DAY 12 : MAY 24
Satya: Truthfulness
Join Joshna Ramakrishnan this weekend for our Sunday Session, Exploring The 5 Layers of Self - Pancha Kosha Vidya, 7:00-9:00am PT / 7:30-9:30pm IST. Click through to the schedule below to save your spot.
Not lying, or always speaking the truth is the second of the yamas, but it should be consistent with the earlier injunction “Don’t harm.” A Sage dedicated to the law of always speaking the truth was walking along the bank of a river. There were a few urchins throwing stones at a turtle that had climbed up the bank of the river. It had managed to save itself with its hard back and by drawing in all its limbs. The urchins asked the pious sage how they could destroy the turtle. Being given to speaking the truth always (satya vrata), he said the obvious to the children. The urchins turned the turtle over and attacked its soft belly, whereupon it died. The sage had to bear the karmic effects of the turtles death in his next life. Even as he spoke the truth, the more import yogic injunction of not harming any being was transgressed. In situations where speaking the truth will be harmful, the yogi is advised to keep silence. According to yoga, “One’s communication is to be guided by ahimsa and satya.”
~ Based on teachings of Srivatsa Ramaswami
Another definintion of satya could be:
"Thou shall not lie or give false testimony."
This same rule is found in the Old Testament of the Bible, in Jewish Scriptures, and in the Holy Quran.
Sat means "true or real," and Ya means "ness."
Another way to look at Satya is to be real.
Be yourself and avoid deceiving others. Be careful that you do not use the truth to hurt others with the truth. Remember, Ahimsa is the basis of all action. The great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, states: “Speak the truth which is pleasant. Do not speak unpleasant truths. Do not lie, even if the lies are pleasing to the ear. This is the eternal law, the dharma.”
Satya (truth) is based on the understanding that honest communication forms the basis for any relationship or community.