Be Happy - Be True To Yourself

Mahatma Gandhi said,“WHAT… is Truth? A difficult question; but I have solved it for myself by saying that it is what the voice within tells you. How then, you ask, [do] different people think of different and contrary truths? Well, seeing that the human mind works through innumerable media and that the evolution of the human mind is not the same for all, it follows that what may be truth for one may be untruth for another, and hence those who have made these experiments have come to the conclusion that there are certain conditions to be observed in making those experiments…”

He also said “It is because we have at the present moment everybody claiming the right of conscience without going through any discipline whatsoever, and there is so much untruth being delivered to a bewildered world. All that I can in true humility present to you is that Truth is not to be found by anybody who has not got an abundant sense of humility. If you would swim on the bosom of the ocean of Truth, you must reduce yourself to a zero.”

He enumerated Truth to be the sovereign principle. He said, “For me truth is the sovereign principle, which includes numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in word, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the Absolute Truth, the Eternal Principle, that is God. There are innumerable definitions of God, because His manifestations are innumerable. They overwhelm me with wonder and awe and for a moment stun me.

But I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice demanded be my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it. But as long as I have not realized this Absolute Truth, so long must I hold by the relative truth as I have conceived it. That relative truth must, meanwhile, be my beacon, my shield and buckler. Though this path is strait and narrow and sharp as the razor's edge, for me it has been the quickest and easiest. Even my Himalayan blunders have seemed trifling to me because I have kept strictly to this path. For the path has saved me from coming to grief, and I have gone forward according to my light. Often in my progress I have had faint glimpses of the Absolute Truth, God, and daily the conviction is growing upon me that He alone is real and all else is unreal.”

His opinion regarding truth includes the following statements as well,.”..The further conviction has been growing upon me that whatever is possible for me is possible even for a child, and I have found sound reasons for saying so. The instruments for the quest of Truth are as simple as they are difficult. They may appear quite impossible to an arrogant person, and quite possible to an innocent child…. The seeker after Truth should be humbler than the dust. The world crushes the dust under its feet, but the seeker after Truth should so humble himself that even the dust could crush him. Only then, and not till then, will he have a glimpse of Truth.”

“Truth is like a vast tree, which yields more and more fruit the more you nurture it. The deeper the search in the mine of truth the richer the discovery of the gems buried there, in the shape of openings for an even greater variety of service.” In the march towards Truth, anger selfishness, hatred, etc., naturally give way, for otherwise Truth would be impossible to attain. A man who is swayed by passions may have good enough intentions, may be truthful in word, but he will never find the Truth. A successful search for Truth means complete deliverance from the dual throng such as of love and hate, happiness and misery.

To see the universal and all-pervading spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life. Truth resides in every human heart, and one has to search for it there, and to be guided by truth as one sees it. But no one has a right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.

It is not given to man to know the whole Truth. His duty lies in living up to the truth as he sees it, and in doing so. We must only follow the truth as we see it. Such pursuit of truth cannot lead anyone astray.

Regarding experimenting, Mahatma Gandhi said, “I have in my life never been guilty of saying things I did not mean--my nature is to go straight to the heart and, if often I fail in doing so for the time being, I know that Truth will ultimately make itself heard and felt, as it has often done in my experience. Let hundreds like me perish, but let Truth prevail. Let us not reduce the standards of Truth even by a hair's breadth for judging erring mortals like myself.In judging myself I shall try to be as harsh as truth, as I want others also to be.”

You decide for yourself what you want. It is not for others to decide for you. Instead of always listening to others, listen to your own heart. We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart. Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. The truth which has made us free will in the end make us glad also.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. When in doubt, tell the truth. How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away."

The word "Truth" has a variety of meanings, from honesty, good faith, and sincerity in general, to agreement with fact or reality in particular. The term has no single definition about which a majority of professional philosophers and scholars agree, and various theories of truth continue to be debated. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; what things are truth-bearers capable of being true or false; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is subjective, relative, objective, or absolute. 'truth' involves both the quality of "faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, sincerity, veracity", and that of "agreement with fact or reality" The truth in a particular context - a statement that is known to be correct —ie. in accord with reality, as corroborated by evidence or related experience.

The anxiety regarding truth is: Have we been true to ourselves? Are we following our heart, believing in ourselves, trusting our very own belief? Or has this thought never even occurred to us before? Now that we are reading this give ourselves this chance and ask ourselves this question. Be true and answer, isn’t it? To answer it, say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. it’s as simple as that! But very often, things are not that simple for many. We might be one of them.

Living as we do in a modernized, fast-changing, ever-developing time, it is indeed hard for things to be that simple. Every one of us is, in a way, forced to keep up with the pace, brain-washed to just believe in the system. We are taught to believe that in order to survive and to be successful, we have to follow what is laid down for us, follow what everyone else is doing; that we should be doing this and not doing that.

But are you not the one who is supposed to be telling yourself what you should do, rather than being told by others? The sad truth is, many of us unknowingly live our lives, only to be consumed by regret in our later years; when it is too late to do anything. It’s a scary thought, isn’t it?

Now, this is certainly not the way life should be. To begin with, life shouldn’t and outer self must complement one another. Remember this. You came into this world with a journey of your own to discover. This life journey is yours and yours alone and nobody else’s. you decide for yourself what you want. It is not for others to decide for you. If you have to please someone, please yourself, not somebody else.

For all that exists in this world, there is always the equal and the opposite side. But though they may be opposing, they are a all times interrelating. This is the natural way of life. When there is day there will be night. When there is a positive there will be a negative. When there are strengths, there will also be weaknesses. The list goes on.

Similarly within you, when you can be happy you can be unhappy too. Surely, happiness is what you seek in life? So, be true to yourself! It is only when you are true to yourself that you will find happiness. Instead of listening to others to allow them to tell you that you shouldn’t do this and that, you tell yourself that you must do this and you must do that! Instead of listening to others, listen to your heart.

What is right and what is wrong? There is never a definite right or wrong. You do what you think is right for yourself. Just picture this scenario. Right from the time that we are children, we have been taught over and over again that it is sin to lie. Now, let me ask you something. If you can actually save a person’s life by telling a kind lie, would you? Suppose telling a kind lie would result in him being spared and given another chance, while telling the truth would mean that the poor man would lose his life. Now, which is a sin, to tell a lie or to indirectly murder someone? The line between being a saint or a murderer is a thin one.

Similarly, there is a thin line between a happy an unhappy you. Which side of the line do you want to be? To be a truthfully happy person, your actions must complement your thoughts and belief. You have to understand this. Even the slightest decision can affect your life. Sometimes having just a few additional minutes of sleep can make a difference to your day. Those few minutes could decide whether you will have an efficient day or a bad one.

Seek the correct way of life. Be Happy - Be true to yourself and you are bound to find happiness.