा बद सत्यंअप्रियं!”
“Speak the Truth, speak what is pleasant,
Never speak Truth, which is unpleasant!”
Spent my life of four scores
listening to this saying everywhere,
but the full meaning of which
to date remains unclear!
Can Truth be of different kinds?
does it have different categories and types?-
some pleasant, others unpleasant,
some euphonic, or some invective?
Isn’t truth simply Truth?
Do you want that to be judged as well?
will it not be an injustice to that proverb?
who will judge the Truth? you or me?
parents and elders at home, teachers in school,
wives after marriage, bosses in office,
priests in the temple, ministers in politics,
and above all judges in various courts?
All these elders of our society
have the last word –
“Do what i say, that’s Truth!”
whether you like it or not, take it as pleasant;
if you protest it becomes unpleasant;
no logic or explanation is at all useful;
the power decides what is true –
let the power be w.w.w or rifle!
Truth is standing silent in the courtroom’s glare,
for judgment, pleasant-unpleasant, true-false,
surrounded by innumerable judges
from all walks of life,
who speak of rules and logic to satisfy their own selfish needs,
keeping Truth standing, staring, speechless, and bewildered!
Despite all these injustices to Truth,
there stand a few souls fearless, fighting for what is true,
they seek justice, equality, and right
relentlessly for humanity’s progress;
and on the contrary,
if you are one of those masters in flattery and obsequiousness,
you can turn all lies into truth
and unpleasant into pleasant!
So, you, yourself decide the true nature of Truth,
being an elder of society or a protesting warrior,
as per your conviction and ideals, be your own Judge of Truth!
10th September, 2020
So, timely.
Comment by dchaudhuri — February 24, 2025 @ 10:06 pm
Wonderful message in the form of poetry
Comment by Suman Chandra — February 24, 2025 @ 10:23 pm
This is an intriguing advice from the teacher to his graduating students. This is Kautilya style practical advice.
Note he is emphazing truth and pleasant not promoting lies or pleasant lies. He is instructing young disciple, entering new life, to avoid unpleasant truth but he did not add the word “never” . Students as they gain experience will decide for themselves as they face life situation what is plesant and what is not
Comment by Baidya N Roy — February 24, 2025 @ 10:55 pm