Disciple:
"Truth is God, and God is Truth." I request you to enlighten me on this subject.
Gurudev:
There is an English saying: "Truth is God, and God is Truth." Truth and God are essentially the same. God is established upon Truth. You cannot reach God through falsehood; you have no right to do so. God does not grant you the right to approach Him through deceit. You may offer baskets of flowers or garlands, but God does not accept such things if they are based on lies. Since God is established on Truth, we say one must abide by "Satyachar" (conduct of truth). Satyameva Jayate—Truth alone triumphs. In the past, this was inscribed on every coin, though it has since been removed.
Gurudev:
Truth is Truth, and a lie is a lie. When you live in Truth, you do not need much else. If I admit to a crime, no one needs to ask me further questions because I have accepted the truth. But if I lie, then many lawyers will interrogate and cross-examine me. To suppress a single truth, people resort to thousands of lies.
Gurudev:
This is why we say: if you call upon God, do not lie. Speak the truth. You will see this written on the walls of many temples in Banaras: "Speak the truth, speak the truth." When Truth is established, falsehood has no place to hide.
Gurudev:
In the legal world, however, we often see lawyers telling a thousand lies just to suppress one truth. They are trained to establish falsehood rather than Truth because it brings them money and prestige. Even when a lawyer knows what is true and what is false in a case, they use every form of deceit to bury the truth for the sake of their fees.
Gurudev:
Sometimes, people resort to lies out of helplessness. They fear that the truth might lead them to jail or the gallows. Lawyers exist to provide that refuge in falsehood to escape the consequences of the truth. But as the saying goes, "You cannot hide a fish with spinach." One day, the truth will be revealed. That is why people move from one court to another; even after the truth is established in one court, they appeal further because the lawyers want to keep the cycle going for money.
Gurudev:
I’ll tell you a true story. A judge was once heading to court when he witnessed a group of boys murdering another boy with a knife. He saw it with his own eyes. Coincidentally, that very murder case was assigned to his bench. The lawyers brought in several witnesses and argued that no one had seen the murder, attempting to suppress the fact. The judge listened to it all, day after day. He knew the truth because he had seen it, but as a judge, he could not step down from his bench to become a witness. He had to carry that truth within his heart while presiding over the legal theatrics. This is a true incident, not a story.
Disciple:
Gurudev, many people come to Shantikunj and say, "I follow the path of truth and have good thoughts, yet why can’t I see God?"
Gurudev:
Seeing God is a far-off matter. No matter how much you try to be truthful, everyone resorts to lies at some point out of necessity. For instance, if you owe someone money and cannot pay them back yet, you might tell small lies to buy time. People do this constantly.
Disciple:
Gurudev, in such cases where a person lies out of helplessness to survive, does God forgive them?
Gurudev:
If you lie for survival and then confess to God, "Mother, I lied because I had no choice," God forgives you. But if you are arrogant and boastful about your lies, He does not. God shows mercy to those who admit their sins. If someone commits a murder and walks around with their chest puffed out, a day will come when someone else will be standing behind them to kill them. That is the law of karma.
Disciple:
Gurudev, how do you define a "fool" (Murkho)?
Gurudev:
In astrology, those born under certain "Yogas" like Gandayog or Atigandayog are often considered fools. Chanakya had a beautiful shloka about this: "If you take a fool to heaven, he will turn heaven into hell. But if you take a saintly, truthful person to hell, he will turn hell into heaven." Fools are those who are restless and refuse to follow the path of honesty.
Gurudev:
Chanakya also mentioned the sources of power for different people: A thief’s power lies in lying to the police. A child’s power is in their cry; they know that if they cry, their mother will pick them up and feed them. A subject’s power is the King.
Gurudev:
The point is, if you don't suppress the truth, life isn't as complicated. Hiding the truth creates internal unrest. Even if you walk around pretending everything is fine, the lie eats at you from the inside. This is psychology. Being truthful might lead to a loss, or even jail, but you will be mentally free.
Gurudev:
Courts today have become a refuge for falsehood. People touch the Gita or Ganga water and say, "I shall speak the truth and nothing but the truth," but it has become a mockery. They lie right after taking the oath. The consequences of this are grave.
Gurudev:
There are some honest lawyers who refuse to take cases if they know they are based on lies. But many others fight for falsehood just for money. I have seen many such lawyers face terrible ends. I tell them: don't take refuge in lies. You must face the fruits of your actions. Look at the Nirbhaya case—the truth was eventually established, and the four were hanged. If Truth were established like that in every court, society would be much healthier.
Gurudev:
My advice to everyone is: abide by the Truth. He who stands by Truth faces no ultimate danger.
Disciple:
We just heard Gurudev discuss how Truth is God. For more such videos, please subscribe to the YouTube channel Guptasadhak Shayamakapa, leave a comment, and keep watching. Pranam, Gurudev.
Gurudev:
Pranam.