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--- 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 



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