Friday 7 March 2008

Today come a tie between telling the truth and the life that it may bring with it.



I should be quite obvious that satyagraha (a vow of truth) has nothing in it of Western middle-class banality. It does not mean "honesty is the best policy," because it is far more than honesty and it is infinitely more than a policy. One does not obey the prajnatman (the solar spirit), or intellectual principle, the "spirit of truth," simply in order to get something out of one's obedience.

The truth may turn out in terms of the current moods and trends of a blind society to be supremely unprofitable. In that case, when truth become absolutely the worst policy, one follows it anyway, even when it leads to death.



Even unto death. There are so many ways we jump off the boat of truthfulness. I would suggest it is part of our nature...the part that is so turned-in-on-self that we cannot go all the way to truth. We will only go as far is it can help us or support us or be our weapon to use on others. But then, this is not truth at all. We can argue forever about whether someone is being honest...but that will say nothing about whether someone is living and speaking the truth. Truthfulness pushes us to look beyond our own circumstances - in which we may being quite honest - and come in touch with the greater truth that takes into account more than my story and my side. We may enter into warfare - on any level - and do so with a sense of being honest with ourselves/our side. And yet, to be open to hearing the story of the other side brings us a bit more in touch with truth. We must constantly keep open the dialogue so that truthfulness is not merely end with what we know already.


Connection: We may never know every side of an issue or a problem or a situation. But we must press on to hear it all. And then, when we act, we are encouraged to act not just on the basis of what will be good for our side, but what will be good for all. Pressing for this may not be appreciated and may eve encounter hard resistance.



Come, Lord of all Truthfulness, and continue to engage us with the world in which we live. It is too easy to come to rest in the places we like best without searching out the place that will open up the lives of more and more people. Grant us the wisdom to listen to your Spirit of wholeness. Amen.