Truthfulness is glorified in all scriptures and by all great personalities.
There is nothing more sinful than untruthfulness. Because of this
mother earth once said, "I can bear any heavy thing except a person who is
a liar." SB 8.20.4
One who speaks dharma must know the truth. The knower of
truth is one who sees through all deception. Manu
Smriti
If a brahmana is not truthful, all his claims as a brahmana at
once become null and void. SB
1.17.41 purport
A brahmana will speak truth even to his enemy. If the enemy comes,
if a rogue comes, “How much money you have got in your box?” a brahmana will
say, “Sir, I have got one hundred dollars.” (Laughs) Just like the other day,
in the Customs examination in Bombay, our Brahmänanda Mahäräja was asked, “What
is the value?” “No, I have purchased it.” “What is the value?” “Two hundred dollars.”
He did not say that “I am using it for long time.” No. “It is new. I have
purchased.” That’s all right. Srimad-Bhagavatam
Lecture 1.5.22 Vrindavan, August 3, 1974
Devotees
of Lord should speak truth always. Honesty means truthfulness, and also fairness
in dealing with others, and not engaging in fraud or deceit. It means no hidden
motives and therefore no duplicity in dealings. An honest person will never
misstate, misrepresent, or hide the truth from others so as to gain an unfair
advantage over them.
Someone
who is not honest or straightforward will not be trusted by others. Especially,
such a person will not be accepted as a devotee. Therefore those who purport to
teach the highest truth, being a devotee of Lord, should at least be considered
reliable in ordinary, wordly matters.
Another
facet of truthfulness is to keep promises. This applies to everyday
obligations, such as agreeing to meet a person at a certain time, as well as
major commitments, such as the vows of initiation. It is reprehensible to
promise something that one has no intention of fulfilling.
Devotees
are honest in regard to their own shortcomings and do not present themselves as more advanced than they actually are for the sake of
maintaining false prestige. If a devotee makes a mistake (as all people are prone to
do), he should not compound it by trying to deny or hide the error or by making
excuses. Rather, he should be willing to claim responsibility for his
negligence, and take steps to rectify himself and solve any problems caused by
the mistake. This is a symptom of integrity, and a cornerstone of good
character. In Vedic culture, a brahmana does not lose his position by making a
mistake, but by being untruthful.
It is
sometimes argued that in preaching, the end justifies the means, and that
therefore a book distributor or preacher may tell a lie in order to engage a
person in Krishna's service. This is not untrue, but Srila Prabhupada was also
aware of the harmful effects this could have. He therefore advised devotees to
preach without resorting to roundabout means.
We may do anything for Krishna, but that is supposed to be
reserved for very advanced experts in Krishna Consciousness—they know how to
catch the big fish without themselves getting wet. So it is not very much
advisable to make lies just to sell a book. If we simply stick to describing
how wonderful is Krishna, then whatever we may lie or exaggerate, that will not
be a lie! But other things, lies, they will not help us to train ourselves in
truthfulness. Lie to some, not to others—that is not a good philosophy. Rather
the brahmanas are always truthful, even to their enemies. There is sufficient
merit in our books that if you simply describe them sincerely to anyone, they
will buy. That art you must develop—not art of lying. Convince them to give by
your preaching the Absolute Truth, not by tricking. That is the more mature
stage of development of Krishna Consciousness. Letter to Sri Govinda, 25 December,
1972
We may take money for Krsna using any method of beg, borrow and
steal, but the more advanced understanding of Krsna consciousness process is by
telling the truth in a very palatable way. That is the most successful
system…We may tell any damn thing to induce people to give us money on Krsna's
behalf—that is not the point. The point is that by saying lies, the less
advanced neophyte devotees may become entangled or disturbed in their minds by
it. Of course by their collecting more money and giving to Krsna, He will
relieve them of all anxiety of telling lies. But not everyone is able to catch
the big fish without themselves becoming wet. Letter
to Bali-mardana, 31 December, 1972
These
dishonest methods must be stopped. It is hampering our reputation all over the
world. Money collected for feeding people in India should be collected under
the name ISKCON Food Relief. Not any other name. And every farthing of that
money must be sent to India, or better yet, buy food grains there and ship them
here and we will distribute. But every farthing collected for that purpose must
be used for that purpose. Letter
to: Rupanuga -- Bombay 9 January, 1975
Discretion
Truthfulness
should be tempered with discretion. For instance, it is generally unadvisable
that a senior devotee experiencing spiritual difficulties reveal them to
subordinates, lest their delicate faith in Kåñëa consciousness be endangered. A
senior devotee in difficulty would be better advised to make known his exigency
to a trusted peer, who is anyway more likely to be able to help him.
There is
also no need to divulge the truth of others’ failings if no-one will benefit by
doing so. Indeed, to unnecessarily and continually dwell on others’ faults is a
form of prajalpa that is most destructive both to the
speaker and hearers.
Discretion
should also be exercised in revealing internal policies and problems of
devotees to outsiders, or even to devotees who are not fully commited. Not everyone
is meant to know everything, nor can everyone understand everything, nor is
everything everybodies business. Although some modern psychological theories
advocate complete openness in everything, the Vedic sages do not recommend such
impractical liberality.
Certain
circumstances may even warrant deliberate hiding of the truth.
In
flattering a woman to bring her under control, in joking, in a marriage
ceremony, in earning one’s livelihood, when one’s life is in danger, in
protecting cows and brahminical culture, or in protecting a person from an
enemy’s hand, falsity is never condemned. SB
8.19.43
