--- In Oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Malolan Cadambi" <mcadambi@xxxx> wrote: > > Which brings me to this question, Is a lie on the lines of Yudhisthira and Thiruvalluvar > justified in the light of the Upanishad dictum - Satyam Vada, Dharmam > chara?? > > Regards, > > Malolan Cadambi Sir, Wise men of the past tell us that there is a world of a difference between "Being truthful" and "Speaking the truth". WHen the Upanishad says "satyam vada", it means "Be truthful" at all times. This phrase does not mean "Speak the truth". Yudhishtara when he cried out "asvattAmA hatah kunjara:" he was surely "speaking the truth" but was he really "being truthful"? No. He was referring to an elephant called AsvattAma being felled although he knew it was only meant to convey to Drona the false impression that Asvattama, his son, was no more. In Latin there is a saying that "suppressio veri" and "suggestio falsi" are one and the same i.e. one can be untruthful in 2 ways: you can suppress truth as well as suggest falsehood. In both cases one would be violating the real spirit of the Upanishadic dictum "satyam vada..". Trust this clarifies your question. Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com
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